Hey there Joshua,
Welcome to the Mattress UnderGround and your first post as a new MUGster. We are happy you are here.
John has made some solid suggestions for local trial. Trying several updated mattresses is a good way to get some sense of what direction your preferences lead you.
It appears like you’ve had great success with your previous latex hybrid. You seem to have a good understanding of your preferences and needs. Given your height, weight, and sleeping style, finding a mattress that provides adequate support and pressure relief is crucial for improving your sleep quality and alleviating your hip and mid-back pain.
As a former athlete myself, I can sympathize with the aches and pains that come with years of beating up on the body, even though when we were young, it seemed like we were invincible. Years of playing baseball to beyond the college level certainly took its toll.
I guess now your body is looking for that “check” that years of past physical activity on your body has come to “cash” now that the physical activity is probably not as demanding as it once was .
Over time, the strain and stress from years of activity can accumulate, leading to changes in comfort and mobility. It’s important to acknowledge these changes and take proactive steps to support your body’s needs, whether through adjustments in lifestyle, prioritizing rest, or investing in products like a supportive mattress.
Considering your success with a latex/ hybrid mattress and your preference for sleeping cool, I’d recommend staying the course with that genre of sleep system.
The Thuma wood frames tend to be extremely well built and long lasting, unless you have noticed some abnormality with it, you might be just as happy keeping it, unless you feel it is time for a new look or design for aesthetic reasons.
Here are a few key points to consider when selecting a mattress, that no doubt are familiar with:
- Support: Given your weight and tendency to toss and turn, a mattress with a strong support core is essential to prevent sagging and maintain spinal alignment. Look for mattresses with high-density foam or pocketed coils for robust support.
- Comfort: Opt for a mattress with a thicker latex comfort layer to provide ample cushioning and pressure relief, especially for your hips and shoulders as a side sleeper. A medium to medium-firm comfort level should offer a good balance of support and plushness.
- Temperature Regulation: Since you sleep hot, choose a mattress with breathable materials. Latex naturally sleeps cooler than memory foam, but you can also look for features like microcoils (in place of foams) or breathable cover fabrics to enhance airflow.
- Durability: Given your desire for long-term value, prioritize mattresses with high-quality materials and construction. Latex and durable support cores like pocketed coils tend to offer excellent longevity.
- Customization: Since you are not opposed to the DIY approach, assembling your mattress allows for greater customization and flexibility. You can adjust the firmness and thickness of each layer to suit your preferences and potentially replace individual layers over time as needed.
I always caution when attempting to create a DIY. There are nuances that need to be considered when DIY. Quality manufacturers engineer their mattresses to create a specific targeted result for the intended sleeper. Although you can save on the costs, and have some flexibility with layering, you would be best working in collaboration with TM’s such as @Arizona_Premium; @Sleep_EZ; @TPS (in combination with someone like @Latex_Mattress_Fact1 ) as these folks are excellent and excel in DIY building.
Fortunately the variety of customized pre-constructed has made it easier to design a mattress based off of a quality, thought out and thoughtfully engineered design.
For example @DLX has expanded their already successful Premier Hybrid line to include a customizable, split comfort and swappable latex comfort layer available in 4 firmness options and a 3" 4lb memoryfoam option.
@EngineeredSleep offers designs, such as their Duo Hybrid line, where you can flip the core layer of the mattress on the fly in you home to adjust the feel of the entire mattress system, with customizable comfort layers to pinpoint sleeping preferences.
I am not a big advocate on zoning, unless your body profile and comfort needs call for that style of layering.
Keep in mind that is not only your mattress that can affect your temperature regulation when you sleep, even in southern California. 100% Cotton sheets are my go to, although there are some newer material combinations that claim to keep you from heating up when you sleep, but my preferences lean toward natural fibers, cotton, linen, silk and so on.
I know there is a lot to take in here. My suspicions are that the impact of past athletic activities is the main source of your current aches and pains. Years of physical strain and repetitive movements can certainly contribute to wear and tear on the body, potentially leading to discomfort and reduced mobility over time.
Hopefully, this will give you some food for thought, with a couple of suggestions thrown in the mix.
We are always here to help and our TMs are the best in the business.
Maverick