I have recently bought a latex mattress that is configured 3" each of soft/medium/firm all in Talalay. The first couple nights sleeping on this mattress was great. But then I started waking up to tight and sore neck/upper back muscles in the morning. It feels like I am sinking in more than before. Then I took out the soft layer completely and just slept on the medium/firm layers. This reduced the tight and sore muscles dramatically. I then tried changing it to firm/medium and this almost eliminated the tightness and soreness. However, this feels very firm and not as comfortable. On each different change, I sleep on it for 5-6 nights.
I noticed that the layers now feels firmer along the edges of the mattress while the middle spots, where I sleep on, are noticeably softer. This is very noticeably on the soft layer, then less so on the medium, and even less so on the firm. I contacted the manufacturer of the mattress and they say there could be a defect in the layers. But all three layers are showing this condition, albeit to different degrees. Could the layers really have a problem or is this normal “breaking in”?
I have a slim build, 5’5" at 120 lbs. so I thought a soft/medium/firm mattress would fit me well. I do prefer a soft comfort layer since firmer layers put too much pressure onto my shoulder (when I’m on my side) and cause shoulder pain. But something isn’t right with my current configuration.
Has anyone been in a similar situation or knows what I can do to make my mattress both comfortable and supportive?
Personally I would wait about a month before you start moving layers around (S/M/F). You body will go through an adjustment period since supposedl you are now sleeping with proper support. It took me about 2 weeks for my body to completely let go and relax. One other thing might be your pillow. Perhaps it’s not suitable with your mattress.
There are three things that happen when you first purchase a new mattress and your experiences are probably connected to all three.
One of these is that you will go through a period of adjustment with any new sleeping surface (especially if you are sleeping on a new material that you aren’t familiar with) and you will be much more sensitive to the more subjective sensations of a new mattress and your body will also be going through an adjustment as it “lets go” of its muscle memory and sleeping habits that have developed over time on your old mattress. During this time most people often talk about various sensations and what a new mattress “feels like” which is usually part of this adjustment period. While some people don’t notice any adjustment period at all and do well from the first day … it’s more “normal” that this will happen over the first 30 - 90 days (usually closer to 30).
The second thing that will happen is that all new mattresses will have a break in period that is about the same length of time as the adjustment period. This is when the foams will lose any of their initial “false firmness” and the cover will stretch a bit and after this initial break in period things will stabilize. This will happen a little more quickly in the areas that you normally sleep than it will in the areas you don’t. This is also normal and will equalize over time.
Finally you will also be assessing your new mattress to see if it’s suitable for your body type and sleeping positions in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). This is where your actual symptoms rather than the more subjective “feels like” sensations come into play. If your symptoms are part of the normal adjustment period then they will improve and go away and are just part of adjusting to a new sleeping surface. If they don’t go away over the first few weeks or seem to be getting worse then it’s usually a sign that the mattress need some “fine tuning” or adjustment. As Km suggested I would go very slowly with this because if you make changes too quickly or too early in the process your body won’t have a chance to “catch up” to the changes you make.
Of course it’s also possible that you have a defective layer but the odds of having two or three layers that are defective are close to zero so it’s much more likely that your issues are connected to one of the other possibilities.
Once your experience has “stabilized” and if you are still experiencing “symptoms” from sleeping on your mattress then the first step would be to call the manufacturer where you purchased it to talk about either rearranging or exchanging layers or making other changes that would have the best chance of solving any specific issues you are having.
With upper back or neck issues then it could also be a “symptom” of a pillow issue because a new mattress will often need a new pillow to keep your head and neck in good alignment and this can be one of the causes of neck and upper back issues. If your mattress is a little too soft and it’s not a pillow issue (which you may have unknowingly corrected when you slept on the firmer layers because this would also affect whether your pillow was suitable) then it may be worth moving the firm layer up one level and the medium layer down one level so you can keep the soft layer on top but increase the firmness of the transition and support layers but the best approach for the first few weeks whenever possible is to “do nothing” with the mattress (although I would look at any pillow issues that may be involved from the beginning)
I tried to sleep on the soft/medium/firm configuration for a longer period of time, but the soreness/tightness on my neck muscles was getting worse and worse and I feared that if I continued, it will cause some serious damage. I didn’t realize adjusting takes 30 days. The soreness appeared/disappeared within 3 to 4 days of changing the layers around.
It is good to know that the foam softening is normal behavior, I did think the way the 3 layers softened by a respective amount to the layer’s softness did seem odd. But I was surprised at how much the soft layer softened on the “sleeping spots” compared to the sides of the mattress where I don’t lay on. I wonder why they didn’t mention this when I contacted customer support on this issue.
At first, I did also think the neck soreness might be a pillow issue. But the pillow I am using is a very soft talalay latex pillow that came new with the mattress. The pillow is not very thick. Especially when my head lays on it, it compresses down to pretty thin. But then I noticed that while sleeping on the soft layer, it felt like the pillow was pushing my head up, causing my neck to strain (while sleeping on back). But I think it’s pushing my head up so much because my shoulder is sinking in too much. I don’t seem to have this issue while sleeping on the firm layer.
I will try to go back to the soft/medium/firm configuration and see what will happen when the rest of the mattress “breaks in” and my body acclimates.
One last thing, how did you know the manufacturer of my mattress was SleepEZ? I didn’t mention who the manufacturer was. Could it be the membership discount? Or are you psychic?
It was actually “none of the above”. I don’t receive reports from the manufacturers here (and even if they did they would be the real names which I don’t know) and I’m certainly not psychic :).
It was actually a “synchronistic mistake”. When someone mentions they are having some issues or has questions about a mattress I usually check to see if they have posted any information about it in previous posts. I often “move” fairly quickly when I’m replying on the forum because it takes many hours each day so in this case I unthinkingly clicked on the userprofile for the last reply (which was Km) thinking at the time it was you and saw his thread where he had purchased his mattress from SleepEz and without realizing that I had clicked on the wrong profile I assumed it was you.
Different firmness levels will change the gap between your head and neck and the mattress and can sometimes lead to the need for a thicker or thinner pillow just like different sleeping positions often need different pillow thicknesses. Pillows that are too thin or too thick to keep your head and neck in good alignment can certainly contribute to alignment issues and discomfort in the upper body area.
If you still have issues after a few weeks (or if your pain or discomfort seems to be getting worse or you need to make changes before that) then post #2 here and the posts it links to have more information about the more common “symptoms” on a mattress and some of the possible reasons behind them.
Two configurations that may be worth trying if it appears that you need to make changes more quickly because things are getting worse or you are in too much discomfort or pain would be (from bottom to top) M/F/S or F/S/M. The first one will allow you to keep the soft comfort layer but will firm up the support and the second one will firm up the comfort layer but the soft underneath it would make is softer than the F/M that you tried.
I would also discuss your experience with SleepEz (including all the combinations you have tried and the difference in your “symptoms” with each one) because they have more experience than anyone with helping their customers fine tune the layering of their mattresses.
It’s just been two months now since switching my layers to M/F/S (from bottom to top), as Phoenix suggested. And I am happy to report that, with this configuration, my mattress feels comfortable and supportive. I now wake up feeling more rested and without the soreness that my old mattress gave me. After the adjustment period–which seems to be only 4 or 5 days–the tightness in my neck also disappeared and the feeling of the mattress stayed consistent. It took about the same amount of time to adjust to the Talalay pillow that came with my mattress and it is very comfortable now.
Phoenix, what you said in your first post in this thread about the initial “false firmness” really made a lot of sense. I was initially under the impression that the layers don’t soften to very noticeable degrees during its “break in” period. Perhaps when I contacted the manufacturer about this softening issue, it sounded more serious than it actually was. I’m not sure. I didn’t know what was considered normal then. But I feel they should have mentioned this false firmness concept or considered rearranging layers first. We were almost going to set up a layer replacement order! I’m glad that didn’t happen since it would have wasted both of our time and money, not to mention a perfectly good piece of latex.
My mattress feels good now, but I think there’s still room for improvement. It’s still a tad bit firm. If I’m feeling adventurous, I may switch it back to F/M/S to attempt to achieve that sleeping on a cloud feeling. But if nothing else works out, I still have a workable configuration to fall back on.
Anyway, I just feel I have to thank you, Phoenix, for helping me. You probably hear this a lot, considering you help so many people get a good night’s sleep, but I still feel like I have to say it. So, Thank You.
Thanks for the update and feedback … and for the kind words … I appreciate them
It’s also great to see that things are working out well for you!
You certainly wouldn’t be alone in making other fine tuning adjustments over time or retesting previous combinations after you have adjusted to the feel of latex and there are some members here that are experimenting on an ongoing basis with ways to get to 100% from 90% just because they can … but it’s always good to know that you have a baseline that works well for you.
