Mattress Forum

When I made my bed too firm under my 1" topper (when I thought I would try a 44 ILD under my topper), my shoulders would ache in the morning. I also sleep on the side.  The only combination that seems to be working for me is my right side of my bed that has the 1" soft latex topper over the two 37 ILD 3" natural latex cores over the 46 ILD blended Talalay Latex core over my slat bed. My left side of my bed is still slightly too firm since I put a 44 ILD in the middle and it feels the best when I go to sleep but I wake up with a little bit of shoulder pain.  But the 36 ILD in the middle is too soft for me so I may call Dave at FloBeds one more time and explain to him that my car accident has made my back and neck so sensitive since I now have 5 herniated disks.  I love my FloBed since it allowed me to make it just right before the car accident and to now change it to fit my new back after the car accident.  it is just me on my bed, I am very comfortable most nights sleeping on my right side but sometimes from all the stress in my life and that time in my life, I wake up sweaty and need to switch to the other side of the bed.  I can live with the left side but prefer it to have two 37 ILD's and not one of them being a 36 ILD. Amazing that one ILD can affect me so greatly. 

I sleep on a natural latex pillow from overstock in a standard size.  The Pillows FloBed sent me over had a better feel but were Queen size so too thick for me. Dave tried to cut one skinnier for me but it turned out too skinny and I now appreciate the original Overstock Latex pillows I bought and feel that are supportive but soft enough for my petite size and I sleep well on them without allergies.

I feel for you since it is awful not getting a good night's sleep.  I would try a new pillow as well as maybe cutting thicker softer latex foam for your shoulder area.  I have made expensive mistakes in my life also that I wish I could redo but I can't.  I know my previous way too hard bed was a very expensive mistake that I lived with for I think about 12 years.  I did not wake up with back pain but I kept moving all night from side to side to get off of the pressure points and was wishing I kept my twin size perfectly comfortable bed and not bought that awful Posteupedic with no cushion at all Queen Size bed.   I am now sleeping on a Queen Size FloBed with split sides to allow me to make each size comfortable for myself with many combinations. I was hoping to have a partner for the other side but since I am still alone, I am making both sides just right for me.

Michelle, I've been through so many years of pain, simply trying to get a decent night's rest, I could easily write a book on the subject.  Please pardon the length of this post, but here are a few of the conclusions I've reached:

Rule #1: Don't rely on -- or even listen to -- ANYONE'S advice.  Asking which mattress or topper is right for you is like asking what pair of shoes will be most comfortable for your feet.  So many variables are involved (your body proportions, sleep positions, the pillows you use, your mattress foundation etc etc etc), all you're going to get from other people are endless anecdotes, one subjective opinion after another.  Each opinion will make you more and more confused, and each opinion is relevant only to the person who's giving it.

The bottom line is, in today's mattress market, which is built around inferior materials and a throwaway mentality, you must invest the time it takes to find the right mattress.  That means spending at least an hour on each mattress model you're interested in.  Be sure to bring/use your own pillow(s) from home.  But even that is no guarantee of long-term comfort, as explained below.

For nearly a century, buying a bed was easy.  You'd walk into a store and have a grand total of *three* mattresses to choose from: firm, medium and soft.  And it really didn't matter which model you chose, because all three mattresses were made from quality materials that were built to last.  However, in the 1980's bed manufacturers discovered consumers could be forced to buy a new bed every few years, instead of every 10, 20 or even 30 years.  They began using cheap foams instead of wool and cotton batting, untempered springs instead of tempered, etc.  And millions of people have been struggling and suffering ever since.

Rule #2: Stick with traditional technology.  That means the less memory foam and polyurethane foam, the better.  Look at any high-end bed manufacturer (Hästens, Hypnos, VI-Spring etc) and you'll find none of them use petrochemical foams in their mattresses.  Even so-called "100% natural" latex is mostly (60%) petrochemical foam.  If you do find a mattress that still uses all natural padding and comfort layers, and no foam, you'll have to spend several thousand dollars for one.  But over time, these mattresses aren't really more expensive, because they last 20 or more years, while foams begin to compress and collapse immediately after you start sleeping on them.

Rule #3: Buy a real box spring (preferably one that's 8-way hand tied), *not* a solid foundation.  This is especially important if you're a side sleeper: no mattress by itself is able to provide adequate, long-term hip support while providing enough give for your shoulders.  Quality box springs are the primary reason why traditional "firm" mattresses sets are so comfortable, while today's "firm" mattress sets are like sleeping on concrete slabs.

If you're like most people, you don't have 7 or 8 grand (or more) to spend on a bed.  If you must use foam, fortunately a few manufacturers are beginning to sell a workable alternative: mattresses with zippered covers that allow access to (and adjustment/periodic replacement of) both the spring coil unit and foam padding.  An example is www.baybed.com, however I have no first-hand experience with this particular company or their products.

Leo, as I tried to explain, it's impossible to give a useful recommendation without knowing your body proportions, what positions you sleep in, etc.

If your mattress is sagging, or has permanent indentations and compressed areas in its comfort layers, a topper isn't going to help.  In fact most toppers will make the problem worse.  Do you sleep any better when you lay in the exact center of the mattress (directly over the center support(s) of your box spring)?  If so, your problem is likely a sagging mattress, not an overly hard one.  I should also note that Spring Air box springs are junk.  Just for a test, try putting the mattress directly on your bedroom floor and see if your sleep quality improves.

If a mattress is even, but just too firm, some people have had luck with a 3" topper (featherbed, convoluted memory or PU foam).  But these toppers may cause back or hip pain if you're a side-sleeper, or if you weigh more than average.

Currently I'm sleeping on a McRoskey mattress, "gentle" model.  It's comfortable, but at this point I can't recommend it.  After just three months some of the mattress tufts have begun to tear through the ticking, even though I'm far from overweight (5' 10", 150#) and have flipped and rotated it right on schedule.  McRoskey said they would cover it under their warranty, but frankly I see no reason why I'm not going to have the same problem with the replacement mattress.