The wife and I are needing a new mattress. We’ve always slept on a coil spring King and like it but it’s getting old and every movement is felt.
I’m 5’10 and 220lbs and she is 5’4 and 130lbs. We are mostly side and back sleepers. I sleep quite hot even in winter and in shorts and a t-shirt.
I’ve never owned a memory foam but have slept on them before. I think the Novosbed Med might be the bed for us. We’d also like an excellent quality, all around mattress protector and perhaps some new, cool sleep bedding. I’d spend up to $1500 or so, $2000 for everything.
While price is certainly important and part of your personal value equation, the proper first steps in shopping would be to learn about the componentry within a mattress.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site, so the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … 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 you’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 “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well he will sleep), durability (how long he 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 (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
You should always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
I can certainly help with “how” to choose, but it’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
When you’re closer to a high BMI range, it can present special challenges and generally requires firmer materials (in the support layers especially). This could be firmer latex or innersprings (the type of support component would be a personal preference and in the right design either could be suitable) or even a zoned construction. The same overall guidelines apply with slightly higher weights though that PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) along with using high quality durable materials that will maintain their feel and performance for longer periods of time are the way to make the best choices. People above 200 pounds in general might need firmer and thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers than those who are lighter and because no materials will last as long with much higher weights the quality and durability of the materials and components is even more important than normal. I wouldn’t “rule out” any types of mattress and base your choices on your own personal testing. Post #3 here has more information and suggestions about weights above 200 pounds that might be worth reading.
In very general terms … the materials, layers, and components of a sleeping system that are closer to your skin will have a bigger effect on airflow, moisture transport, and temperature regulation than materials, layers, and components that are further away from your skin and softer mattresses or foam toppers will tend to be more “insulating” and for some people can sleep warmer than firmer versions of the same material.
Also, gel and/or other thermal conductive or phase change materials can have “some effect” on the sleeping temperature of a particular material but how much of an effect they will have and how long the effect will last will depend on the specific formulation of the material and on the “combined effect” of all the other materials and components of the sleeping system including your sheets, mattress protector, and bedding. Many thermal conductive or phase change materials tend to have a more temporary effect when you first go to sleep at night or over the first part of the night than they will over the entire course of the night.
Regarding cooling memory foam claims, you can read more about phase change materials in post #9 here and at the end of post #4 here) and you can read more about the various different types of gel foams in post #2 here. In general terms gel foams will tend to have a temporary effect on temperature while you are first going to sleep until temperatures equalize but have less effect on temperature regulation throughout the course of the night.
Unfortunately, it’s not really possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials. There is much more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
You mentioned Novosbed, and they are a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency.
If you’re interested in other memory foam online options, you may wish to use the experience and expertise of the members listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices, and there are some good memory foam options on that list.
I’ll be interested in learning about your progress! I hope this information is helpful.
Awesome Phoenix ! Thank you for such a detailed and informative response.
I’ve read a ton of posts on here, and elsewhere, and have thoroughly armed my self with a vast amount of mattress knowledge.
I understand memory foam sleeps hotter than Latex. I’ve looked over the different latex options but haven’t been able to find the information on which bed sleeps the “coolest”? Is there such a thread I could peruse or could you offer a ‘top 3’ suggestion list I could look at to help narrow things down.
I’m open to anything and I don’t want to say cost isn’t an issue, but, it’s not the biggest factor for us fortunately. Here’s a check list we require:
King size
cool
medium to firm range
Anything else we are totally open for
Thank you again for your help…what a wonderful website.
I just ordered my first latex mattress, after doing a good deal of research on this site and others. I went with a bed by Dreamfoam that has an exchangeable comfort layer: Dream Foam - Dream Foam . I talked with them over the phone to get what will hopefully be the correct firmness level.
I think if I were to have spent a bit more as you’re alluding to, I would have tried something like Reverie https://reverie.com/ or Zenhaven https://www.zenhaven.com/ although I personally don’t see the benefit of having two firmness options like they have it in the same mattress, one on the flip side of each other. Since this is my first time buying online, however, I went with something easily customizable after purchase instead. Can’t speak to relative levels of coolness, however.
I apologize! I missed your reply, so please let me provide the information you were asking about.
You’re most certainly welcome.
I’m glad the information on this site has bene useful to you.
All foams are insulators (rather than heat conductors) so to some degree they will all be warmer than mattresses that contain no foam at all (such as mattresses that only have an innerspring and layers of natural fibers on top) but these tend to be premium or super premium mattresses and for the most part almost all mattresses have some type of foam in the comfort layers.
The three main types of foam are memory foam, polyfoam, and latex. Of these three … memory foam tends to be the most insulating and least breathable, followed by polyfoam, and latex is the most breathable. Talalay latex tends to be more breathable than Dunlop latex. There are also variations in each category and less dense foams tend to be more breathable than denser foams while firmer foams tend to allow less sinking in which can mean there is less insulating foam material against your body. So that would be the general rule as far as a single piece of foam goes.
Regarding the memory foam, you may have come across various cooling memory foam claims, and you can read more about phase change materials in post #9 here and at the end of post #4 here, and you can read more about the various different types of gel foams in post #2 here. In general terms gel foams will tend to have a temporary effect on temperature while you are first going to sleep until temperatures equalize but have less effect on temperature regulation throughout the course of the night.
With all of that being said, there are many other factors that will impact your overall sleeping temperature, including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is much more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
I know this information is a little late in arriving, but I hope it is still helpful to you.
