Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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I will try to keep this short, as I have not finished my experimentation. I have been experimenting with mattress topper's. I have a FloBeds all natural latex mattress. It sleeps wonderfully for me. I originally put on as a topper, or cover if you prefer, my old left over from my waterbed days very thin cotton protective cover. I had no problems with it sleeping hot. But I decided since it was wearing out to try out a new thicker all cotton cover. I made the mistake of not washing this new cotton cover and then stretching it too tightly over the mattress. This was uncomfortable. It firmed up the sleeping experience to a much greater degree than I thought possible. So I decided to try sleeping right on top of the mattress with only a sheet between me and the mattress cover. This felt great at first as it was a softer experience. Then one night when it was quite cold I turned up the heat on our furnace. I normally sleep in a bedroom that is 69 to 71°F. This night the temperature got up to 74°. I woke up in the middle of the night with the bed feeling quite hot. I turned the temperature back down and this corrected the problem. But I decided to put back on the old mattress cover, or protective topper if you prefer to call it that. This put everything back the way it was originally.... quite comfortable. I was going to wait and make this report after I once again tried the new mattress topper that is 100% cotton, since I have washed it and we'll put it back on without stretching it tightly over the mattress. I'm hoping this will work. But if not I will go shopping to replace my old wore out cover with something as similar as I can find. The point to all this rhetoric is the fact that a lot of folks are having some kind of difficulty finding a comfortable configuration vis-à-vis beds sleeping too hot or being too soft,or being too hard. What I'm finding is that the cover we sleep on, what it's made out of, how thick it is, and how tightly it is stretch over the mattress can make a great deal of difference in the way the bed feels to us. It's a very interesting conundrum. The beat goes on!  This message was modified Feb 7, 2010 by eagle2
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Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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Sandman: I believe that those of us who enjoy a latex mattress must be very careful about what we put on top of it. If we want the benefits of latex, (I.E. it's not too soft and not too hard feel that lasts over time and doesn't need to be flipped) then we need to stay close to its surface. But at the same time I don't think very many people who have slept on latex would support a contention that body heat build up does not matter. It does matter. Some people find it more irritating than others, but I have felt it and it is uncomfortable. Therefore, some kind of medium needs to be between the sleeper and the mattress that will allow air circulation. My FloBeds has an excellent mattress cover with about an inch of wool sewn into it. And if my room is kept cool then I can sleep directly on the mattress cover. But let the heat in the room exceed approximately 72- 73°F and it can become uncomfortable. Therefore I need a very thin cotton stuffed mattress topper. I am looking forward to trying out the new thicker cover when I change the sheets the next time. I will report back on my experience. This message was modified Feb 7, 2010 by eagle2
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Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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Budgy, just so I am clear. You are suggesting something like a wool filled cotton covered mattress pad over the mattress and a silk comforter/duvet above the sleeper. I have tried wool over latex (the Flobed came with a wool filled cover and I had a Natura wool filled cotton mattress pad (not that thick though)). That alone was still too warm for me at times. I have not tried any silk. I have also seen a few sillk filled mattress pads, so maybe that would be an alternative to wool. Any other good choices besides wool, cotton, silk on top of the mattress? |
Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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Budgy, Like this one? http://thenaturalsleepstore.com/green_sleep_accessories.html |
Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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KimberlyH wrote: Budgy, Like this one? http://thenaturalsleepstore.com/green_sleep_accessories.html Kimberly: Thanks for posting the link, it made interesting reading. But for the price of $438, I believe I will turn down my thermostat. |
Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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It is hard to see how it would be that much cooler, since it is just made out of cotton. Not sure how thick it is. Sounds like the main advantage is that it gives you better feel of the latex. |
Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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Yeah that is the pad. And yeah the advantage with this over other pads is the non interference with the mattress. So long as your top mattress layers are breathable its difficult to reduce the heat any more using thicker and thicker pads. Heat rises, so a silk duvet is best because compared to other natural fills silk flleece is not a very effective insulator. If heat is the main issue (and you don't mind using a much more reasonably priced thicker pad) then a light weight silk duvet is the best way to actually reduce heat build up around you. But the cover on the duvet matters a lot as well, it should really just be a plain weave or jacquard weave cotton with a relatively low strand count for light weight, flexibility, and breath-ability, I have seen some cheaper ones come with basically a heavy twill weave like the ones Costco sells in Canada. Basically ruins the benefits of the silk fibre within. This message was modified Feb 8, 2010 by budgy
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Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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Yeah Budgy, I tend to agree that thicker mattress pads haven't seemed to make a huge difference for me. Once you lay on something it compresses, and the heat seems to transmit through it. The most noticable isse to me is the feeling of the latex heating up below me, which ends up feeling a bit like a heating pad after a few hours. The thick wool filled flobed cover and a thinner wool Natura mattress pad did not stop that affect for me. I have not experimented as much with comforters, but I have stopped using down because that is too good of an insulator. I will probably try silk and work on heat issues from the top side a bit more. I keep it fairly cool in my bedroom in winter, so I need the warmth for a few hours, but eventually it seems to get too warm. I have always wondered about using a thick cotton duvet over the comforter, because that does seem like it would hold in heat. I may use try a lightweight silk comforter with no duvet or I will look for a thin cotton duvet. Thanks for you input. |
Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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just a light weight silk duvet and light weight cotton duvet cover is probably best for the price. still not cheap, but they are very good. Down CAN be just fine for heat except that cheaper down doesn't breathe very well because in order to be a good insulator it has to be heavier than a high quality down duvet. Your very best down will be very light, still be warm in the winter and it will be more breathable than the cheaper down duvets, but in reality a down duvet this good is going to be VERY pricey. Probably going to be a thousand dollars or more just for the duvet, and it will still be warmer than silk because it is such an effective insulator. A silk duvet with a good quality cover could probably be had for maybe 300~400 USD MAX. |
Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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In the past I have found that using my wool pad tended to throw off my support level. But now I am using my wool mattress pad and it does seem to make me sleep cooler AND it feels fine on my back. I am using one of the ones from this company. I don't know which one it is as I bought it a long time ago but it's about 2" thick but when you squeeze it it goes down to about 1/2": http://www.woolenmill.com/sections/Wool_Mattress_Pads.php Says they have a 30 day trial but I'm not sure how that works since you can't legally re-sell mattress pads I don't think. Budgy? [By the way, when I use the LINK icon above to create a clickable link, I have to first do it, then go back and re-edit my post and do it again, then it works the 2nd time. This is a very old and clunky forum! No "subscriptions" or "notifications" etc. and clunky ways of doing things. But hey, it works! And I'm glad it's here.] This message was modified Feb 8, 2010 by jimsocal
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Re: Latex mattresses sleeping too hot..... or whatever!
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Hi Jim, Actually this forum is great. Check out the highlighted threads admin just put in at the top and send PM to makes suggestions. Your mattress surgery is there now :-) You should try the Yahoo forums they are horrible to try to follow. |