New Alexander Hybrid Mattress from Nest Bedding

I did as was suggested at the Nest Bedding store & removed my mattress pad & replaced it with a Luna mattress protector, which I found suggested in the forums here. I believe this has made somewhat of a difference with the softness issue, though I still find some neck & shoulder issues upon awakening. However, in fairness to Nest, this could be a pillow issue as I recently switched to a memory foam issue. However, Iā€™m still on the fence regarding the hybrid & still bothered by the welting issue which although cosmetic bothers me.

Abbygrant, from my visit to the store, the signature as well as their Love mattress were definitely firmer than the hybrid, though I did find the hybrid the most comfortable out of the three. The edge support on the hybrid still seems the best. I see you too tried the BBB ME like zexpress, do you think if you had ordered a medium firmness, your experience would have been better? Iā€™m considering that as an alternative to the hybrid.

[quote=ā€œLoiroiā€ post=61327]I did as was suggested at the Nest Bedding store & removed my mattress pad & replaced it with a Luna mattress protector, which I found suggested in the forums here. I believe this has made somewhat of a difference with the softness issue, though I still find some neck & shoulder issues upon awakening. However, in fairness to Nest, this could be a pillow issue as I recently switched to a memory foam issue. However, Iā€™m still on the fence regarding the hybrid & still bothered by the welting issue which although cosmetic bothers me.

Abbygrant, from my visit to the store, the signature as well as their Love mattress were definitely firmer than the hybrid, though I did find the hybrid the most comfortable out of the three. The edge support on the hybrid still seems the best. I see you too tried the BBB ME like zexpress, do you think if you had ordered a medium firmness, your experience would have been better? Iā€™m considering that as an alternative to the hybrid.[/quote]

I ordered the BBBME soft. I did an online chat with their customer support and explained that I wanted something similar to my TempurCloud. They suggested the soft would be most similar, but in reality it was much softer. I tried it for over 30 days and woke up repeatedly with my arms asleep and numb. I thought that firmness caused this, but now I realize that this was too soft. In hindsight and after reviewing info on this website I decided that the BBBME medium may have worked for me, But I donā€™t want to try one since I used my trial for the soft. This is just my experience, so others could be different.

Thanks for your insight, Abbygrant. I had initially called BBME & they had suggested a medium based on my sleep preference, as a side sleeper who sleeps close to the edge. But because there seemed to be edge support complaints, I went with the hybrid instead. I still feel thatā€™s the best thing about the hybrid, but still wondering if something else would suit me better.

Amoney805, how are you liking the Alexander Hybrid now?

Zexpress, How doe the Alexander Hybrid compare to the BBBME soft, other than better edge support? I read some more reviews of the Alexander Signature and Alexander Hybrid and Iā€™m finding a lot of very positive comments on the Hybrid.

Hi abbygrant,

This topic is starting to drift off topic but I thought Iā€™d make a few comments about some of your more recent posts.

While itā€™s not possible to ā€œdiagnoseā€ mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of ā€œcomfortā€ and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) or any ā€œsymptomsā€ they experience ā€¦ there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here that may be helpful.

Itā€™s certainly possible that your shoulder issues could be related to your pillow as well and there are some specific comments in the post I linked about shoulder issues.

There may be a fine line for some people that are closer to the ā€œprincess and the peaā€ than the ā€œI can sleep on anythingā€ end of the range but for others there may be a much wider range of mattresses and firmness ranges that would work well for them. Each person is different.

I would also keep in mind that there are no ā€œstandardā€ definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like ā€œmediumā€ for someone else or even ā€œsoftā€ for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they ā€œrateā€ a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.

While other peopleā€™s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful ā€¦ I would also keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about about using other peopleā€™s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful. A mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (even if they are in a similar weight range). In other words ā€¦ reviews in general wonā€™t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or ā€œvalueā€ of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here).

Latex and memory foam are very different materials with very different properties. There is more about the differences between them in post #2 here but comparing the firmness or ā€œfeelā€ of a latex mattress to a memory foam mattress can be something like trying to decide which type of apple is closest to an orange because they will all be different from each other. Again ā€¦ different people can also have very different opinions about how two mattresses compare because firmness/softness is always relative to the person and there are different ā€œtypesā€ of softness that different people may be sensitive to.

If the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme worked well for you then it would probably make sense to look at mattresses that were similar to the Cloud Supreme rather than looking at other types of mattresses with different combinations of foam materials. The Alexander Select medium would be one of several online mattresses that are described as being similar to the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme that would be well worth considering.

There is no such thing as a mattress that is ā€œgood for athletesā€ ā€¦ only a mattress that is good for a specific person (regardless of whether they are an athlete or not). Celiant does have some testing that indicates that it can help with rest and recovery but the specifics of a cover are much less important than whether a mattress ā€œas a wholeā€ is a good ā€œmatchā€ for you in terms of ā€œcomfortā€, firmness, and PPP and I would put a much greater emphasis on the other materials in a mattress than I would on the cover.

Phoenix

Hi zexpress,

The edge support in your BME was probably related more to the firmness level you chose (soft) than to the mattress itself.

Most foam mattresses donā€™t have or even really need side support if they have a support core that is firm enough and the comfort layers arenā€™t too thick and/or soft for the person sleeping on it. Having said that ā€¦ there are exceptions to every rule and there is more information about edge support and foam mattresses in post #3 here and in post #33 here. With a foam mattress that is a suitable firmness level relative to the person sleeping on it (both in the support core and the comfort layers) then it normally wouldnā€™t be a significant issue for most people unless you often sleep or sit with most of your weight concentrated on the very outside edge of the mattress although the outside edges of a foam mattress would generally be softer than an innerspring mattress that has a specific edge support system.

The only way to know for certain whether the edges of a foam mattress will be suitable for your specific body type and sleeping style or your preferences will be based on testing the mattress in person (or a mattress that is fairly similar) before a purchase or by actually sleeping on it (if you canā€™t test it in person before a purchase) and of course if you are uncertain whether you are one of the few that may ā€œneedā€ or prefer firmer edge support then a good return/exchange policy may be a more important part of your personal value equation just in case the edges arenā€™t firm enough for you (regardless of whether they are firm enough for anyone else).

Phoenix

The hybrid has much better support than the soft BBME which makes sense. They have very different feels though and would have a hard time comparing them since the latex vs memory foam make it a hard comparison. I will say the hybrid doesnā€™t feel anything like a traditional memory foam mattress so if you liked the feel of a tempurpedic youā€™re not going to get that with the hybrid. You might want to consider the NovosBed. It is another memory foam mattress and they have different comfort levels including the ability to soften or firm the mattress after you receive it to make it more comfortable.

Hi
I am interested in your post you wrote that you were waking up w arms falling asleep . That has been happening to me almost every night since I got my Satvaa luxury firm mattress ! Crazy ! Has happened like 2x in my life and now every night for past 2 weeks ! The Satvaa guy online told me usually happens from too firm , but you said & I agree I think too soft. Mine is not too firm and pillow top makes it soft as well. How did You find it its happens due to a too soft mattress ? Iā€™ve been hunting all over Internet for a cause before I return a little afraid to get their firm one but may have to try ! Any help would be so appreciated!
Thank you

[quote=ā€œMeri831ā€ post=61350]Hi
I am interested in your post you wrote that you were waking up w arms falling asleep . That has been happening to me almost every night since I got my Satvaa luxury firm mattress ! Crazy ! Has happened like 2x in my life and now every night for past 2 weeks ! The Satvaa guy online told me usually happens from too firm , but you said & I agree I think too soft. Mine is not too firm and pillow top makes it soft as well. How did You find it its happens due to a too soft mattress ? Iā€™ve been hunting all over Internet for a cause before I return a little afraid to get their firm one but may have to try ! Any help would be so appreciated!
Thank you[/quote]

I have had this issue a lot when the mattress it too firm, never when its too soft. This happens to me a lot at hotels with really firm mattresses and I get around it by sleeping in a side/stomach position with a pillow sorta propping me up a bit. Definitely have not experienced it on the BBBME or Hybrid. For me when a mattress is too soft I have pain in my lower back.

Now of course everyone is different in weight and body type so of course I imagine its possible for someone to have this happen for other reasons but in my experience it has always been the reverse.

Abby based on what you have described in terms of the mattresses youā€™ve liked and not liked you probably just donā€™t like the feel of latex and want something more like the Tempurpedic kinda feel which is unlike most of the mattress in a box mattresses. The Hybrid is going to sleep a lot more like a regular mattress then a memory foam one, at least based on my experience over the past month. I would definitely say check out NovosBed. Apparently they are a member of this site and while theirs is a mattress in a box like the others they give you the ability to adjust the firmness after the fact with a zip on topper. This way you can get a medium and if end up wanting it softer they will send you a free topper that you can then zip on to soften the top layer.

Hi Meri831,

As zexpress and ā€œthe Saatva guyā€ mentioned ā€¦ the most common reason would be a mattress that is too firm but itā€™s certainly not the only reason for the ā€œsymptomsā€ you are describing because it can also be a result of your sleeping position and it could also be a pillow issue as well.

Did you read the comments at the beginning of this post (and the post it linked to about mattress "symptoms)?

There is more information about Saatva mattresses along with some of the other simplified choice online mattresses in post #2 here and in post #1 here and the rest of the topic and a forum search on Saatva (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments and feedback about them as well.

While itā€™s not possible to predict how any mattress will feel for someone else with any certainty because there are too many unknowns, variables, and individual preferences involved ā€¦ there are certainly other ā€œsimplified choiceā€ mattresses that use better quality and more durable materials and I would also be cautious about buying any mattress based on the ā€œmarketing informationā€ that is on their website.

If you are looking at online options then outside of the simplified choice list the mattress shopping tutorial also includes several links to lists of many of the better online options Iā€™m aware of (in the optional online step) that include many different types and categories of mattresses in a wide range of budgets and firmness levels that would be well worth considering.

Phoenix

ADMIN NOTE: This was originally a reply to this post but was split into itā€™s own topic because it was outside the scope of the original topic it was posted in.

[quote=ā€œMeri831ā€ post=61350]Hi
I am interested in your post you wrote that you were waking up w arms falling asleep . That has been happening to me almost every night since I got my Satvaa luxury firm mattress ! Crazy ! Has happened like 2x in my life and now every night for past 2 weeks ! The Satvaa guy online told me usually happens from too firm , but you said & I agree I think too soft. Mine is not too firm and pillow top makes it soft as well. How did You find it its happens due to a too soft mattress ? Iā€™ve been hunting all over Internet for a cause before I return a little afraid to get their firm one but may have to try ! Any help would be so appreciated!
Thank you[/quote]

Like Phoenix and Zexpress said, everyone is different. When I sleep on an innerspring mattress (like visiting my Mom or sleeping in an hotel) , I always wake up with aching shoulders and upper back. It feels like my shoulders are being pressed together by a giant vise-grip. But my arms almost never went to sleep and became numb on those mattresses, and they are not falling asleep now on the Bear mattress. I donā€™t know why. I believe that those mattresses are too firm for me and are causing the shoulder aches and pains but for whatever reason my arms donā€™t fall asleep. I do sleep on my side and sleep with my arms around a latex foam pillow and keep another pillow between my knees. I had to learn to sleep like this when I had a herniated disc in my neck. I slept on a water pillow for years, but recently switched to a Nest Bedding Easy Breather pillow. This Nest pillow seems to be working well for me so I donā€™t think my pillow is the problem. I switched from the water pillow because it was really heavy, itā€™s hard to get the right amount of water in it, and I was always worried that it may leak water onto my foam bed and ruin itā€¦

I tried 2 very soft mattresses and woke up several times during the night with my arms asleep and numb. It was not the same as my painful achy shoulders from the firm mattresses. So I came to the conclusion that something about the soft mattresses was causing this, but I wasnā€™t sure why. I thought that it was something about me that did not work with a soft ,mattress.

I was strongly considering an Alexander Signature because they claim to be very similar to the TempurCloud Supreme, which was my old bed and I loved it. But I stumbled on the Novosbed and ended up ordering one of those today. Many online reviews said it was dense memory foam most similar to Tempurpedic. I did a lengthy online chat with Gaille at Novosbed, and she said that perhaps the arms falling asleep and numbness on the soft beds were caused by my shoulders sinking right through the soft top layer and resting on the firmer support layer, which must be too firm for me. Perhaps this is correct.

Anyway, I am very anxious to get my new Novosbed. I will sadly return the Bear. (Sadly because I wanted to love it,) Until I get my Novosbed I will sleep in the guest room on my old TempurCloud Supreme. My husband gets the master bedroom with the TV all to himself for a few days. :slight_smile:

Congrats on the new purchase eager to hear how it works out for youā€¦ It definitely sounds like from what you have liked in the past that this might be more along the lines of what you are wanting. I am now 30 days in with my Hyrbrid so will probably make a decision on what to try next relatively soon. I have always enjoyed the feel of memory foam mattresses but as a hot sleeper I have always been cautious. Looking forward to your opinions. Which model did you go with? The medium?

Iā€™m still enjoying it, although I recently added a mattress protector and it made the mattresses noticibly firmer. Prior to that it was a medium soft. Now id say itā€™s firmness is medium.

Thank u so much for getting back to me. I certainly donā€™t remember when I was younger that buying a mattress was such a huge production !
I am going to look at the links u told me about. I am mostly a stomach sleeper and I weigh 102 lbs. I had a v flat pillow almost my whole life (same pillow since I had my son who is 30! Now and last year I bought an ā€œIndulgence Isotonicā€ and I love it was v surprised. I seem to be the princess and the pea with mattress , but will continue my search. Thanks again

Hi
Thanks for your reply. What is a BBBME? I donā€™t want a foam bed. Butā€¦My sister did just get a sleep number bed and she loves it. I slept over her house recently while she was away and told her I loved her bed , but I donā€™t need such a fancy $$$$ one , and my husband passed away so the number thing is a waste for me. Is the sleep number a foam bed ? I donā€™t really know. I did sleep great on it though.
Iā€™m just going to have to pay attention before my trial time is up to my arms falling asleep. Itā€™s just the weirdest thing .

Hi abbygrant,

Congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

The Novosbed medium is one of several mattresses in the memory foam list that ā€œapproximatesā€ the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme and you certainly made a great quality/value choice. I hope that it turns out better for you than the other mattresses that youā€™ve tried.

Iā€™m looking forward to your comments and feedback once youā€™ve received it and have had the chance to sleep on it for a bit.

Phoenix

Hi Meri831,

It means Brooklyn Bedding BestMattressEver which is one of the simplified choice mattresses that are in the list I linked in my last reply. Itā€™s a latex/polyfoam hybrid.

ā€œFoamā€ is just a generic name that means a material with air bubbles inside it. It can refer to different types of materials. There are three main types of foam (memory foam, polyfoam, and latex foam) that are all different from each other and most mattresses in the industry contain some foam layers. Your Saatva mattress for example includes some memory foam and some polyfoam layers.

Assuming that the materials in a mattress you are considering are durable enough for your body type and meet the quality/durability guidelines here relative to your weight range ā€¦ the choice between different types and combinations of materials and components or different types of mattresses are more of a preference and a budget choice than a ā€œbetter/worseā€ choice (see this article).

Sleep Number is an airbed that uses an air bladder as a support core on the bottom and then has different types and combinations of foam layers (polyfoam or memory foam) on top of the air bladder depending on the specific model.

You can see my thoughts about airbeds in general this article. While any mattress can be a good match for a specific person because each personā€™s needs and preferences or the criteria that are most important to them can be very different ā€¦ in general terms I would tend to avoid them unless there is a very compelling reason that an airbed would be a better choice for you in ā€œreal lifeā€ (outside of the many ā€œmarketing storiesā€ that you will hear about them) than the many other options or types of mattresses that are available to you.

If you are committed to an airbed and you are convinced that there are no other types of mattresses that will meet your criteria then there are some other airbed options that are listed in post #3 here that may be much better quality/value choices than Sleep Number/Select Comfort.

The best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial which I linked in my last reply which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice ā€¦ and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure youā€™ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best ā€œmatchā€ for you in terms of ā€œcomfortā€ and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesnā€™t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the ā€œvalueā€ of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

If you would also like to include some local options in your research that you can try in person before a purchase then if you let me know your city or zip code Iā€™d be happy to let you know about the better options or possibilities Iā€™m aware of in your area.

Phoenix

I just donā€™t understand. I thought I was adjusting to the hybrid, plus the mattress protector seemed to make a difference. But last night was the worst & actually painful. I swapped pillows because my neck & shoulders were bothering me so much. Then the old issue of being too soft & not supportive enough around the hips occurred as well. I have to say Iā€™m disappointed at this point, I really thought my issues were abating, but apparently not.

Hi Loiroi,

I would be a little cautious about paying too much attention to a single nightā€™s experience which can be an anomaly and pay more attention to ā€œpatternsā€ instead. Everyone can sleep poorly sometimes on a mattress that they normally sleep well on for many reasons.

Having said that ā€¦ if there is a clear pattern that you arenā€™t sleeping well and your experience is consistent and things donā€™t seem to be improving over time then the reasons why you arenā€™t sleeping well on a mattress arenā€™t as important as the fact itself. The goal of the trial period is so that you can try a mattress in your bedroom instead of a showroom to find out how well you sleep on a mattress and if it becomes clear that a mattress isnā€™t a ā€œgood enoughā€ match for you in terms of PPP then you can just exchange or donate/return it. Each person is unique and a mattress that is ā€œperfectā€ for one person may not be suitable for someone else to sleep on and the only way to really know for certain is based on your own personal experience.

Phoenix