After spending weeks doing research, trying many different mattresses, we purchased an a Dunlop latex mattress. We replaced a 10 year old euro-top mattress. However, since we’ve got it, we keep switching layers and trying to find a comfortable combination. I think my partner is happier with the mattress than I am. We’re both combination sleepers. My partner falls asleep on his stomach and then switches to his side or back. I think after several tries, he’s now happy with his combination of 6"firm, 2" medium and 2" soft. Although he sometimes complains that his lower back hurts.
I sleep mostly on my side and sometimes on my back. I have some hip pain and shoulder pain, and I’m 5’4" and 235lbs, so initially I thought I’d need a firmer mattress because of my weight.
However, when I slept on 6"firm, 2" medium, and 2" soft, my back was killing me.
Then, I switched to 4" firm, 4" medium, and 2" soft, and it was still to hard.
Next, I did 4"firm, 2" medium, and 4" soft and it seemed to soft. It was perfect for my shoulder, but my back pain returned.
Then, I switched to 4"frim, 2"soft, 2" medium, and 2" soft. At first I thought that was perfect, but the past two nights I’ve been waking up with upper back pain.
Are we switching it too often? Is 6" firm and 4" soft the answer? Do we need to purchase and additional topper? Or, is the pillow the problem. We’ve tried different latex, memory foam, and regular pillows.
Hey polmattress,
Thanks for your question 
.
Congrats on your new mattress purchase ! If you are moving from an innerspring mattress to an all-latex one, your body will need time to adjust to the different comfort and support feel that a latex mattress provides. It sounds as though you’re describing a split king with adjustable layers. When you say that you “keep switching layers and trying to find a comfortable combination,” how often are you rearranging the layers? How long have you had your new Dunlop latex mattress? How would you describe the feel of your previous euro-top mattress?
You don’t mention whether any of your hip and shoulder pain was pre-existing or brought about by adjusting to the new mattress. Just curious: did you change your foundation when you converted to all-latex? It would be interesting to know how often you are rearranging your side of the mattress, as it is recommended to give your body a 30 day minimum adjustment period while adapting to the improved body alignment a new mattress offers.
Can you tell us more about the euro-top mattress so we can better understand what you were used to: who was the manufacturer, what type of construction was it, etc. You could be rearranging the layers too often, we’ll know more about that when you address the frequency question. Pillows could be part of the problem, depending on how your head and neck alignment corresponds with the rest of your body. You may consider having your partner take a pic of you while resting in your side sleeping position to see how your body alignment appears across the surface of the mattress. Here is a pic courtesy of Google to give you an idea of what proper body alignment looks like when considering mattress and pillow:
[center]
https://uploads.mattressunderground.com/outside/42020/neckbackalignment.png[/center]
Hope your sleep improves soon and good luck 
.
Sensei
Thank you for responding and providing the information on pillows. I’ll try to answer all of the questions.
-
Our old mattress was a Sealy Posturepedic Euro-top. When we first got it, it was super comfortable. I’d say it was a medium-firm mattress. The pillow top provided the right support, but it didn’t sink in. We both don’t like the sinking-in feel of memory foam. Although we had it for ten years, it stopped being comfortable about two years ago. It was no longer providing proper support, our hips started sinking in, and we could feel the springs.
-
We ended up getting a split-level Dunlop mattress. We purchased the foundation from the manufacturer. However, I haven’t found a perfect combination yet.
-
We’ve been switching layers every four to five days, which I’m guessing is too often.
-
We do have occasional lower back pain, but nothing that doesn’t go away. I did have a left shoulder injury a few years ago, which sometimes bothers me, and I tend to sleep on my left side. I’ve never experienced the upper back pain that started happening when I slept on a soft, medium, soft, hard, hard combination.
At the moment, my partner is sleeping on soft, medium, medium, hard, hard. He says it’s perfect for his shoulders but thinks it’s a little soft in the hip area when he is sleeping on his back. He starts feeling back pain. Again, he usually doesn’t have back pain.
I’m currently sleeping on soft, soft, hard, hard, hard. My shoulders are happy, but I feel like my hip area is sinking in too much. I feel a slight pressure on my left hip when I’m on my left side, and I get left hip pain when I’m on my right side.
I tried laying down on my hubby’s side, and that combination feels better for my hips, but I feel pressure in my shoulder.
- I got pictures of both sides using three different pillows, and I think a contoured memory foam pillow might be the winner. However, my alignment on both sides of the mattress looks the same. Is it possible that I’m imagining the sinking-in feeling on the slightly softer side?
What is the best layering combination recommended for both of us that we should try to stick with for the next 30 days? Should we both start with a soft, medium, hard, hard, hard combo?
Thank you.
Hi polmattress.
Thank you for the additional information you provided to help solve your sleep puzzle.
[quote] 1. Our old mattress was a Sealy Posturepedic Euro-top. When we first got it, it was super comfortable. I’d say it was a medium-firm mattress. The pillow top provided the right support, but it didn’t sink in. We both don’t like the sinking-in feel of memory foam. Although we had it for ten years, it stopped being comfortable about two years ago. It was no longer providing proper support, our hips started sinking in, and we could feel the springs.
[/quote]
You haven’t mentioned any of the Sealy Posturepedic specs, but even if you did, I doubt that we could have used them as a benchmark as there may have been too many changes over the course of one decade both for your body and for the mattress itself. In this case, knowing a bit more about your previous mattress can be helpful only if the mattress was in good shape and if you still found it comfortable (Which would be unlikely for a memory foam mattress that typically has lower density foams in its makeup).
Typically, in one decade, most people go through body shape and weight changes and it is very likely that if you slept now on a newly purchased, exact mattress you owned 10 years ago, you would find it uncomfortable. When you start off with a mattress that meets your needs … as time passes … the incremental body changes as we naturally age combined with the mattress aging and breaking down will lead to the body eventually not being able to adapt and compensate for all changes. Unfortunately, by that time if the mattress was not changed in due time some bad postures and habits became entrenched and habitual and the body will need to unlearn them before adapting to a more suitable sleeping surface.
This is especially the case with the gradual gaining of weight which will cause the body to sink into the mattress more and alter support/comfort balance up to a threshold when these changes become noticeable and people start to feel discomfort. If you are one of the lucky ones to be in tune with your body, you’ll get the signals much sooner and possibly avoid a crisis period with pains and sleepless nights.
Even though the foundation was recommended by the manufacturer, I’d suggest a “ground up” assessment to make sure that there is nothing under the mattress that may be causing the sleeping system to sag under the weight of the mattress and people sleeping on it. You can test if the foundation is contributing to the sag by putting your mattress on the floor to see if you notice any difference. If it does … then it’s quite possible that your support system could be part of the problem as well The foundation should have good center support to the floor. … the mattress needs to rest on an evenly supportive base that will not sag or weaken over time under the weight of the mattress and the people on it.
From what you describe … there may be an overlap of multiple causes. One of which could be that you are in a period of adjustment and unlearning some of the entrenched so I would give your body more time to readjust and find a new balance. I’d pick the configuration that feels most comfortable for you now (as long as you can still get some rest during the night) and give it a bit more time to see how your body reacts to it. I’d closely monitor and keep a log of what you experience during the course of each night. Sometimes things become worse before they become better.
This can be true for higher weights in combination with a thicker mattress The main benefit of a thicker latex mattress is that it can be more adaptable for heavier weights and multiple sleeping positions. It will compress from softer to firmer more gradually which means that there is more “range” of compression without the mattress becoming too firm for heavier weights (or parts of the body). A thicker mattress can also be part of a specific design that requires it such as some types of zoning or layering that needs more layers to accomplish the design goal of the mattress.
People that have much higher body weights or larger body types may choose more than the “average” thickness and may prefer the feel and extra adaptability of say 12" of latex. Thicker mattresses can also use firmer materials because thickness and softness are very related and work together. These would be good questions to ask the manufacturer or retailer you purchased your bed from so they can discuss the differences between the different options they have available in terms that are more specific to the layers they use or options they provide.
Thickness and softness work together and because thicker layers (or mattresses) can have a greater range of compression and are more “adaptable” … it’s also possible to use firmer top layers in a thicker mattress and still have good pressure relief because of the greater range of compression of the thicker mattress which can create a mattress with a firmer “surface feel” but that still provides good pressure relief and adapts well to the body contours.
I wish I could answer this question, but as you can see from my lengthy reply there far are too many interrelated variables for me to say what would work best for either of you. Theory at a distance unfortunately is a poor substitute for firsthand experience. It seems that you already tried all variations available with the layers you have. Now you can settle on the one that felt most comfortable from all and try to hold it for long enough to allow your body to catch up with the change.
Assuming that all your notes are for your side sleeping position, I summarized tehm below and added a few comments
• (10") 6F, 2M, 2S Backpain – Comment: going through the transition and comfort layers to the firmer layer below
• (10") 4F, 4 M, 2 S Hard – Comment: seems that you are experiencing pressure points?
• (10") 4F, 2 M, 4S too soft, good for the shoulder, but having back pain ~ Comment: seems to be a posture and alignment issue indicating not enough support
• (10") 4F, 2S, 2M, 2 S - At first seemed perfect, then feels too soft ended up with upper back pain ~
• (10") 4F, 2F, 2S, 2S "I’m currently sleeping on soft, soft, hard, hard, hard. "shoulders OK but hip pressure points ~ Comment: : this seems to indicate that you carry your weight in your hips and that you are bottoming out on the firmer layers below.
If none of the above constructions work I’d consider “borrowing” a layer from hubby’s side for a while and adding it to the mix.
You did not mention your hubby’s stats but as he is a prone sleeper he would do well with a firmer sleeping surface to avoid hyperextension and the swayback position that can cause lower back issues if the mattress is either too soft/thick comfort layer or too soft support layer.
Yes, this’s possible. Sometimes our internal sensors may play tricks on us and the best way to determine if that is the case is to keep monitoring, slightly changing positions and connect it with the theory and underlying concepts behind comfort, and have a look at post #4 for primary support, secondary support, and pressure relief and how they are related).
Let us know of your eventual decisions and additional questions as you move forward finetuning your system
Phoenix