Side Sleeper Problems

[phoenix]

Hi w9oh,

My wife and I are average size and build, 200lb and 150lb respectively and both are side sleepers. Just replaced a Spring Air 14" very soft mattress under warranty from JCP after only 6 years of use at half time-as we own another home (sunk over 1.5"). All went well and we selected a replacement, a Serta Iseries Merit super pillow-top which is a semi Euro-top soft mattress. We were divided between this mattress and a Sealy® Posturepedic® West Plains Plush Euro Pillow-Top Mattress at considerably less money but decided the Serta was top rated by Consumer Reports and had a 20 year warranty. The Sealy which we did not choose only had memory foam in a strip in the middle third for additional hip support.

The first place I would start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible purchase … and know how and why to avoid the worst ones (including all the major brands you were considering or any mattress that uses either lower quality or “unknown” quality materials inside it).

You can see my comments about Consumer reports in post #2 here and in this topic. As you can see I would consider them to be a unreliable source of guidance about purchasing a mattress.

1. What is causing that back pain?

This would be coming from some type of alignment issue. There is more about the most common causes of the “symptoms” that people generally experience on a mattress in post #2 here and while there are too many unknowns and variables involved to be able to “diagnose” or know for certain what is causing a specific symptom for any particular person … the most common cause of lower back pain is a mattress that is too soft.

2. I assume since both my wife and I are side sleepers we need to look at soft or plush mattresses. But there must be more criteria than just soft.
3. How can I tell in a store if a mattress will cause me back pain after four hours of sleeping?? In store this mattress felt good. Assume my back is out of alignment. Can I measure something? Can I use a stick or how can this be done specifically???

What you need (and everyone needs) is a mattress that is a good match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). The most reliable way to predict this is to use the testing guidelines in the tutorial post. If you aren’t certain that you will sleep well and pain free on a mattress even with careful testing then the options you have after a purchase to exchange or return a mattress or to make changes to the layers inside it would become a more important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase. There is more about the different ways to choose a mattress and how to reduce the risks involved with each of them in post #2 here.

4. From what I have read, a full foam mattress will probably be too firm for side sleepers-is that correct?

This will depend entirely on the specifics of the mattress you are referring to. There are different types of foam (latex foam, memory foam, and polyfoam) and each of them comes in a wide range of firmness levels so “foam mattresses” could range from being much too soft for you to much too firm for you depending on the specifics of the mattress. “Foam” is just a very generic description for any material that has “bubbles” inside it and it isn’t connected to the softness or firmness of a mattress.

5. What companies have the best comfort guarantee? Costco?

There are many companies that have very good exchange and return policies and some like Costco are free (although this is the only positive thing about Costco and in most cases or for me at least wouldn’t be enough to overcome all the negatives involved in purchasing from them … see post #4 here) but I don’t keep a list of them in my head so this would just be part of what you would need to check with any of the local or online retailers or manufacturers you are considering (the tutorial post includes several links to the better online options I’m aware of in the optional online step). The importance of a good exchange or return policy is one of many factors that would be part of each person’s personal value equation. There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between the “finalists” you are considering.

Phoenix