Mattress Forum

1. Obviously finding a bed that will keep your spine in alignment while you sleep is very important (imagine drawing a line from the base of your skull through your knees while laying on your side... is it it straight? Or does it bend in various locations?) This alignment is maintained primarily in the support layer of your bed (coils, air, foam: like latex or visco-elastic, etc.) If your back muscles do not sense the proper support they will continue to work throughout the night adding to the number of pains you feel in the morning.

2. The second part is finding the mattress that feels the best on your shoulders and hips while you are on your side. (What? Sounds like what you just said, right?) The comfort layer of a mattress is actually the top layers of foams, fibers and padding. If the top of the mattress does not "cradle" your hips and shoulders while on your side, it cn definitely aggravate your existing pains

3. Probably the most often forgotten (or unknown) element of great pressure-relieving sleep is complete body alignment. May side-sleepers actually require a pillow between their knees to reduce or eliminate a multitude of pains, stress points and uncomfortable positions... my suggestion here is referred to as a motion-base, active-base, adjustable base, etc. These bases are not just an "expensive" add-on, but are a requirement in hospitals. Do you know why? Let's take a look:

While on your back...

• Raising your head (from the waist, not the shoulders or neck) anywhere from 3-4 inches to up to as high as is comfortable, has been clinically proven to increase air flow (which means more of that healing oxygen getting into your bllod stream!) without any more effort on your part. It also includes numerous additional benefits and improvements.
• Raising your legs (from the hips and bending at the knee) can make the small of your back "release" allowing your pelvis to rotate forward into the the more natural position and creating a much more relaxed position. How many men out there can sleep like a baby in your La-Z-Boy recliner because you breathe better and your lower back doesn't hurt?

While on your side...

• The minor raising of the head (again from your waist) can still improve the amount of air flow while on your side. Strangely enough (seriously try it for yourself!) it does not feel "weird" or abnormal, assuming you have not elevated your head too high
• The raising of your lower half of the body will probably no be as high as while on your back, but it creates an incredible scenario for your lower back: Instead of your top leg dropping to your bottow leg while on your side, it raise (just enough) your bottom leg allowing both of your legs to come directly off your pelvis without creating any stress on your lower spine

So... a lot of information to get back to your question: If you can create a true cradling of your hips and shoulders, while creating a more oxygen rich blood stream all while allowing more blood flow WITHOUT anymore effort on your part then you can create a higher amount of internal natural healing, less stress points in your joints and reduced pressure points on the corners of your body....RESULT? Better, Deeper, Longer Night's Sleep with less pain and improved healing, naturally and without surgery or medication (unless your doctor says otherwise!)

Sleep well "dandlbee"

I'm fascinated by what you say about side sleeping, but I'm afraid I don't exactly understand it, especially the second bullet below "While on your side ...".  As a side sleeper with lower-back pain, I'm VERY interested.   Can you expand more on what you mean ?   Thanks !

The alignment of the back is very intricate. The lower back is not just supported by the space directly underneath it, it is in conjunction with the position of the legs to the pelvis. Try this:

Lay down on the floor on your side without a pillow or anything... try to have a mirror somewhere that you could see while laying down. Notice that your waist area sinks down to the floor so that there are no gaps. Your top leg also drops down to the bottom leg which is flat on the floor. Your head drops to the floor as well. Your spine can almost assuredly be bent in more ways than is healthy at this moment. We want your spine to be in a straight line from the base of your skull through your knees (if we could pull a string from end to end). On a hard floor your spine would be all over the place.

Now let's move you to a bed that should allow your hips and shoulders to sink (only far enough to allow a straighter spine) without sagging in the middle. Using a pillow to keep your neck (18% of the spine) in a straight line helps that almost 1/5 of your back and spine find its proper alignment. A proper mattress should be relieving the pressure points (and some of the stress points) throughout your body helping you to relax. the problem is, we really aren't designed to lay on flat surfaces. The adjustable option goes the next step further.

If the mattress doesn't help you increase breathing flow (amount of air moving while you breathe naturally) and it doesn't allow your lower spine to completely release (because your top leg is still dropping a little) you will still have some stress in you your sleeping position. We chalk this little bit of discomfort in the morning, up to age, a rough day the day before, etc. If you were to elevate your head (as described in the prior response) and your feet as well (yes, even while on your side) you can add more stress point relief to your overall sleeping position. The less stress you experience, the longer it takes for you to "feel" your age.

I will restate that I am not a doctor, but I have been helping people find better sleep systems through various companies and brands and find that pressure point relief and stress point relief are independent of brand and totally dependent upon your personal response to the system.

I hope this helps! Sleep Well "RustyShackleford"!

Rusty, you might want to check out the posture & alignment work of Esther Gokhale:
Gokhale Method Institute.

I have her book, and it's excellent. (And not just for people with back pain.)

@dandlbee: I haveslept on an adjustable base for just over two years and the last 6 months I have used a Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe (before that it was a World Class Simmons plush mattress) I have slept better those last 2 years (I am 42) than ever before and even more so the last 6 months... I actually wake up about 5-7 minutes before my alarm clock almost daily!

I actually am only supporting Tempur as the right one for me after being around them for almost 5 years... but I sleep on my back about 80% of the time now, but when I sleep on my side, I lower the head and feet just a little (but not much!) and still sleep like a happy baby!