Hi Midniterider,
When you buy a suit that doesn’t fit it’s not necessarily because there is too much fabric in the suit or because you are too big because another suit that has the same amount of fabric but has a different cut and shape may fit you perfectly.
In the same way … when you don’t sleep well on a mattress then it just means that the design of the mattress isn’t a good “fit” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) and it’s certainly possible that another mattress that uses the same amount of polyfoam but has a different design or a different firmness level in the foam layers may “fit” you perfectly.
While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because there are too many unique unknowns and variables involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of 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.
There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.
These posts are the “tools” that can help with the analysis, detective work, or trial and error that may be necessary to help you learn your body’s language and “translate” what your body is trying to tell you so you can identify the types of changes that have the best chance of reducing or eliminating any “symptoms” you are experiencing (at least to the degree that any symptoms are from your mattress rather than the result of any pre-existing issues you may have that aren’t connected to a mattress).
Having said that … you can “bypass” the more technical analysis by carefully testing a different mattress (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to check that it keeps your spine and joints in neutral alignment and provides “just enough” pressure relief in all your sleeping positions when you are fully relaxed on the mattress. I would keep in mind that support/alignment, pressure relief, and the overall “feel” of a mattress are all different parts of choosing which mattress is the most suitable for you and I would make sure that you don’t choose a mattress based on subjective “comfort” or the “showroom feel” of a mattress alone. If you are choosing between two mattresses that both seem to provide good support/alignment and pressure relief in all your sleeping positions and there seems to be little difference between them then I would err on the side of choosing the one that was slightly firmer because you can always add a topper to a mattress that is too firm to provide some additional softness and pressure relief but it’s much more difficult to “fix” a mattress that is too soft because it would normally require removing and replacing comfort layers that are too thick and/or soft or a support core that is too soft.
[quote]After 3 months I certainly notice a bit of indentation but that’s no big deal. It’s the stiffness and soreness that had me wondering if I bought the right model.
So now I’m wondering if maybe the luxury firm is the way to go. Maybe less polyfoam is better?[/quote]
Unfortunately I can’t feel what you feel or see you sleeping on the mattress but if I had to guess I would guess that your mattress is most likely too soft for you and the heavier parts of your body are probably sinking down too far into your mattress which can put your spine and joints out of their neutral alignment over extended periods of time which in turn can lead to lower back pain and/or stiffness.
When you are in a higher weight range then foam layers will feel and “act” softer for you than they would for those that are in lighter weight ranges because you will sink into them more deeply than those that are in lighter weight ranges and the heavier parts of your body (such as your hips and pelvis) can sink down too far before they are “stopped” by the firmer innerspring so it’s very possible that you may need thinner foam layers in your mattress to help “stop” the heavier parts of your body from sinking down as much and sleeping out of alignment. There would also be thinner layers of softer foam on the bottom of your two sided mattress which can also help to “firm up” the support of your mattress.
Of course the only way to confirm this would be based on your own actual experience but it would make sense to choose a mattress that had either firmer transition and comfort layers or thinner foam layers on each side of the innerspring to help firm up the support of the mattress and help keep you in better alignment over the course of the night.
Phoenix