I am shopping for a new king mattress this weekend and could use some expertise as it’s a little overwhelming with all the information out there. I am 31, 200 lbs, mostly side sleeper and occasionally on my back, and my husband is 31, 190 lbs, mostly back sleeper and occasionally on his side.
We currently have a Purple mattress that my husband loves, but I have frequent back or shoulder pain when waking up in the morning. It is quite literally one of the worst mattresses I have ever had. We even got a replacement after having it for a couple years due to the sagging and after a year or so of getting the replacement my pain started again.
I was reading through the helpful posts here and believe my best option is a mattress that has softer/thicker comfort layers and firmer support layers. What mattress would you recommend for us? TIA for all your help!
Have you heard about Latex mattresses? Hands down the best mattress out there. I suggest you look around in your area for someone who might sell them just to get an idea of what they feel like. Take notes on what layering you like and get back to us for much better pricing than a retail store can offer. Here is an example - #1 Selling Latex Mattress- Adjustable Ultra Plush, Latex Mattresses-Talalay and Dunlop, All Products,
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Hi changan8, and welcome to the Mattress Underground!
It sounds like in many ways you are on the right track:
- You want to try mattresses in person (always a good idea)
- You are looking for firm support and a comfort layer that is softer - that seems to be
a winning combination for a lot of people, but of course, your results may vary
When trying out soft layers, you, as a side sleeper may need to be careful because if one part of you sinks deeper, then your spine is out of alignment and you end up with back pain. So a thick comfort layer may work, or it may cause you to be out of alignment, depends on the mattress. If possible, after laying on the mattress for 5 or 10 minutes have someone take a look to see how your spine is lining up, maybe even taking a picture so you can see how it is working.
You may also want a zoned mattress where the shoulders are softer than the hips which sometimes need more support. That may help with the shoulder pain.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience with the Purple. It is miserable to sleep(or not sleep) on a mattress that is not working for you.
A zoned latex with different firmness on each side may work well for your husband and you, so that you can each get your needs met. I linked to our sister company, Healthy Choice, but Obasan would work also. What size are you looking at and do you have a specific thickness in mind?
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Hi Changan8 and welcome to the forums! You might want to consider our natural or organic latex mattress, there are just TONS of benefits! The organic and natural mattresses (the Select Sleep mattresses) are our flagship products. They’re fully customizable, meaning you can order the mattress to be as soft or as firm as you’d like. They’re also fully adjustable, meaning you can change the softness, firmness, back support, pressure relief, etc. AFTER you get the mattress in your home. To be more specific, the 10” is our most popular, and these mattresses normally go out with three 3" layers of different firmnesses - normally the softest layer (or the cushion & contour layer) is on top and the supportive layers are on the bottom. This helps ensure our customers get the right balance of contour for their hips and shoulders but also support for their lower back. If you start with a certain setup and find that it’s too soft, you can unzip the cover and rearrange the layers to get a firmer feel out of the mattress, or you can exchange a layer to make it softer. Additionally, latex mattresses typically last 20 years. If, in 5 or 10 or 15 years you decide you want a softer or firmer mattress you would only have to buy a new layer instead of an entirely new mattress. Lastly, if the mattress starts to break down in 15 – 20 years, it’s normally the top layer that breaks down first, and at that point you can likely just buy a new top layer of latex instead of a whole new mattress and get an additional 8-10 years out of the mattress.
Furthermore, queen, king, and cal king mattresses are available with what we call “split layers,” which means you can have us cut the layers down the middle (from head to foot) so that you can have a different feel / firmness on your side versus your partner’s side, and you can adjust each side independently over the 20 year lifetime of the mattress. About 95% of our mattresses go out with all split layers from top to bottom, and we get zero complaints on being able to feel the split and we get zero complaints about the layers shifting or anything like that, even if you sleep right on the middle of the mattress.
If you’re wondering how to pick the layers for this mattress, you can go to the natural or organic mattress page, click the green button that says “Build Your Mattress Now,” then click the gray oval that says “Personalized,” and you’ll be able to enter your information. The website will then make a personalized recommendation based on your information (the layers in the mattress diagram will reflect the recommendation after you click the “Apply” button. Please note that our initial recommendations have a 90% success rate (we only have a 10% layer exchange rate) so there’s a 90% chance that the recommendation turns out to be your perfect setup!
Although it’s not likely that you’ll need to rearrange layers or exchange layers, you certainly have the option to adjust the mattress according to you and your partner’s specific needs and preferences, both in the short-term and long-term. We have a 90 day exchange and return period, so you can exchange a layer within the first 90 days for a flat-rate $30 fee for the first exchange and the full cost of shipping for any subsequent exchanges. We will ship your layers first, and we will ship them with extra plastic that you can use to package your current layers, and we will ship it with a pre-paid Fed Ex return label. Also, if you will please call us when you are ready to ship your layers back we will schedule a free Fed Ex pick up for you. You will have 30 days after its arrival to return a layer of your choosing, so you’ll have plenty of time to try a few different combinations with the layers you have and the layer we will be sending you so that you can get your comfort and support levels just right.
Just FYI, based on the information you’ve provided, we’d recommend the 10" organic latex mattress with medium Talalay for the top layer, medium Dunlop for the middle layer, and firm Dunlop for the bottom layer.
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