Natural Expressions / Classic Brands, LLC

[phoenix]

Hi 70’s girl,

In regards to asking about the ILD’s, I guess I thought that knowing that information and referencing it to how I like or dislike a mattress would help point me towards something that I would like better. That way if I call around to places that are further away maybe it would help me decide if it would be worth driving there to try what they have. Does that make sense or not really?

There are so many different “specs” that combine together as part of the design of a mattress that makes one mattress suitable for one person and not another that ILD by itself can be somewhat misleading because it isn’t the only specification that determines the feel and performance of a mattress (see post #2 here).

Unless someone has a great deal of knowledge and experience with different types of mattress materials and specs and different layering combinations and how they combine together and can translate them into their own “real life” experience … I would tend to avoid using ILD numbers or other complex specs to try and predict how a mattress will feel for you and focus more on your own actual testing and experience.

Sometime I also wonder if I really know when I’m comfortable. My mattress hasn’t been great for a while. I travel quite a bit and seem to like the softer feeling mattresses when I get in bed but I wake up feeling better after being on a firmer mattress. I know posture and pressure relief are different but I’m not sure I’m really good and deciphering between the two no matter how hard I try, I also try to relax when trying out a mattress but I don’t feel like I’m really able to relax like I would when in my own bed. I usually try laying on my back to see if I feel pain or strain in my lower back and on my side I mostly try to make sure my hips seem in alignment, the shoulder I’m laying on is under me and n.ot being rolled forward, and that the curves are filled in pretty well.

While the most reliable way to choose a mattress is generally your own personal testing and experience (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post) … there is more information in post #2 here about the different ways to choose a mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for that are involved in each of them.

Phoenix