Hi Bazinga,
[quote]We’ve had it for about 3 weeks now. I am 5’2" and about 135 side sleeper, my husband is 6’2" and about 250 back sleeper.
Once a night my husband will switch to his side, and when he does my side slopes down to his side and I have to hold myself up.
I understand that this might be an indication that the mattress is too soft for him, and, in hindsight I would have gone with a split queen, rather than a solid core. But, since we have the mattress and can’t return it (sales are final on floor models) are there any ideas for reducing this? The only thing I can think of at this point is to cut the whole mattress in half and put the halves back in the mattress encasement. Any thoughts? Thank you in advance! [/quote]
This is a relatively common issue with couples that have a large weight differential between them and that sleep close enough together that the deeper “valley” that the heavier half of the couple creates in the mattress from their weight extends out far enough to reach the lighter half of the couple. The three main reasons that can contribute to “roll together” from the top down are comfort layers that are too thick and/or soft, deeper support layers that are too soft, or a foundation that that flexes or isn’t isn’t solid under the mattress or that allows the mattress to sag into the foundation.
Materials that have greater “point elasticity” (the ability of a material to be compressed in a specific area with less effect on the areas beside it) can also reduce roll together but this wouldn’t be a significant issue with the latex because it has very good point elasticity. Even if you have “split” the toppers though so that compressing one side has little effect on the other side, a mattress protector or other parts of your bedding that are tight across the surface or don’t have much elasticity (like a “drum effect”) can also contribute to the experience of “roll together” because it can increase the width of the “valley” beside the heavier partner.
It can take some trial and error to rule out the possibilities one at a time and find the “best possible” solution for your specific mattress (outside of more extreme options that you were suggesting such as cutting the mattress apart or replacing one or more layers in the mattress).
[quote]- 2" medium dunlop topper in knit zipper cover (I cut the topper into two sections to try to make them independent of each other and minimize pull from my husband)
- 1" talalay soft bare (ditto on cutting into sections)
- PLB Nature nattress
- 4" talalay (medium -ish) that had been removed from the foundations (two sections since the foundations themselves were split)
- Pegboard
- slats (approx 3" between slats, but pegboard makes up for the extra space)
- Legs (x7)[/quote]
In looking at the specifics of your sleeping system the toppers have already been “isolated” from each other and have either a stretchy knit cover or are bare so they would be unlikely to be the most significant contributor to the roll together.
At this point the mattress itself can’t be changed (without mattress surgery) so I would leave that as a last resort.
You have already “fixed” the foundation so that there is no flex or sagging into the foundation that could be contributing to the problem.
By a process of elimination the most likely remaining way to reduce the roll together would be to remove the 4" latex layer underneath the mattress. This is a relatively soft layer (19 ILD) and will compress more under his weight than under yours so removing it could certainly make “enough” of a difference that any remaining roll together issues that come from the mattress itself will be “OK”.
Other options you could check is the effect of your sheets or any mattress protector or mattress pad you may be using.
The PLB mattress also has a fairly thick and non stretchy fire barrier that fits over the inside layers of the mattress like a fitted protector and removing this could also make a difference as well but it’s glued at the bottom so this type of alteration may void your warranty (although it’s fairly simple to remove if you are careful).
If none of these makes “enough” of a difference then your only remaining options would be to start making changes to the mattress itself (either splitting the layers and components, using a firmer support core, or using thinner/firmer comfort and transition layers).
Phoenix
