Hi Nynygirl77-
Here is a copy of what I wrote in another post a few days ago (to Basil). Thought I would copy it here, maybe this will help you and others struggling the first few nights on the TN.
We had purchased a 10" Tuft and Needle queen in December.
A couple of considerations:
Like you, I felt the first couple of nights the bed was way too firm. I e-mailed Tuft and Needle, and asked a few questions to Phoenix here the first week.
A couple of things Tuft and Needle, and/or Phoenix told me: the first few nights, the foam may feel much firmer than it really is, part of the reason is because the mattress sat on a cold truck during delivery. The foam takes a few days to warm up, and the foam will soften after warming. I absolutely found this to be true. For about the first week, I found the mattress to be very cold when I first got into bed- one aspect I absolutely hated- I started using my heating pad before getting into bed. Now, the mattress is not cold when I get into bed at night. I assume it did take awhile for the mattress to warm up. About day 4 or 5 though, it was a bit softer and warmer than when it first arrived.
Another thing about that cold foam- the first night, I noticed no smell coming from the mattress, and I thought, great, no yucky odor like memory foam or regular polyfoam toppers I’ve experienced. The second night there was a light odor. Then on the third day and fourth day, the odor got very strong. Tuft and Needle thought this was because the foam was warming up- and yes, the new foam does have an odor. For us, it took about 3 weeks for the odor to finally disappear, although Tuft and Needle said most people have told them the odor is gone after a week. Thankfully the foam is Certipur, so the odor is not harmful.
Also, like you discovered, a thick mattress pad can make the mattress firmer. We did the same thing- the first night, had our old, thickly padded mattress pad on the Tuft and Needle. It didn’t make sense to me either, but the foam of this mattress seems to be the best feel if it can “cradle” your body, if that makes sense. Tuft and Needle, and Phoenix here, mentioned that a mattress pad can interfer with the ability of the foam to cradle all your body parts and cushion them. I had bad pressure points in my shoulder and hips with the mattress pad, but now have no pressure points with just a thick flannel sheet.
I found it took about 2 1/2- 3 weeks for the foam to soften up. And yes, it does soften up. When we first got the mattress, I described it as firm, and the first few nights, very firm, probably because it was still cold and firmer from sitting on a deliver truck. The foam has broken in, and now I’d say the foam is on the firm end of: medium firm. However, we all experience mattress firmness and softness differently, I’m describing it compared to other mattresses I’ve felt in mattress showrooms.
Phoenix said that it takes a little while for the foam to break in- the way I understand it is, when foam is new- there are “cells” that have to “break”, and larger “cells” become smaller “cells” which equates to a softer feel. To help speed this process, I literally walked all over the entire surface of the mattress once or twice a day for a week. To be honest, it made my legs tired! And it is a good exercise in balance- I suggest another person to help you balance if you find yourself unsteady while walking on the surface.
The first week, the Tuft and Needle was better than our old latex/innerspring mattress that had me in so much pain, that I had to take prescription pain medication to sleep (I eventually spent 4 years on our guest futon while my husband continued to sleep on the latex/innerspring in the master bedroom), but I still was waking up a few times a night on the new Tuft and Needle and not entirely happy with the new mattress. After the first week, I considered the mattress “okay”, but I wasn’t in love with it for the first month. I didn’t have pressure point pain, and I was sleeping okay, but the feel of the mattress wasn’t what I was used to after decades sleeping on innerspring mattresses.
Now, after 2 months on the Tuft and Needle, i am completely in love with the mattress. That “love” come at about week 5. I no longer need to take pain medication to sleep in the master bedroom, and I’m not waking up with any pain at all- for the past 20 years, I’ve had pain upon waking, so this is amazing to me. My body has adjusted, and the mattress has broken in.
I know it’s hard to sleep on something that’s not entirely comfortable, but believe everything you read here on Mattress Underground that talks about adjustments to a new mattress- it does take a few weeks for a new mattress to break in and for your body to adjust to a new type of sleeping surface.
After a few weeks, if the mattress is not comfortable, then it probably isn’t suitable to you, and not a good match for the “PPP” that Phoenix is always talking about. That was the case with our last mattress- we had always had mainstream innerspring mattresses that instantly felt good to me, but would sag in a year- so for our last mattress we got a latex/innerspring that never ended up working for me, partly because I didn’t know anything about how to purchase a mattress and just bought a firm latex/innerspring hoping it would break in and last a long time. Wish I had known about Mattress Underground before that expensive purchase.
Although the Tuft and Needle might not be the right mattress for you, I can tell you from my own experience on this mattress, that your experience on it is likely to change after a few weeks. Hopefully for the better. Walk on the surface to help break it in. Don’t use a mattress pad. Use a room heater, if you have one, the first week to help warm up the mattress. Write an e-mail to Tuft and Needle to express your concerns, they can give more tips.
For me personally, this mattress is just about perfect in terms of “PPP”, and I’m glad I took the chance to order something untried before purchase. I know this won’t be the case for everyone, and the mattress may not work for you, but give it a few weeks before making a determination.
Good luck!