So I’m in a bit of a unique situation. Here are all the relevant facts:
I have severe scoliosis, and am scheduled to have surgery in November.
My girlfriend lives with me so we will be sharing the bed. I’m a side sleeper, she sleeps in every position.
We currently have a memory foam mattress and both hate it. Our backs both hurt all the time. If I lay down for more than 2 minutes, it seems my lumbar sinks in and then when I get up I’m in pain. Less so after a night’s sleep.
We both get incredibly hot when we sleep.
We both like very firm beds more than those where you sink in.
In terms of comfort/liking, we slept on this one bed for a weekend and both loved it. From best I can gather, it was an Ashley Furniture’s mattress, perhaps the Ormund series which is now discontinued. The tag info was:
We also slept on a CB2 daybed once, and again loved it. It says on the website “High elastic polyurethane cell foam cushion.”
I’m new to all this so while I read through as much as I could on here I’m still a bit lost. I was thinking about just getting the Brooklyn Bedding mattress, the firm version. Since that is mostly poly foam and seems to sleep cool. One other issue is after the surgery, I’ve read people like a softer cushioning. So I’m not sure how to exactly handle that, given I prefer firm now…
Any and all advice is welcome, and thanks in advance.
I am not very sure what you read up to now but here is a run through some of the essential readings to make sure that you are aware of the basics. The first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here (there is a condensed version of it at the end of that post) which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well he will sleep), durability (how long he will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
When assessing any product, also be sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
I am very sorry to hear about your severe condition. With the upcoming surgery you have some challenges ahead of you, but I trust that arming yourself with good information along with some local testing and thinking through using the expertise and advice of a knowledgeable manufacturer or retailer that caries what you want would give you the best chance in finding a suitable sleeping system that would fit both your needs and preferences.
With your very specific needs it is even more important that you consider some personal local testing because there are far too many variables and unknowns (body types, sleeping styles, preferences, physiology, age, health conditions, sensitivities, special circumstances etc) for you to rely on a formula or “theory at a distance”. You are the only one that can tell what would work best for you and no formula can be more accurate than your own careful and objective testing (using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post) that you can use to decide on a mattress that is “best” for you in terms of PPP…Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences (whether it is for a local purchase or as a guideline for an online purchase)
A forum search on scoliosis (you can just click the link) will bring up all the forum posts and topics that mention it (along with any linked posts that mention scoliosis in the title) but I would always keep in mind that there is no such thing as a mattress that is “best for scoliosis” or any other health or medical condition … there is only a mattress that is “best for YOU” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP. Each person is unique and a mattress that is perfect for one person with scoliosis may be completely unsuitable for someone else with scoliosis to sleep on if they have a different body type, sleeping style, sensitivities, preferences, or differences in the severity of their scoliosis.
I agree with you that given your specific sever scoliotic condition and because it sounds like you both respond well to a firmer comfort surface whatever you choose has to have a very good deep down support which would be necessary to promote a more neutral alignment and I would look for products using firmer cores (either polyfoam, a good innerspring, or latex) Given your experience with the top/comfort layer of your current mattress it may be good to avoid using memory foam altogether and focus on either latex and/or polyfoam options. In general … what you would be looking for is a mattress with firm enough deep support and then comfort layers that are “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to “fill in” and support the more recessed parts of your sleeping profile and relieve pressure in your most pressure prone sleeping position (usually side sleeping for those who sleep in this position) so that there is less risk to alignment in your other sleeping positions.
To a certain degree all foams are insulators, and the more you sink “in” to a mattress (versus sleeping “on” it), the more potential you have for sleeping warmer and the less of your body’s surface area is exposed for heat exchange. You are correct that memory foam in general does tend to be the least breathable foam, followed generally by polyfoam and with latex being the most breathable of all. Latex will also tend to be the most durable foam, so it may be worth considering for a comfort layer of suitable firmness to match your condition.
Some of the other factors involved in how warm a mattress sleeps are how closely the foam conforms to your body (the more closely it conforms around you the more insulating it is), and as the memory foam conforms well around your body it tends to become more viscos and soften even more with pressure and temperature increase which can cause your body to sink in even more during the course of the night and what may have started as a good alignment to begin with might turn to be poor alignment in the morning.
The issue of the sleeping microclimate on a mattress is a complex one and each layer of a mattress … especially the ones that are closest to the body … contributes to the overall effect in one way or another. … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here .
There is little meaningful information about either of these mattresses, except that they have both different types of polyfoam, Even though either of these systems may feel better in a showroom than the mattress you currently sleep on I would point out that you can’t feel their quality or durability, which is why so important to find out the Mattress specifications you need to know - The Mattress Underground]information listed here[/url] about any mattress being considered to make sure that the quality and durability of componentry is good…and of course keep in mind that given your specific condition even with good and durable componentry it is important to personally test a certain construction.
As you are aware Brooklyn Bedding is one of the members here which means that I think highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the [urlhttps://mattressunderground.com/about-us/services/recommended-by-the-mattress-underground.html]best in the industry[/url] in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. Their mattress uses high quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in it so they would certainly make a great quality/value choice. Before making a purchase I would highly recommend that you call BB (or any other manufacturer or a mattress that you are considering) to discuss your options as they are the most reliable source of guidance and with their many years of knowledge and experience they would have your best interests at heart to “talk you through” the specifics of their mattress and its properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (temperature regulation, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
It is common after any surgical procedure to be very sensitive, especially in the area of the surgery, but as body heals you’ll want to default to what works best for your condition, and find your neutral alignment along with the comfort level that you prefer. Good “firm” bed doesn’t necessarily mean a “hard” surface comfort. so you probably want end up with best of both worlds.
It might be a good idea to purchase your bed before surgery, and try it out to see if it works for you and to become familiar to its feel before being sensitized by the procedure and introducing too many variables.
I look forward to hear about your progress and if you have more questions I’ll be happy to assist you.
I am not very sure what you read up to now but here is a run through some of the essential readings to make sure that you are aware of the basics. The first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here (there is a condensed version of it at the end of that post) which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well he will sleep), durability (how long he will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
When assessing any product, also be sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
I am very sorry to hear about your severe condition. With the upcoming surgery you have some challenges ahead of you, but I trust that arming yourself with good information along with some local testing and thinking through using the expertise and advice of a knowledgeable manufacturer or retailer that caries what you want would give you the best chance in finding a suitable sleeping system that would fit both your needs and preferences.
With your very specific needs it is even more important that you consider some personal local testing because there are far too many variables and unknowns (body types, sleeping styles, preferences, physiology, age, health conditions, sensitivities, special circumstances etc.) for you to rely on a formula or “theory at a distance”. You are the only one that can tell what would work best for you and no formula can be more accurate than your own careful and objective testing (using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post) that you can use to decide on a mattress that is “best” for you in terms of PPP…Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences (whether it is for a local purchase or as a guideline for an online purchase)
A forum search on scoliosis (you can just click the link) will bring up all the forum posts and topics that mention it (along with any linked posts that mention scoliosis in the title) but I would always keep in mind that there is no such thing as a mattress that is “best for scoliosis” or any other health or medical condition … there is only a mattress that is “best for YOU” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP. Each person is unique and a mattress that is perfect for one person with scoliosis may be completely unsuitable for someone else with scoliosis to sleep on if they have a different body type, sleeping style, sensitivities, preferences, or differences in the severity of their scoliosis.
I agree with you that given your specific severe scoliotic condition and because it sounds like you both respond well to a firmer comfort surface whatever you choose has to have a very good deep down support which would be necessary to promote a more neutral alignment and I would look for products using firmer cores (either polyfoam, a good innerspring, or latex) Given your experience with the top/comfort layer of your current mattress it may be good to avoid using memory foam altogether and focus on either latex and/or polyfoam options. In general … what you would be looking for is a mattress with firm enough deep support and then comfort layers that are “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to “fill in” and support the more recessed parts of your sleeping profile and relieve pressure in your most pressure prone sleeping position (usually side sleeping for those who sleep in this position) so that there is less risk to alignment in your other sleeping positions.
To a certain degree all foams are insulators, and the more you sink “in” to a mattress (versus sleeping “on” it), the more potential you have for sleeping warmer and the less of your body’s surface area is exposed for heat exchange. You are correct that memory foam in general does tend to be the least breathable foam, followed generally by polyfoam and with latex being the most breathable of all. Latex will also tend to be the most durable foam, so it may be worth considering for a comfort layer of suitable firmness to match your condition.
Some of the other factors involved in how warm a mattress sleeps are how closely the foam conforms to your body (the more closely it conforms around you the more insulating it is), and as the memory foam conforms well around your body it tends to become more viscos and soften even more with pressure and temperature increase which can cause your body to sink in even more during the course of the night and what may have started as a good alignment to begin with might turn to be poor alignment in the morning.
The issue of the sleeping microclimate on a mattress is a complex one and each layer of a mattress … especially the ones that are closest to the body … contributes to the overall effect in one way or another. … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here .
There is little meaningful information about either of these mattresses, except that they have both different types of polyfoam. Even though either of these systems may feel better in a showroom than the mattress you currently sleep on I would point out that you can’t fee quality or durability, which is why so important to find out the information listed here about any mattress being considered to make sure that the quality and durability of componentry is good…and of course keep in mind that given your specific condition even with good and durable componentry it is important to personally test a certain construction.
As you are aware Brooklyn Bedding is one of the members here which means that I think highly of them and that I believe that they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, knowledge, and transparency. Their mattress uses high quality materials and there are no lower quality materials or weak links in it so they would certainly make a great quality/value choice. Before making a purchase I would highly recommend that you call BB (or any other manufacturer or a mattress that you are considering) to discuss your options as they are the most reliable source of guidance and with their many years of knowledge and experience they would have your best interests at heart to “talk you through” the specifics of their mattress and its properties and “feel” of the materials they are using (temperature regulation, resilience, firmness etc) and the options they have available that may be the best “match” for you based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done or mattresses you have slept on and liked or other mattresses you are considering that they are familiar with, and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you. They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs and firmness levels to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences (or to other mattresses that they are familiar with) than anyone else.
It is common after any surgical procedure to be very sensitive, especially in the area of the surgery, but as body heals you’ll want to default to what works best for your condition, and find your neutral alignment along with the comfort level that you prefer. Good “firm” bed doesn’t necessarily mean a “hard” surface comfort. so you probably want end up with best of both worlds.
It might be a good idea to purchase your bed before surgery, and try it out to see if it works for you and to become familiar to its feel before being sensitized by the procedure and introducing too many variables.
I look forward to hear about your progress and if you have more questions I’ll be happy to assist you.
