Hello to all fellow sleep-deprived people looking for the next step to a better sleep…
I have discovered this website while I was searching for a critical review of themattressexpert.com. I have corresponded with Pete and was about to buy a mattress from him when I decided it was a little ironic that almost every blog post he recommended the same mattress for a variety of situations. From my retail background, I knew it smelled a little too much like a tailored sales pitch than an objective insight into the mattress industry.
That being said, I am a little too short on sleep and time to do the thorough research it seems that a purchase like this requires. We lost our house (and all our mattresses) in a flood due to burst pipes in the winter storm in February. We were in a hotel for a month and have now moved to another house but are surviving on air mattresses and getting terrible sleep. We have three small children (3 years, 20 months, and 3 months) who keep us very busy. I know TMU encourages lots of reading to make an informed decision, but I simply don’t have the time or the energy to dedicate to learn all the material. It feels very overwhelming and almost like learning another language. I had no idea that selecting the surface where we spend a third of our time would take more time and effort than finding a new house! Add to that the fact that I already have analysis paralysis and take forever to decide on basic things, and so if I were to do this on my own it might take weeks or months, which means we are building more sleep debt in the meantime.
So, I come here in the hopes that someone can point me in the right direction, or at least narrow down the choices so we can more quickly pick a mattress that might fit our needs and get back to getting better sleep. (I’d even settle for someone cutting to brass tacks and giving me the buzz words I need to keep an ear out for (good or bad) while shopping around, since this industry seems prone to marketing techniques and other misleading word play.) I’m not convinced that Pete’s suggestion (Natura Greenspring Liberty with optional talalay topper) is necessarily the best fit for our situation. For one, it’s on the pricey side. From the reading I have done, it is possible to have a mattress that matches one’s needs and not break the bank. The price range that is most comfortable is $1000-$1500, but if it’s less that’s ok too.
The mattresses we have had in the past were Beautyrest Frances Plush and this one: https://www.ashleyfurniture.com/p/american_classic_memory_foam_hybrid_king_mattress/M82141.html . I tolerated the Beautyrest and absolutely hated the other one with a passion. I developed hip pain with my last pregnancy and the only way I could semi-comfortably sleep was propped up with several pillows and on the side of the bed. I have not been able to replicate even that comfort since. I currently use a knee pillow but lately that has been hyper-extending the knee on the opposite leg. I have not had a sleep study yet but I strongly suspect I have sleep apnea which isn’t helping anything. (I will get a sleep study after I have a good mattress to eliminate other issues.) My husband does have severe sleep apnea and sleeps with a CPAP. Neither of us is skinny…I have a BMI of 39 and my husband has a BMI of 29. We are both in our mid-30’s. We are both side-sleepers. Despite having a king-size bed, we are now looking for a queen size.
Pete advised strongly against memory foam due to its lack of durability and I suspect that that was one of the reasons I disliked the American Classic. He also hyped up latex as an alternative, but I found it interesting his favored Greenspring mattress was a hybrid and he seemed almost more excited about the tempered coils than the latex, which was only 3" anyway. I am leaning against memory foam, but more for the possibility of off-gassing and my own experience than what Pete said.
I have also eliminated Sleep Number because they no longer have low-tech options that can be operated separately from a cell phone. Pete said they are nothing more than a glorified air mattress with memory foam, and that we wouldn’t get better sleep than the air mattress we’re suffering with now. He said since we don’t like the sinking feeling of an air mattress, we would instead be looking for the floating feeling of latex.
With all that background info in mind, I also have some specific questions. Would an adjustable base be helpful or just a “nice-to-have” feature for lounging in bed?
I understand from a health perspective what we need is proper alignment of the spine during sleep to avoid pain and pressure points. Do tempered coils achieve that? Do other materials achieve that?
In addition to spinal alignment, we also need pillow help. My husband also suffers from migraines and we have been told by a chiropractor that misalignment of the neck causes that. So my thinking is that we also need to rethink pillows to keep the neck aligned, while the mattress keeps the spine straight. We currently have MyPillows, which IMHO do not live up to the hype. Pete said MyPillows are made of coarsely chopped polyurethane foam and suggested instead talalay down pillows. Does anyone have any insight into quality pillows that help side-sleepers keep neck alignment?
Finally, we have two toddlers who are transitioning out of toddler beds/cribs. Our three-year-old son is a restless sleeper and it frequently affects his behavior, and our 20-month-old daughter seems like she does not get good quality sleep either. I never thought about mattress quality for kids, but it makes sense. Sleep is so important to overall health and I want to give them a good start in life. We have acquired polyurethane twin-size mattresses for them but I’m not convinced they are helping their needs.
I read this to my husband and he said I was writing a book. I apologize if it comes across that way, but I really had no idea this process of choosing a mattress would be so complicated and I don’t want to experience buyer’s remorse night after night like we did the last mattress. I really do appreciate any advice and insight into finding the right mattress for our needs. Thank you for anyone taking the time to chime in and help us get to a better night’s sleep that much sooner!
! Thanks for your question.
) . While you lack time for deep-dive research, you will still need some basics to be successful while researching your new mattress purchase. We will be happy to offer some shortcuts when possible but ultimately, only you can “feel” what you feel on a mattress, so there will be some occasional/ unavoidable homework assignments.