Should I have ordered one solid layer of talalay for comfort layer?

[phoenix]

Hi MelissaRz,

Judging what feels good for 5 minutes in the store, and what will feel good for 8 hours every night can be two very different things, so I am VERY apprehensive about the “right” configuration for me, especially since I just had surgery. Many sights say that with herniated disks, a firm mattress is better. However, in my mind, I’ve always thought that a softer comfort layer would allow my hips to sink in, and yet support my waist, to keep my spine straight – so I am confused about a firmer configuration being better – am I wrong about that way I am thinking about that?? I would think that a firmer comfort layer would prevent the hip and the shoulder from being able to sink in a little, and would cause the spine to curve like a U. Any advice on that?

With or without a herniated disk … a mattress needs to keep you in alignment in all your sleeping positions and relieve pressure on body tissues. There are many types of disk herniation which can affect different tissues and while I’m not a doctor, I think that most doctors would agree that both were important. Too much direct pressure on the injured disk can certainly cause pain and poor alignment can do the same. All mattresses needs both firmness and softness in various layers … not just one or the other. This means that you need “firm enough” deeper primary support layers for your body type to “stop” your pelvis from sinking down too far which tilts the pelvis and affects the lumbar curve along with “soft enough” comfort layers to relieve pressure and provide the secondary support that fills in the recessed curves of the body. Both of these are important and a design that does both is the “best” choice for each person. Testing for 5 minutes in a store is not nearly long enough to test for what I call PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) following the testing guidelines in post #1 here.

You are fortunate though because you have the options of exchanging layers so you can actually sleep on the mattress and then make adjustments based on your actual sleeping experience which will certainly be long enough to “test” the mattress.

However, keeping the top layer split, will probably be able to be felt, no? If that area is slept on, will you feel the “line” down the middle?

You will feel the change in the firmness of the layers in the middle of the mattress of course (which is the reason for the split layers in the first place) but whether you feel the split itself would depend on the cover. There are manufacturers that use a split top layer because their cover is thick enough and designed to even out the feel of the split itself while others that use a more stretchy knit cover or an unquilted cover will recommend a single top layer. You can read more about split layers in post #2 here.

If you test the mattress in the store with your configuration with BOTH of you on the mattress in the positions you generally sleep in for long enough you will be able to tell whether or to what degree you will feel the split or the change in firmness level.

Another question: If I need to firm up my configuration a little, what would be the best way to do that? Remember I have Dunlop Firm/Dunlop Medium/Talalay Soft, and I’ve seen examples of what’s good for backs being Talalay Firm/Talalay Firm/Talalay Medium! How does my compare to that, being that my bottom two layers are Dunlop, instead of Talalay?

There are different types of firmness and softness (see post #15 here) and it would depend on whether you need to change the pressure relief and/or the secondary support of the mattress (which would generally involve the top layer) or whether you need to change the primary support of the mattress (which would generally involve the middle or bottom layers). Each would have a different solution. If the comfort layers are too soft and you are “going through” it and feeling too much of the firmness of the layers below or if it is too thick and soft and “allowing” your pelvis to “travel” too far before it is “stopped” by the firmer layers below it and this is the cause of an alignment issue you would change the top layer to either a firmer Talalay or Dunlop (which gets feels firmer because it gets firmer faster than Talalay as it compresses more) or use a thinner comfort layer (which isn’t a possibility with the Savvy Rest) as long as it was still pressure relieving enough. If you need firmer primary support layers to “stop” the pelvis quicker to keep you in alignment then you can either put the firm layer in the middle and the medium on the bottom or exchange for firmer middle or bottom layers. Post #4 here may also be helpful.

Everything depends on how evenly your unique body profile and weight distribution sinks into the mattress in the positions you sleep in. there is no specific layering or material that is “good for backs” because everyone is different. There is only a layering that is “good for YOUR back”. The choice between Talalay and Dunlop is based on personal preferences although it’s true that in the same ILD that Dunlop will tend to be firmer once you compress a layer beyond 25% which is where ILD is measured in most cases.

I kept asking if my back was straight with every configuration, and my husband always said, “yes” with the exception of the Talalay Medium/Talalay Soft/Talalay Soft setup which was WAY TOO SOFT for me.

While each person is different … 6" of soft latex would be to thick for most people of your weight and body type and would certainly be 'outside the averages" of what works best for most people.

So do you think I made a mistake with my custom configuration? And did I make a mistake with keeping our layers separate, and NOT getting a solid piece of Talalay for the comfort layer?

Only your own testing or your own sleeping experience can answer this because “theory at a distance” can’t predict how any specific person will interact with a specific design (which includes the effect of the cover). I can say that your layering (Dunlop Firm/Dunlop Medium/Talalay Soft) is well inside the “averages” that would work well for people of your height and weight but your sleeping position and specific body shape and weight distribution will also make a difference. Don’t forget that alignment and pressure relief is always the goal and “theory” is only a starting point based on averages. Your own careful and objective testing or sleeping experience is the only way to know with certainty how any mattress will interact with your unique body type and sleeping style.

Phoenix