I’m looking at a 10" split king. My wife already knows what layers she wants, but I’m looking for recommendations for my side. I’m 75% a stomach sleeper but also a side sleeper. I have 3 herniated discs in my back, so alignment is important.
The SleepEZ calculator says I need Dunlop Firm/Dunlop Medium/Talalay Medium if I enter that I’m a stomach sleeper. However, if enter that I’m a side sleeper, it changes the comfort layer to Soft Talalay.
I do prefer to sink in a little (not as much as a foam mattress) and want to preserve the ability to sleep on my side, which seems to point to going softer or more Talalay vs. Dunlop. I also prefer the Talalay feel over the Dunlop feel.
Would you recommend a Soft or MediumTalalay top layer on top (with the Medium Dunlop and Firm Dunlop lower layers)?
How about two Medium Talalay layers on top of a Firm Dunlop lower layer? The thought is to preserve some side sleeping capability.
Any experiences trying to accommodate both stomach and side sleeping would be appreciated, especially if your body weight is similar to mine.
Hi qwerty and welcome to the forums and thanks for the inquiry! The best middle ground between soft Talalay/medium Dunlop/firm Dunlop and medium Talalay/medium Dunlop/firm Dunlop would be to have soft Talalay on top, firm Dunlop in the middle, and medium Dunlop on the bottom, and this is what I recommend to customers that are 50/50 side and stomach sleepers or 50/50 back and stomach sleepers. Keep in mind that if you start on that setup and it’s too soft for you when you’re on your stomach (which is possible since you’re a 75% stomach sleeper), then all you have to do is contact us during your trial period and for $30 we’ll send you a medium Talalay layer and you send back the soft Talalay layer. For exchanges, we will ship your layer first, and we will ship it with extra plastic that you can use to package your current layer, and we will ship it with a pre-paid Fed Ex return label as well. Also, if you will please call us when you are ready to ship your layer back we will schedule a free Fed Ex pick up for you. You will have 30 days after its arrival to return a layer of your choosing.
I don’t think 2 medium Talalay layers is a good choice because I don’t think it’ll provide the primary back support needed for you as a stomach sleeper. I’ve included some detailed information on the differences between Talalay and Dunlop just below if you’d like more information on why I don’t think 2 medium Talalay layers is a better choice than soft Talalay over medium Dunlop or medium Talalay over medium Dunlop.
There is a noticeable difference between Talalay and Dunlop, and it’s not really that Talalay is softer than Dunlop. Most people and companies say Talalay is softer just because that’s an easier way to explain it. You can actually have a soft Dunlop layer that’s softer or firmer than a soft Talalay and a medium Talalay that’s softer or firmer than a medium Dunlop, etc. 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 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. Again, the best way I can summarize the differences would be to say that Talalay is better at pressure relief on your hips and shoulders and Dunlop is better at maintaining proper spinal alignment and avoiding back pain. However, Talalay can also be helpful in avoiding back pain because it provides more of what we call secondary support. Secondary support fills in the gaps between your body and the mattress. For side sleepers, this is normally the area between a person’s ribs and waist. For back sleepers, this is normally the area between the small of your back and the mattress. If these parts or your body aren’t being held up by the mattress, your muscles will work all night to hold those parts of your body up, which can lead to back pain. Aside from that, women tend to be curvier, especially around their hips, and having a top layer of Talalay can help avoid hip pain and keep the mattress from pushing their hips up, which can also lead to back pain. As such, most of our customers definitely benefit 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.