I will be starting as a resident physician in a few weeks and am purchasing my first mattress. I don’t think I have the resources for a top mattress, so I wanted to ask what decent, affordable options there were. It would need to be shippable since I am moving. A few considerations for myself would be that I sleep hot and I occasionally have shoulder/neck pain. So far I’ve found the Allswell Luxe Hybrid Mattress. It comes in a box, has received good reviews and is affordable. I appreciate any advice!
Hi Hyacinthos, Welcome to The Mattress Underground 
Glad to have you here.
First, congratulations on your Residency! As you’ll likely have some long days ahead of you, finding the correct mattress is important. Your ideal mattress is unique to you and is based on your stats (height, BMI, sleeping position(s), and any underlying health conditions,), and your PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). As this is your first mattress; you might want to take a look at themattress shopping tutorialto get an idea of what to look for, and also the mattress specifications you need to know, as well as themattress durability guidelines hereto get an idea of how different types of mattress components will last.
I took a look at the (12") Allswell Luxe Hybrid on their site, and while its’ very inexpensive, remember you ‘get what you pay for’. The bed-in-a-box companies, like other large retailers, are generally not very transparent on their materials or the details of their beds. This mattress has 2 inches of memory foam of unknown composition and density, and 1 inch of HD gel foam, also of unknown properties. I would caution that more than an inch or so of inexpensive memory foam of under 4lbs/cuft and polyurethane foam of less 1.8lbs/cuft will prematurely ‘break down’ which can cause alignment issues and pain (you can see some comments regarding this inpost #7 here)as you say you have neck and shoulder pain occasionally.
Since you ‘sleep hot’ you may want to consider a mattress with a more breathable top layer to get better air circulation and keep perspiration away from your body. While Memory foam is good for minimizing motions transfer, it is generally the least breathable and most insulating of the foam comfort materials, so temperature can be an issue. Especially if you like a soft comfort level then you’d want to make sure that you don’t choose something with too much memory foam on top that you sink in too deeply as the more you sink into it the more will sleep hot. The layers and materials closer to your body will have the most effect on how hot you sleep on any mattress.
It’s difficult to address the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person because there are too many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use. Memory foam in the comfort layers and how deep of a cradle this forms around your body would be the main offenders when it comes to sleeping hot. A bit of research on materials like latex, wool, and natural fibers can go a long way You can read more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
Some consumers use a mattress topper made with natural fibers or latex to help with this temperature regulation as well.
I would not make a purchase based on other people’s reviews. While people’s experiences are good indicators of how a company operates and its customer service, reviews won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here ). I would avoid considering reviews as any sort of a reliable indicator of the appropriateness of any particular product for one’s specific needs. Reviews are also incentivized and given shortly after purchase by consumers who are almost exclusively unqualified to render an educated opinion about the product they have purchased.
You may be lucky and Allswell may be comfortable for you to begin with, but be aware that lower density memory and polyfoams will start breaking down you may end up replacing it within a few years or even months. As I like to remind consumers: ‘caveat Emptor’, let the buyer beware.
As far as other options out there you have not given your budget, nor your personal stats and preferences but you may want to take a look at the offerings of theTrusted membersof the site, who have excellent transparency in materials and components, Many of different options of types of bedding systems, shipping options, and will lend you their many years of experience with a focus on finding a good match for your specific needs and preferences.
I wish you well as you embark on your residency!
Basilio
Hello I am greatly appreciative of all of the information. As I am moving to an unfurnished apartment, I will need the mattress on the first night, which is why I need an option for the mattress to be able to be shipped. In the trusted members does “online retailer” mean they ship? Where is a good place to start with this? If I had to define a budget I would say under 1000. However I admit that is a bit arbitrary. I see Helix has a mattress just above 1000. I would choose their “Midnight” given that I am a “side-sleeper”. Again thank you.
Hi Hyacinthos,
Glad you found my post helpful. Yes, Online retailers have the ability to take the order online and to ship their products to consumers as opposed to a physical ‘buy and take’ only type of showroom. Since it sounds like you are moving to a different area, you might want to consider the proximity of your new apartment to a retail “brick and mortar” shop, since it may be closer to your new destination, you can test it and the shipping will likely be less. Keep in mind that even though online retail companies are advertising products as “free shipping” in fact most of the shipping or part of it is actually included in the final price of the mattress, and many times at the expense of component quality. Many of our Trusted Members have offerings in the approximate range you give of $1000 depending on what you are looking for. but you did not narrow your choices and preferences down enough for me to be able to look through their offerings and point out a few that may meet your criteria.
As you mention the $1000m price point I am guessing you are looking at the Midnight Luxe. They don’t list the layer thickness and density but even if it would meet the durability guidelines, again this is a memory foam mattress and as I pointed out before it will “sleep hot” Phoenix has a super detailed post here about the various factors at play in mattress microclimate s that may prove useful to you in some way. In terms of durability memory foam (or gel memory foam): If your mattress is one-sided then I would make sure that any memory foam is at least 5 lb per cubic foot. If the mattress is two sided then I would use a minimum density of 4 lbs per cubic foot. In terms of suitability, they use a questionnaire with their customers that takes information such as BMI, body measurements, and sleeping positions into account and use an algorithm to choose both the order and the firmness of each of the comfort layers that are most suitable for each of their customers. The 3 comfort layers are on top of 4" of 1.8 lb polyfoam with two different firmness levels. I
You can read several forum discussions on the Helix Midnight here More recently though (9 months ago) there were some consumers complaining about indentations after 2 weeks of use of Helix Midnight Luxe and you’d want to check that they did not change the foam densities and that each component meets the durability guidelines mentioned above. See post 1 hereas well. As a side sleeper, you definitely want a durable and comfortable support layer on whichever mattress you decide to go with. I would suggest discussing with any retailer, provided that they are not just salespeople and have real knowledge and experience and they don’t rely just on the “questionnaire” and tell you what you want to hear to get a sale. So make sure that you speak with an informed rep, where you will be shipping the new mattress to, so you can get a comparison of time and cost and can have it in your new residence on the first night.
Basilio