Need help choosing a topper

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I was pointed here by a kind redditor who said you all were wise in the ways of bedding. I could use some wisdom, please.

I sleep hot. Like, I could singlehandedly keep a small nation warm during a blizzard kind of hot. I’ve been that way since I was a newborn. I run hot during the day, too, but nighttime, I’m a special level of blazing.

When I bought my current mattress, I fell for the store’s assertion that their memory foam was cooling. For the 10 or so minutes I lay on the naked mattress, strategically placed directly under the blasting AC vent in store, it was! When I brought it home and tried to sleep, it most definitely wasn’t.

The mattress in question is a 6+ year old mattress from what I believe was Mattress Firm’s in-house brand? DreamBed Lux. I don’t remember the model #. It’s on the softer/plusher side of medium, but not the softest they offered at the time. It’s a hybrid with their “octasprings” and the aforementioned memory foam. I’d estimate it’s about 13" tall?

I can’t afford to buy a new one, and frankly, it’s still in good shape. I thought I was just doomed to little sleep, and all of it sweaty. But I’m not bouncing back from sleepless nights so well now that I’m in my late 40s. In order to get some sleep, I’m changing up everything that I can about my bed.

I’ve upgraded my sheets to cotton percale and linen and bought an awesome pillow that sleeps temperature neutral (CozyPure’s BaaNoodle). But there’s only so much anything else can do when my mattress is baking me alive with my own body heat every night. I need some distance from the heat soak that is my mattress. So, a natural material topper seems like the answer.

In addition to being a super hot sleeper, I’m a mostly-side sleeper who sometimes rolls over to sleep on my belly. I can’t sleep on my back at all. I have some lower back pain, likely from my mostly sedentary days at a computer. I’m 5’2 and currently about 200lbs, though I’ve been losing weight and that will hopefully continue.

Edited to add: My husband radiates his own heat all night, but doesn’t feel hot. He understands that I need to make changes to sleep, but he’s a man who literally once fell asleep at a heavy metal concert. He’s fine with anything. He’s even happy under a polyfill comforter or fleece blanket. I sweat just looking at him. He’s a back sleeper who really should sleep on his side, and he likes a softer feel to the mattress underneath him. We share a typical king bed.

I’ve looked at a bunch of options. The CozyPure LaNoodle topper seems ideal, since I love my BaaNoodle pillow so much. But they’re sold out, and I didn’t get a response when I emailed to see if they were expected back in stock soon. I can’t wait forever.

So I’ve looked at a few others, which I’ll list here:

  • Turmerry’s Organic Latex Mattress Topper
  • Avocado’s Eco Organic Mattress Topper
  • Birch’s Organic Mattress Topper

But I’m open to just about any suggestion. I miss sleep. Can anyone please point me in the right direction for a topper that will allow me to sleep?

2

I understand your situation and would like to offer a fix. The organic toppers you mentioned are all made of Dunlop latex which is a solid choice for the bottom of a mattress because it’s more dense than Talalay latex. That being said because it’s more dense the air flow is much less. Speaking from the perspective of having a wife in her mid 50’s and living in Phoenix, air flow is a major priority which is why I sleep on a full Talalay latex mattress and we even take a 2" Talalay topper with us if we are staying in a hotel which almost always uses memory foam in the mattresses and we both will burn up on memory foam. Here is a link to our 2" and 3" Talalay latex mattress toppers which are available in multiple firmness choices. I usually recommend Soft for those under 200 lbs and Medium if over that. Talalay & Dunlop Latex Toppers - Bare, Latex Mattress Toppers and Cores, All Products,

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First of all, the travel topper - brilliant!

I’ve seen a lot of suggestions to get Soft for side sleepers, so I didn’t expect to see a Medium recommendation. (Though I’m kind of right along that weight limit, and I understand that the “squish” factor is impacted by weight!)

Would you think it might work if I got just a twin-size topper for under me? My husband said he’d sleep on whatever I need, but ultimately, we chose this bed because he liked it. Would it work to have a 2-3" topper just on my side while he can enjoy the memory foam feeling that works for him? Or would that cause a problem for the mattress or even our sheets? I mean, I know it would mean we have a sort of cliff in the middle of our bed, but we could work around that part…

Thanks for your message - I really appreciate every bit of info that will help me choose the right thing to help me sleep!

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You won’t have any issues with the sheets but it would be slightly awkward if you meet in the middle. If you have a King size then you would need a TwinXL size for half. Twin won’t be long enough.

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I didn’t realize it would require a twin XL. Thanks.

Definitely food for thought, here. Talaylay latex does sound like the better choice. I just need to figure out if we should be looking at 2 or 3", and whether my husband would tolerate a medium or if we’d have to go for a soft if we cover the whole bed.

I’m half-tempted to switch gears and look into a wool topper, though I’m sure that will come with its own difficult decisions!