Ottawa Mattress Help

[phoenix]

Hi abrandt.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum! Thank you for your kind words.

First, a bit about myself - I am a 5’8" female weighing ~135lbs. I sleep with my husband who is 5’10" and ~170lbs. I am mainly a side sleeper but also go on my back. My husband is a back sleeper. We often have our two large dogs on our bed with us

Assuming that you read the first The mattress shopping tutorial here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines including suggestions about how to test a mattresses for what I call PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can simplify your search and help you make the best possible choices, a good starting point for your initial research would be to find the perfect combination pressure relief and support needed for all side and back sleeping positions for both human partners and two dogs,:lol:

There’s some good information about sleeping style, preferences, and statistics along withputting the layers together and the page on tips and tricks here ) that can give you some general concepts, guidelines, and insights about the effects of different body types, sleeping styles, and mattress designs for different people and you would need to adapt them to your particular body type, sleeping positions, and circumstances. (May be more complex than you really need to know.)

I did some mattress research and I learnt (just as your mattress forum says) that the mattresses at big box stores like Serta + Sealy are not high value.

You are correct in being cautious when considering products from major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta as they all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors. The materials in their products will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here. along with post #3 here. and post #12 here. and post #404 here.).

So, we turned to the online mattress world. After reading about various options we decided to order The Leesa. We chose this because we thought memory foam would be a good option for us, it fit our budget, they had a great return policy and trial period, and they got good reviews online from what we found.

Leesa specifications are as it follows:
Comfort Layers:
2" 3.65 lb Avena polyfoam (20-26 IFD),
2" 3lb Memory foam (9 IFD)
Support Layers:
6" Polyfoam 1.8 lb density (32-38 IFD)

The 2" of 3 lb memory foam is a potential weak link in this mattress.
You can read more about Leesa in post #2 here. The 2" of 3.75 lb high performance “latex like” Avena polyfoam is good quality, but I would be cautious because of the 2" of 3 lb memory foam in the comfort layers which could be a weak link in the mattress in terms of durability.

After sleeping on it for just over 2 months I find it uncomfortable on my side - it presses against my hip causing discomfort. It’s not overly comfortable on my back although I can’t pin-point why exactly. I also find myself waking up feeling stiff, and sometimes I have mild lower back pain. Is there something about this mattress that could be the reason for this?

There is some information about the many different symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most common causes behind them in [url= https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/futons-looking-at-otis]post #2 here[/url] that may be helpful but the most common reason for lower back pain is a mattress that has comfort layers that are too thick/soft or a support core that is too soft. Pressing against the hip could be an issue of sinking in too deeply and concentrating weight on one specific area (comfort/transition layers that are too soft) or also could be an issue with a mattress that is too hard. I suspect that this is not the case with Leesa, but I cannot pinpoint exactly how this may have applied to your particular circumstance as I cannot feel what you feel on a mattress nor can I diagnose this in a discussion on the forum because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances.

We have recently moved to Ottawa so the options for local mattress companies is greater. I saw a previous post where you listed good options including Hardy Mattress, Obasan, and Matelas Lapensee. Do you have any addition comments or tips to provide regarding these mattress options?

Subject to making sure that any mattress you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here a search on our forum Ottawa key term here will show some listings and suggestions I used to offer for this area, however I have decided to discontinue the provision of such listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved site members), because of the difficulty in maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly the confusion it was creating with the consumer members who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had indeed gone through the strict qualification process and were approved as members of The Mattress Underground. Such an assumption is unfair to both the consumers seeking assistance, as well as the very businesses and manufacturers who have indeed qualified to be members here of The Mattress Underground.

Below are some of the best options that I know of that ship across Canada and are trusted members our site

Memory Foam ComfortCustomizable after purchase options + Free shipping in CA has their Presto Classic line that may work for your budget range

The Mattress & Sleep Company Free delivery in CA have the Milly foam Mattress line that also fits your budget.

halstead.ca in Calgary (call to order)

There are also US site Members with Memory Foam mattresses shipping to Canada which you may wish to consider.

There are also US site Members with Memory Foam mattresses shipping to Canada which you may wish to consider.

Addable Has a good “simplified choice” mattress. They use good quality materials with 2" of 4 lb gel memory foam on top of a 2" transition layer of 1.8 lb polyfoam on top of a highly resilient 2.0 lb base layer. (Ships to Canada as well)
Bedmasters makes the 2 sided memory foam mattresses such as The Journey and the Genesis Cool. (Ships to Canada)
Beloit Mattress Company (Ships to Canada)

Aside from that, I would always confirm that any retailer or manufacturer that you wish to visit is completely transparent (see this article) and also make sure that any mattress that you are considering meets the quality/value guidelines here. If you have any questions about specifications or certain products, feel free to post back on the forum and I’ll do my best to provide answers.

Based on the information provided about our sleep situation, and our experience with the Leesa mattress can you offer any advice about selecting a new mattress?

While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, 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.

I suggest that you start by reading the [url= https://forum.mattressunderground.com/t/how-to-look-for-and-find-the-best-mattress-for-you-read-first]mattress shopping tutorial here[/url] and perhaps contact a good online retailer or manufacturer who can make suggestions that they honestly believe have the best chance of success based on the information you provide them when you talk to them on the phone because this is in both your own and their best interests but again … at the end of the day the only way to know for certain whether any specific mattress is a good match for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on your own careful testing and/or your own personal experience so if you can’t test a specific mattress in person then the options you have available after a purchase to either exchange the mattress or individual layers or components or return the mattress for a refund (and any costs involved) would generally become a more important part of your personal value equation just in case a mattress you purchase doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for.

If you are looking at anything in particular and have more specific questions, please feel free to post the actual specification of the mattress you are considering and I’ll do my best to comment upon them.

Phoenix.