Two Quick Questions - Current Brooklyn Bedding Sleeper

[bbdude]

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such thoughtful input! Sorry it’s taken so long to respond, life got in the way!

@phoenix

How did you assess that your current mattress started to fail? I am asking this because sometimes, while the mattress is still in good condition if some weight gain is involved the mattress may no longer provide good support/comfort to be the best match for you and your wife’. If your BMI is similar to what it used to be 10 years ago and the mattress started to wear out it is possible that your higher BMIs in combination with a softer uppermost comfort layer (if this is the case) are wearing out faster especially for sleepers that move more during the course of the night. Either way, it would be good to determine this before starting the “hunt” for your next mattress.

We went on vacation and slept in a new bed for ~10 days. Slept great. Came home and had a long of back issues and noticed how where we sleep doesn’t feel the same as the mattress does between the both of us. BMI/weight has remain largely the same over the last decade or so. BMI is ~20-25 and we’re both 6’ 200lbs or so. Wife is a side/back sleeper and I’m almost exclusively a stomach sleeper.

@phoenix

To start off I’d do some reading on some of the criteria that seem to be high on your list.
• Temperature regulation and the variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress in post #2 can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range. Latex itself is a quite breathable material.

Looks like we should pursue Talalay, but also pay special attention to the mattress cover and sheets.

@phoenix

• As you are a prone (stomach) sleeper, as you may be aware, this can create issues for your lumbar region if the sleeping surface is not supportive enough to keep your spine in neutral alignment. Your muscles relax a bit when sleeping at night, so maintenance of alignment falls mostly to the mattress itself. Usually, someone who sleeps prone needs a surface that is firmer and less forgiving. There’s a bit more information about common sleeping positions and appropriate sleep surfaces here.

Seems like this might be tricky … I probably need something like 1" of softer material, but as a back/side sleeper my wife would need 2-3" of softer material. Between the two of us I seems to be the most unaffected overall by bedding (no idea why this might be).

@phoenix

• I’d revisit The mattress shopping tutorial here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines including suggestions about how to test a mattress for what is called PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can simplify your search and help you make the best possible choices.

This is an excellent resource. I’m going to read through and probably post some questions.