Sleep EZ layer questions-Take advice of Sleep EZ or Reddit/MU user reviews?

Talk To The Experts Sleep EZ
1

I am working on configuring the layers for the Sleep EZ organic 10." I have relied on reviewing comments on mattress underground, reddit, and had a phone conversation with sleep ez. I also received the samples from sleep ez. I cannot decide on the layering configuration because it seems layer recommendations/reviews conflict between the 3 resources.

A little information about me and my partner.
Me: lower degenerative disc disease which results in chronic pain from mid back to ankles on daily basis. Side (75%) and back (25%) sleeper, very light sleeper, toss and turn every night from chronic pain issues. I think the chronic pain is exacerbated by our memory foam as well. Thus, typically pain in the morning is centered around low back, hips, glutes, IT band and hamstrings. I usually prefer plushy to medium, but yea still like overall support. 147lbs, 5’5.
Partner: No health issues but does toss and turn quite a bit. Primarily back and stomach sleeper with periodic side. He would prefers medium to firm. 190lbs, 5’8.

Based on sleep ez website top-bottom: me-soft talalay, medium dunlop, firm dunlop; him: medium talalay, medium dunlop, firm dunlop.
When I called sleep ez they still recommended this configuration and explain the soft-plush top would be best based not only on body type, sleep positions, but also the chronic pain. I had asked about a middle talalay layer as I was seeing this recommended in other forums. The sleep ez rep told me not necessary and don’t spend the extra money, stick with the 2 supportive dunlop layers.

However, reddit and mattress underground personal posts tell me a different story. I have seen mixed reviews on the soft talalay comfort layer-seems to help some people, while others switched to the medium because they still sunk right to the supportive layers which made it overall medium-firm. Also, I have seen many, many reddit reviews specifically saying they ultimately switched to either all talalay layers or used 2 talalay layers with a supportive Dunlop bottom layer. It seems this could be personal preference based on latex type, as yea, the talalay samples seem very bouncy and maybe provide better push back. I see the benefit of 2 talalay or 2 dunlop under the comfort.

In terms of overall reviews I have seen on layering, it seems people switched to

  1. soft T/med T/F Dunlop
  2. soft T/soft Dunlop/med Dunlop
  3. med T/firm T/firm Dunlop
  4. 3 layers of talalay soft/med/firm.

Please answer the following:

  1. I am concerned about the soft T layer and leaning towards med T comfort layer if we stick with the sleep ez recommended layering (mentioned way above). I’m also leaning towards the firm comfort layer for my partner. All based purely on feeling the samples and reddit reviews. What’s your thoughts?
  2. What do you think about the sleep ez phone rep telling me to skip 2 layers of talalay? I’m kinda liking either #1 or #3 layering option listed above.
  3. Anybody have experience with the 3 talalay option?
  4. If I stick with 1 talalay layer and 2 dunlop layers what are your overall recommendations outside of the sleep ez website calculator. I would think we would still need a firm Dunlop bottom layer to accommodate both of us. I would prefer only 1 split comfort layer and not have to mess with a middle split layer.
  5. With that being said, I do like #2 if we stick with 2 layers of Dunlop, but thinking the soft Dunlop would be too soft for my partner?
2

Hi birdgirl2022 and thanks for the questions! Since you’ve already received Sleep EZ’s opinion on this, I think I’m going to wait for other members to respond to your question in the general forum so you can get some outside opinions here.

3

hi birdgirl2022,

when trying to gleam information from other posts you are going to need that person’s BMI and sleep positions to try and make any meaningful comparison. Even then it’s fraught because personal preferences vary widely and things like preexisting conditions impact mattress needs (for example your degenerative disc condition).

Without any in person testing/datapoints it is hard to steer you in a particular direction. SleepEZ’s recommendation could work for you. St/Mt/F dunlop or S/M/F all talalay would allow for more travel into the mattress. Something firmer would be Mt/St/Fdunlop or Talalay. Hard to say how your disc issue plays into things. I think #3 listed above would be too firm for you.

Your partner is an interesting case as stomach and back sleeping typically have different preferences. Stomach sleepers lean towards firmer configurations with a thnner comfort layer while back sleepers skew towards a thicker comfort layer that allows them to sink in and have the lumbar region filled in . SleepEZ’s recommendation might split the difference for you partner. If he wanted firmer, Mt/Mt/F dunlop or Mt/M dunlop/Firm dunlop would be the next steps up. Generally I would say #3 above would be on the firm side for back sleeping but could work for stomach sleeping.

You might want to consider splitting the top and intermediate layers should you and your partner’s preferences diverge. Getting different setups might also allow you test a lot of different configurations and therefore minimize the need to swap or purchase addition layers.

4

Lantern71 had some great comments/suggestions. I definitely agree with splitting the layers between sides. If you have a king bed there’s really no reason not to do it since it allows you to more easily flip or replace layers but other sizes require a bit more consideration. You and your partner have fairly different BMIs (24.5 vs 28.9) and you have a delicate medical condition so I would consider this a must to ensure you both get what will work best for you rather than needing to find a workable compromise between you both. I’m also not familiar with the needs of what works best for degenerative disk disease so perhaps you could comment on what creates relief when sleeping so we can help with a design. What little I did read on it likely points to all talalay on your side while perhaps a talalay/dunlop config for your stomach sleeping partner.

Given the assumptions above here’s what I would suggest. You could probably get away with just 3 layers total but your partner’s weight would likely do better with adding the additional layer.

Your side:
2-3" talalay Soft (19-22 ILD) - comfort layer
3" talalay Med (28 ILD) - support layer
3" talalay Firm (32 ILD) - support layer
3" talalay XFirm (36 ILD) - support layer

Partner side:
2-3" talalay Soft (19-22 ILD) - comfort layer
3" dunlop Firm (32 ILD) - support layer (use 36ILD if they prefer firmer)
3" dunlop XFirm (36 ILD) - support layer
3" dunlop SFirm (40 ILD) - support layer

5

Hello, could you re-visit my question and provide some more input in response to others. Also curious to hear another opinion from a different sleep EZ rep.

6

Hey everyone, new to posting and thought I was replying directly to the sleep EZ representative that posted in my thread but turns out I wasn’t! Was hoping the sleep ez rep would circle back around and provide input.

7

Hi birdgirl2022, happy to give you some input here! Feeling latex samples and reading reviews from other customer will not let you know what to expect from the mattress. In fact, it’s more likely to lead to incorrect choices on the layer configuration. The latex will feel much different when you get it inside of a cotton & wool cover. It will feel firmer because the wool in the cover adds a lot of surface tension to the mattress and doesn’t let you sink into the latex much. Also, your fingers press into the latex with a much smaller surface area than your body does, and I promise your body won’t sink into the latex as much as when you squeeze the samples with your fingers, so that’s not really a good way to know what to expect out of the mattress.

Based on the information you’ve provided, I would absolutely recommend our 10" organic latex mattress with soft Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop for your side and medium Talalay over medium Dunlop over firm Dunlop for your partner’s side. The top Talalay layer should provide all the contour and pressure relief needed to avoid any pressure point issues and will add secondary support to the mattress. Secondary support is needed to fill in the gaps between your body and the mattress – back sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between the small of their back and the mattress; side sleepers normally need secondary support to fill in the gaps between their mid-section and the mattress. If these parts of a person’s body aren’t supported by the mattress, their muscles will work throughout the night to hold these parts of the body up, and by the time they wake up they’ve got back pain. So the top 3" of Talalay latex will provide contour, pressure relief, and secondary support. The remaining Dunlop layers should provide all the support needed to maintain proper spinal alignment and avoid back pain. Please keep in mind that our initial recommendations have a 90% success rate (we only have a 10% layer exchange rate and a 3%-4% return rate) so there’s a 90% chance that the above recommendation works perfectly for you. It sounds like some of the people on Reddit were in the 10% of customers that requested a layer exchange, and they do not represent the other 90% of our customers, just something to keep in mind.

Regarding Talalay versus Dunlop, the real difference comes down to how they react when being compressed. Talalay is bouncier and springier and is generally better at contour and pressure relief on your hips and shoulders. Dunlop is denser and firmer and is generally better at support and maintaining proper spinal alignment so our most common configuration is Talalay for the top layer and Dunlop for the bottom 2 layers. We will recommend Talalay for two or more layers for customers that have things like fibromyalgia, shingles, chronic hip pain, chronic shoulder pain, or anything where they’re sensitive to pressure, or for customers that just prefer a bouncier / springier feel. Outside of those circumstances, a combination of Talalay and Dunlop offers the best chance to be successful for the average person. Just remember that when you change the second or third layer(s) from Dunlop to Talalay, you’re literally trading some back support for extra pressure relief, and most customers don’t need to make that tradeoff. Most of our customers really do best from having one layer of Talalay on top, and Dunlop for the rest of the mattress, but it’s completely up to you what you would like to order.

Even though the bottom 2 layers would be the same, I would still recommend splitting all of your layers. About 95% of our mattresses go out with all split layers from top to bottom, and we get zero complaints on being able to feel the split and we get zero complaints about the layers shifting or anything like that. If all of your layers are split, you will always be able to adjust your side without affecting your partner’s side and vice versa, and you’ll have that option for the entire 20 year lifespan of the mattress. Additionally, the mattress will be easier to assemble, easier to move if needed, easier to do any layers exchanges if needed, and easier to return if needed. It also allows you to try different combinations in your home by borrowing layers between the two sides. For example, if you start with soft Talalay/medium Dunlop/Firm Dunlop and he starts with medium Talalay/medium Dunlop/firm Dunlop and you find that you want to increase the pressure relief, you can borrow his medium Talalay for a night to try soft Talalay/medium Talalay/Firm Dunlop, and many other combinations. There really are no downsides to having all split layers.

Please keep in mind that even if you lay on a mattress for hours in a showroom, you still won’t know if it’s right for you until you actually sleep on it and allow your body time to adjust. As such, the best thing you can do is pick the setup that has the best chance to be successful for you and adjust from there (if needed).