I have just changed to a new mattress (after learning a great deal from this forum). I have only had two nights on it, but have been sore both days. I think the mattress has enough support, so I am somewhat surprised.
However, I also think I remember reading that soreness for the first few days (or even week) after changing mattresses is normal, and to not “judge too quickly”. Can anyone provide any explanation as to if new-mattress-soreness is a thing? If it is, can it be explained?
Note, I sleep on lots of hotel mattresses in my business travels, and don’t usually have this soreness. Why I would have soreness at home and not at a hotel seems strange.
There will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the mattress loses any of it’s “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little and the materials settle and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This could typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress (higher density materials can take longer) and it can be surprising to some people how much their sleeping experience can change over the course of the first few weeks.
If you continue to have “symptoms” of soreness or discomfort after the first few weeks then it would be more likely that the mattress you chose isn’t a suitable “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences).
While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because they can be very complex and there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP or any “symptoms” they experience … 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 (at least to the degree that any symptoms are the result of a mattress and not the result of any pre existing issues or circumstances).
I did buy from a member of this site, and got a good solid consultation over two phone calls. I think I have a good mattress, and hope that this break-in period (for both the mattress and me) will be short lived. I’ll keep you posted.
If you purchased from one of the members of the site then you certainly made a good quality/value choice but of course even with the best guidance online the only way to know for certain whether any mattress is a good “match” for you in “real life” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on your own personal experience.
There is a period of retrogression with any new mattress, usually three weeks to three months, depending upon the research you read. I find most of my clients adjust within the first few weeks. You adjust to the mattress, and the mattress adjusts to you. The degree of adjustment also depends upon your old mattress and if your body was used to sleeping upon a product with poor alignment characteristics. Soreness can also be from surface comfort (the soreness that tends to go away quickly after getting up) versus alignment soreness (which tends to last longer throughout the day before it goes away). Give your new purchase some time to break in and for your body to adjust - hopefully you’ll feel better quickly.
