Hi buttercupbetty,
[quote] I am experiencing my hands falling asleep during the night. Sometimes it is my bottom arm (side sleeper) and sometimes the top arm. I realize that you cannot give me medical advice.
So I have been thinking about getting a zoned mattress. What have others experienced when switching from regular Talalay to a zoned Talalay mattress? Wondering if it is as much of a game changer as some manufacturers proclaim. Thanks in advance.[/quote]
Sorry to hear you are experiencing numbness in your hands while sleeping. There are a few factors to consider that will determine whether a particular zoning scheme would be suitable for you or not – in some cases, it can do more harm than good. There are 3 “critical” areas or zones of a mattress that contribute the most to alignment. These are under the shoulders (mostly for side sleepers), under the recessed part of the lumbar spine (small of your back when you are on your back or waist if you are on your side), and under the hips/pelvis.
I would suggest you should evaluate:
• Check the pillow as numb arms are often an indication that the pillow is too high or too low.
• Number of zones you are considering…2, 3,5,7 different areas (Zoning schemes) – a 2 zone layer could work well if you have a large differential between shoulder and hips, While a 3 zone layer is usually softer on ends (shoulders and legs) and firmer in middle (under hips) and could be a good solution for someone with wider shoulders as this would allow the shoulders to sink in past the support that is needed for the lumbar curvature of the spine. Five zones tend to give more allowance for shoulder and hip sinkage, but keep in mind that this varies by manufacturer.
• Relative position of the zones in relation to the body areas where zoning is needed for zoning to be effective
• If you move too much during the night - results in mattress zoning not matching your body configuration
• If you carry more than normal weight in the hips or shoulder area.
• A high BMI person may sometimes in certain cases benefit from a zoned construction
Zoning systems can certainly be useful and well worth considering for people that have more difficulty finding a mattress with the right “balance” between comfort/pressure relief (under the shoulders especially) and support/alignment (under the hips/pelvis especially) or who have more challenging circumstances or sensitivities, body types that are more difficult to “match” to a mattress, more complex medical issues, or who have a history of having more difficulty in finding a mattress that works well for them. There is more about zoning in this article and inpost #11 here and the additional posts it links to but the only way to know whether any specific mattress (zoned or otherwise) will be a good match for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP will be based on careful testing or your own personal experience.
Hopefully, other consumers who have experience with zoned versus not zoned Talalay mattresses can weigh in to share.
Phoenix