PLEASE HELP me! I am bleary eyed from ready reviews, information, blogs, comments, etc., and I’ve run out of visine, so I am begging anyone who is reading this to please, please just tell me which gel infused foam mattress to buy!
About me: I’m 5’7", 116 lbs, and a side sleeper, with back pain due to a previous broken back many years ago, and then a car accident 2 years ago. I live in Texas so I would really like to get a mattress that has the gel-infused technology. I have a foam topper on my old mattress now, so I do know that foam really does “sleep hot”. You don’t even want to know how old my current mattress is. I don’t really have a lot of time to run around testing out a million different mattresses, especially since most of the stores are about 30 miles away from each other, although I will certainly test out some. I am a bit hesitant to order online, for the obvious reasons (returns, etc). My budget is low, $1000 or less.
Any advice anyone can give me would really help. I’ve alread read the info on previous conversations here that discuss density, etc., so I do understand all the technical details.
Hopefully what you’ve read includes post #1 here which is the most important post on the forum and has the information, guidelines, and steps that will lead to your best possible choices. If you have … which step are you working on?
Unfortunately there is no “formula” or even person that can tell someone else with any certainty which mattress would best fit all their needs and preferences. There are just too many variables and individual perceptions involved in choosing a mattress to choose one out of all the thousands of theoretical possibilities that may work best for you … especially without any specific reference points. This is the reason that I focus more on helping the members here with how to choose a mattress rather than on which specific mattress to choose. Even some of your basic assumptions (such as gel memory foam is always cooler or “better” than “regular” memory foam) may not be correct (see post #2 here about the many factors that are involved in temperature regulation).
With the subjective or individual preference nature of so many things that are connected to mattresses, having someone else make choices for you that only you can make has a real risk because one person’s too soft can be another person’s too firm and one person’s “best” can be another person’s “worst” possible choice. Post #2 here has a description of what a perfect mattress would be like … but unfortunately each person needs to add the brand and model name based on their own personal experience and best judgement … hopefully with the help of “professionals” that will give you some good guidance but will leave the final decisions to you.
Theory and information is great to a point because most consumers don’t have access to enough accurate information to make meaningful mattress decisions but too much information and theory that begins to become more important than your actual experience can also lead to overwhelm, frustration, and “paralysis by analysis” and this too often leads to buying a mattress out of frustration or because someone says it’s “better” just to get the process over with.
So I would suggest taking things one step at a time and following the steps that are the most likely to lead to your success regardless of where you order or which mattress turns out to be best for you. You will be living (or sleeping) with your choice for many years and it will have a significant impact on your overall well being in that time so it makes sense to me that your choices is based on your own personal value equation rather than having someone else or online reviews written by people who may be very different from you choose it for you.
If you let me know your city or zip I’d be happy to let you know of some of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.
Thanks for your help. My zip code is 78645, which is Lago Vista, TX. When searching, you’ll probably get hits for Lakeway, which, as the crow flies, is very close. However, since I don’t have wings and must drive, it takes an hour or more, so if you could ignore any of those suggestions I would appreciate it. Anything else would be great. Once again, thanks for all your help - reading all this info here is far easier than dealing with all the slick, polyester clad salesmen out there calling me darlin’!
Thank you so much! Your list of places to shop in Austin has helped immensely! Now I know where to shop and can even do a bit of online shopping beforehand, so you have already saved my back countless hours of pain. Hopefully within the next month (when I’ll finally have that check to pay for the new mattress) I’ll be a happy sleeper!