|
Hello,
I'v been researching latex mattresses wanting to get away for regular coil one. A bit of history, we currently have Queen Simmons Burdock plush mattress, which is a bit on a firm side. There is nothing wrong with it and we've been getting a good sleep on it for years, but latex mattresses advantages have attracted me almost instantly. I've searched many sites for best deals and stumbled upon Sleep EZ where I ordered initially natural Dunlop 6" special, but quickly changed it Talalay blend Sleep EZ 8500 model. When the sales guy called I asked him what's recommended firmness and he gave me the same suggestion as to everyone else XF, F, S, but I decided to go with Medium for top layer). I am 175 pounds 5'9" and my wife is 125 pound 5'5" (she is also 20 weeks pregnant). We are both side sleepers. Last night was our first experience with latex. When I initially laid on it, it felt the same firmness as our regular coil mattress, although my wife said it felt a bit softer. I fall asleep fairly quickly, although I woke up middle of the night feeling hot and my arm getting a bit numb. We have micathermic heater about 3 feet from the mattress that's set to keep 69 degree temperature at night and apparently it warmed the mattress. I turned the heater off, opened window and went online to search about temperature dissipation of the latex and only found positive results. About 30 minutes of letting mattress to cool down down a bit and I was able to fall asleep just fine. The rest of the night I slept fine and woke up only at the sound of the alarm, but the problem was I felt sore in my neck and back and my wife also experienced sore back. That rarely happens even sleeping in cheap coil mattresses in hotels. I am a bit disappointed, but hoping that there is a solution to this. So, my question here Is there a "getting used" period with latex? I am also considering removing medium layer and getting 2" Wool topper, in order to get a bit more firmness, but slight plush at the top. This message was modified Jan 31, 2011 by klas
|
|
I believe you are headed for even more issues with your sleeping (on top of what you are having now) if you start changing the support layers for something softer in an effort to "soften up" the mattress. It is the top 3" or so of a mattress which is much more important in helping with shoulder and pressure issues. I believe that the top of your mattress is too firm and too thin from the symptoms you are describing. Given that the middle 3" layer is now medium, changing the top 1.5" for soft may solve the issue but I have my doubts as your comfort layer may still not be thick/soft enough to solve shoulder issues. In other words you are trying to solve issues that come from the top part of your mattress by changing the bottom parts and this usually leads to more problems than you started with. In general, the sides of all latex mattresses will compress more when you are sitting on them as your whole body weight is concentrated in a smaller area. Some mattresses put firmer and cheaper poly around the latex to "compensate" for this but it is only worth doing if sinking in to the edge when you sit on it is a really big issue as this replaces "useable latex" for sleeping with inferior and less durable materials. Phoenix This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by Phoenix
|
|
Ok, I'll keep things as is for a week or so and will report back. Might add cheap soft layer to experiment. Is this one good to try?
This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by klas
|
|
If you add 1.5" of soft it may still not be enough as it would still be on top of 4.5" of medium and may not be enough soft latex for your shoulders. You would be far better off replacing the 1.5" layer for something softer and then adding more soft (possibly another inch) if you needed to. The topper you linked to is not latex (2 percent latex, 98 percent poly) and the poly in it would degrade quickly. Of course it's cheap enough that it may be worth a few months of comfort but you would lose most of the benefits of sleeping on latex. If you need a topper at all it's worth getting the right ILD of real latex as it will last you many years and is much better value. Phoenix This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by Phoenix
|
|
Sean from SZ said that 1.5 soft is not that much different from 1.5 medium. I also noticed that 1.5M is soft enough and appears to have different texture then regular 3" M layer. This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by klas
|
|
Sigh ... If it wasn't "that much different" then why not sell just a single ILD? What would be the point of even selling different ILD's? What a 1.5" layer "feels" like is not an indicator of how it "performs" when you sleep on it. All thinner layers "feel" softer than thicker layers of the same ILD. What you are experiencing is from a combination of thickness and softness, not just the softness alone. If you add something thinner and softer on top then the ILD of what is under it becomes much more important. Phoenix This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by Phoenix
|
| That 1.5" medium is actually very soft and very thin, so I can't image 1.5" soft will be that much different, but as you suggested I am going to experiment by adding top soft layers before I exchange anything. I feel like I am pretty close to ideal feel of the bed. |
|
The 1.5" is not "very soft" in any way. It is 30-32 ILD which is medium and even getting close to firm. There is not a lot of difference between having 4.5" and 3" of medium under a comfort layer. What you feel ... especially in the shoulders ... will depend on the combination of softness and thickness in the top 3" and having 4.5" of 30-32 ILD under a comfort layer will not be that much different from having 3" of 30-32 ILD under it ... especially in terms of how deeply it allows your shoulder to sink in. It may however contribute to how far your hips sank down (there is a difference between "sinking in" to a comfort layer and "sinking down" into the mattress as a whole) and create some alignment issues. You would just be paying for an extra 1.5" of medium with little benefit and possible problems in your case. The more you "add on top" the more the 1.5" of medium becomes part of your support system (deeper layers) and the less effect it will have on your comfort. As part of your support system ... how it "feels" is really irrelevant. It's ILD (and some other "specs") will determine how it performs. Having said all of that ... there is enough information in this thread to make good choices so I will leave it to you to decide on what is "best". Phoenix This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by Phoenix
|
| Thanks Phoenix for all your help! |
|
Just an update after a week of sleeping on our new configuration I am happy to report that after initial “break in” period where our bodies were sore, Medium has been working quite well for us. We did not like the feel of SZ mattress cover underneath the sheets, so we added a thin layer of Natura organic wool cover from Costco that improved things for us. Also from Costco, organic latex pillow and 2” soft topper coming next that I wanted to experiment with. |
|
3 weeks later update... Let me first mention that we have been "upgrading" not only our bed, but other things as well to improve quality of our sleep: - Comforter - Natura wool from Costco which is awesome and I highly recommend it! - Bed sheets and duvet - 100% Pima cotton from Macy's - super soft! - Waterproof Natura wool layer from Sears.
So, back to latex... I can't speak for my wife because she hasn't been sleeping well during pregnancy, but for me medium latex firmness has been working well. What I did notice is that I no longer turn in my sleep and I wake up usually in the same position which is on my side. It seems to be a good and a bad thing. The good thing is that, I feel comfortable to sleep in this position without tossing and the bad thing is that my side gets slightly sore. So what happens is that my body wakes me up because of that after about 6 hours I turn and sleep for another 1-2 hours. I am still wondering about trying 1-1.5 inches of soft latex layer. |