Already my dream is coming true. We've slept on several mattresses so far (a DWR Sonno — our old one, the Hastens Excelsior — September's test mattress, and also recently a Sealy Posturpedic). I've begun to collect information as to how this whole mattress and bed world works. Today I wanted to share with you our new bedroom out in the country and some things I've learned so far from this project.
1. Reassembling Our Min Bed — Platforms Need Softer Mattresses
- Above you can see my reassembly this past Saturday of our Min Bed from the city. We had to move it out to make way for the Hastens, and it's going to be interesting moving beds in and out every month. At least this one will now stay here. I love the Min frame. It's a simple, well made design that's easy to assemble and creates a nice profile close to the floor. You can put stuff under it, but it's still low.
The mattress I put on top of it was an old Sealy Posturpedic, which was always my go-to mattress since I graduated from futons in college. The Posturpedic is not expensive and has always been — for me — a good standard American mattress. That said, as I've gotten older, I find it a bit unforgiving and it really, really needs a mattress topper to soften it up.
In addition, I'd say that putting it on a platform is not a great idea. Platforms are really solid and provide very little give to a mattress. While I'm not a big box spring fan, I think this mattress needs one, as I woke up with a sore back again after Saturday night.
2. Americans Prefer Firm Beds
- According to many of the mattress manufacturers I've spoken with, we — Americans — generally ask for firmer beds. I guess it's the deep Puritan stock in the American culture. I've always done it, so I don't doubt that it's true, but I've recently learned that Firm is not good for everyone and that there's a real case for Softer for some people.
3. Heavier People Need Firmer Mattresses/Lighter People Need Softer Mattresses
- This is what I've heard from folks in the industry. The amount that you sink into a bed — i.e. your weight — is the real determinate for whether you should sleep on a softer or a firmer mattress. Since heavier people will sink into a mattress more easily, a firmer mattress is better for their sleeping position. The opposite is true for lighter folks. When you think of the often large weight differential between your typical man and woman, there is a real case to be made — if you follow this logic — for a different firmness on either side!
4. There's A Lot of Foam in Mattresses These Days!
- After working on sourcing a dozen good mattresses for this year, it's surprising how few of them DON'T contain some type of foam, so I did a little digging to find out more about foam. Right now, the only bed that has no foam in it on my agenda is The Hastens. Everybody seems to be using foam these days.
5. There are Two Types of Foam: Latex & Memory Foam
- Natural foam is called "natural latex" and comes from rubber trees. It is expensive, challenging to work with, and firmer than the man-made version, which is called "memory foam." Memory Foam is made of "polyurethane with additional chemicals increasing its viscosity and density.... Memory foam was developed in 1966 under a contract by NASA's Ames Research Center to improve the safety of aircraft cushions." (– quote via Wikipedia.) Memory foam is the lovely soft one that you sink into and which was first branded by Tempur-Pedic.
Latex you tend to sleep "on."
Memory foam you tend to sleep "in."
Due to the qualities of both, they are often mixed into a hybrid foam that combines their strengths.
From what I understand, even though natural latex could be considered a "green" product, it is not currently recyclable in any way, so that both foams are really cradle to grave products — i.e. they create bad waste at the ends of their lives.
So, there's what I've learned so far. I'll continue to update you as I try out new mattresses and learn more from industry folks and from my own experience. Stay tuned!
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I can't tell you how happy I am that you're doing this! I currently have a Dormia memory foam bed that I adore but I'm always curious if it's THE best bed for me. I look forward to your future posts on this subject and I hope to learn a lot. Have fun!
There is actually an "eco-friendly" option for memory foam mattresses. My husband and I recently tried the Ecosense memory foam mattress, which is made of 100% castor plant and has a bamboo cover.
I wonder whether a mattress pad on top can compensate for lack of box spring. A lot of the Room and Board beds don't require a box spring and if you put one on, it reduces the headboard space and kind of looks weird. I'm wary of getting a bed that doesn't require a box spring since I've always had one.
My grandpa used to put a board under his side of the bed (between the box spring and matress, I think) to make it firmer.
I had a Posturpedic on a platform as a teenager; I totally agree about it being too firm for that setup.
I've heard rule #3 for years and understand it, but it just doesn't work for us. Hubby is quite heavy and he likes the softer mattress - natural latex with a layer of memory foam (that's a joke) - that we have now. I'm very light and hate the thing. I hate sinking in even a little bit; my back never feels properly supported and turning over is difficult. Also, it permanently compressed within six months which has caused me all sorts of problems, but hubby doesn't mind at all.
I'm becoming convinced that there's no single mattress that would suit the two of us.
i'm shopping around now for a mattress - memory foam since i think it'll be good for both the husband and me, but i'm so confused as to whether it can go over a foundation or box spring. i have a frame bed, not platform, so i think i'm good there.
I've been eyeing the mattresses made from wool here
http://www.shepherdsdream.com/
although they seem a little more like a wool futon then a mattress to me.
Then there are these, made from latex, wool & cotton
http://www.savvyrest.com/
And finally, these, which take the whole "purity" thing very seriously
http://www.purerest.com/Mattresses
I would love it if you were able to test any of these.
soft and firm choices are definitely better fits depending on our size and weight, but we've also found that the position you sleep in (side, back, stomach) affects whether or not those firmness variances are comfortable. stomach sleepers needer a more firm mattress so that there torsos don't sink; side and back sleepers do better with softer ones.
we purchased a new bed a few months ago after nearly a year of research and testing them out on show room floors. we did end up going with a more expensive latex mattress than we originally planned, but our bodies don't seem to do well with the less expensive mattresses with springs that we used to be able to depend on. savvy rest was the route we chose.
would love to hear more about the differences you experience between a memory foam and a latex mattress as we are probably going to be buying a new bed for our daughter in the next year, too.
Does anyone have any info on the "eco-friendly" memory foam troul mentioned above? I have been trying to do my own research on this and other supposedly eco-friendly memory foams, and I am really beginning to think there is no reliable source for information. Believing what mattress/pillow makers themselves say seems to be pure folly. But I do know that my Tempurpedic pillow gave me horrible headaches. (They stopped when I got rid of it, but now my neck hurts!)
I'm curious about whether you sleep all year round right underneath that window; I find it too drafty in winter and, during rainy weather, uncomfortable in summer as well. Thanks for your report, though; it's very helpful and interesting.
When I got a new Sealy Posturpedic the salesman said that you have to buy the two parts (it looks like two mattresses but the bottom has the legs) to benefit from it. That was important since the Sealy posturpedic is pretty expensive. IT made for a pretty firm mattress that took a few days to get used to but made me feel much better.
You know what I've learned so far? While at a Crate and Barrel this weekend I asked what kind of comforters they put on their display beds, because they always look so fluffed and soft. They use 2 comforters to stuff their duvet covers so we consumers want to dive in. So when you buy their $250 duvet cover and get it home and put your one comforter in it, it never looks the same! Go figure?
I got a great foam mattress from The Original Mattress Factory a few months ago and I love it. I sleep on my side and I felt like the spring mattresses were putting too much pressure my hip bone and my shoulder. But I will tell you, as much as I love the mattress, it weighs a ton, and it's really hard to turn it over.
k1tsun3: do you have a foundation or box spring under your foam mattress? is it really firm? i heard some people have an issue with foam mattresses being too firm
trillium: I've been looking at savvyrest and purerest too. Also at another "eco-friendly memory foam" company: http://www.myessentia.com/. Note that at savvyrest you can choose your latex foam--I've heard that Dunlop actually has toxic stuff in it. It's all terribly confusing--and why should the Ecosense mattresses be one-fifth the cost of Essentia? Oy.
FINALLY!!! you are understanding the mattress jargon! Congratulations! Most people have no idea what you are talking about, kudos for doing this experiment!
I wish I was doing this project! Definitely following your posts.
I've slept on a memory foam mattress for over two years and eight on a natural latex one. The latex mattress came with a memory layer that I ripped off because I loved the way the latex felt, although did wish I had opted for the mid-level softness rather than the firm. The latex is over 10 years now and looks and feels exactly like it did when I got it. No indentations, discoloration or deterioration of the rubber. The memory foam topper however, turned dark after about a year and started to get dry and crumbly soon thereafter.
Our current memory foam mattress is also too firm but the biggest problem is that it is so hot in the summer. It really doesn't breath like the latex. I wonder how the new "non-toxic" memory foams compare in this regard.
Here is a good description of the differences between natural and synthetic latexes. http://sovn.com/blog/natural-latex-vs-synthetic-polyurethane-whats-the-difference
I'm relatively small and light, and definitely prefer a soft rather than a firm bed. I have one of those natural latex base/wool futon-y layer/cotton topper type deals. Sort of like the Haastens but much, much less expensive.
One thing I would add is: my mother is much smaller and lighter than I am. Several years back, she was investigating getting a Tempurpedic mattress. On testing it out, she felt like a Tempurpedic was a bad choice for her. To get that "sink in" feel where it makes an outline of your body like they show in the commercials, you need weight and heat. My mother just didn't have enough weight to sink in, and she's also one of those people who's always cold, so she didn't generate enough heat either.
Just something to consider. Memory foam = pretty dense, so you need a certain amount of weight to really get the benefit from it.
The slat bed bases have only partially made it over to North America... Here in Switzerland, as well as in Germany and Austria, as well as other large pockets of Europe, most people sleep on foam mattresses with slat bases, but the slat bases and foam mattresses are much more sophisticated. The slat systems (sommiers) have complex spring systems and are much more flexible and responsive than the one you have Maxwell, while the mattresses have ingeniously different inner densities.
Here is one such type available in the U.S.:
http://www.swisssleepsystem.com
Swissflex is probably the top one in Switzerland.
An option to check out...
I'm eager to find out if you ever took off the mattress topper, and how the sleep experience has been so far.
A warning for those in warm climates. Memory form dies not breathe. It traps your body heat and can be very hot. It can also trap moisture and develop mildew.
Beds! My husband sleeps on a low to the ground futon that feels like concrete to me, and I despise being so low, can't get up and out without my knees above my hips (a no-no for me). I sleep on a extra firm mattress with a box spring, nicely high above the floor. His back cannot handle the mattress. I think we've accepted that barring some vertebral miracle arthritis cure we'll sleep in separate beds. Maybe one day there'll be a hard-firm combo with sides that lower or rise to suit each of us. ;^p
Latex does biodegrade, whereas memory foam does not.
We bought the Sonno Versa a couple of months ago (partly because of rave reviews on AT), and I am totally in love. Right now we both have it on the soft side, but we can always flip it to the firm side if we need to. I'm 8 months pregnant and on our old innerspring mattress I was waking up every morning with sore shoulders and hips. That's completely gone now.
We also bought the Hoffman bed from Room and Board, which has slats, since the Sonno doesn't take a box spring. It does seem kind of low but once I pull out out duvet I think everything will look right.
I know one couple and one single person who have been highly pleased with air-chamber mattresses for a decade or so. (The sleep-number type, not the aerobed/camping type.) I hope you include that type of mattress as well.
Correction: It's Talalay latex that supposedly has some toxic stuff in it, not Dunlop.
Has anyone ever put two twin mattresses on a king bed? would they fit?
We splurged for the Cloud Supreme Temperpedic this summer. It was so very comfortable in the store. (We had looked at the Danny Seo "natural" mattresses, but learned what a joke they are-so much petroleum and other eco-unfriendly stuff in them yet they make them sound so green). So we just went for the straight un-natural, but very comfy mattress. We have friends that just love theirs.
We ended up having to return the Temperpedic due to severe off-gassing. We couldn't go in the bedroom for weeks. It barely improved with over three weeks of airing it out. It is a large slab of petroleum basically, but we could not have imagined how bad it could smell. We have sinced purchased a natural latex/wool/cotton mattress made here in upstate NY (WJ Southard). I should have purchased locally from a smaller company to begin with as I never seem to regret making purchases that are better for the local economy and my health.
Eh, I'm gonna say in my experience, Americans prefer softer beds, at least compared to Asians. My parents will sleep on the floor before sleeping on a softy. I've done the same in a guest room once. As for the weight thing, we're all between 120-170 lbs. Maybe it's just some cultural thing. But I've never come across a Western bed that was too firm.
My parents also bought an electrically heated granite(?)-slab of a bed. There's a thin futon-ish thing you put on top, but you can definitely tell when you first sit on it that it's solid rock and not that thick a cushion. It's great for sleeping, but less-so for side-sleeping, and much less so for non-sleep activities...
I think mattress toppers are fine, and better than pillow-top. At least with the mattress topper you can take it off, air it out, get it cleaned, etc. The pillow-top is stuck there until it's time for you to get a whole new mattress.
No foam mattresses for me. The SO gives off way too much body heat.
I thought I was starting menopause early shortly after I got my memory foam mattress --I wake up three nights a week with my back or chest soaked in sweat. I can't decide which I hope it is.
pam
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com
I've already decided on a mattress made by a company here in Virginia -- Winndom -- but am saving my pennies for it, as it costs more than a thousand bucks.
My in-laws keep boards under all their mattresses, and under their couch cushions...a horror! Visiting overnight can leave me with a migraine and a backache for a week. (And not just from the company!)
My husband insisted he preferred a firm mattress, and I just can't take it (and I'm heavier than he is, so so much for the experts) so after much shopping and testing we compromised on a Select Comfort (Sleep Number) bed seven years ago, so we could each adjust our own side to our own preference. It is Heaven! So much so that after a rollover car accident a couple of years ago that left me with 6 broken ribs, severe whiplash, and a crushed hand that caused nerve damage in my arm, I checked myself out of the hospital before medically advised to get out of those horrid hospital beds and back into my wonderful bed at home. Another benefit during that time was that I could fully inflate the bed to assist in rising out of the bed, then deflate it to a comfortable level again as needed.
My husband was surprised to find soon after the purchase, that he doesn't prefer a firm setting after all. In fact his sleep number (firmness level) is barely higher than mine.
This is a wonderful option. It is not too hot. It is wonderful to move, as it dissasembles and is handled in several small loads rather than one huge unwieldy mattress and then another box spring. And we haven't noticed any uncomfortable middle ground between his side and mine. :)
i have heard rumors that most mattresses have been treated with toxic chemicals to abide by laws requiring a certain degree of fire retardance. (and that we breathe these chemicals for the 6-8 hours that we sleep.) some mattresses made from natural fibers, such as wool, are naturally fire retardant.
does anyone know the straight story on this?
thanks ~
I'm on the lighter side and I much prefer a firmer mattress. My boyfriend is heavier and wants a softer mattress. Go figure.
Talaly and Dunlop can both have other chemicals (petroleum as a filler). If it is labeled as 100% natural (more $$), then it should just be pure latex.
Dunlop is vulconized in a giant "waffle iron" type cooker. Talaly is vulconized in a vacuum, making it softer.
After a year with back and shoulder problems we splurged on a latex bed and I'll never go back. For the first time in a decade I can sleep either on my back or side with no soreness. It's not "springy" like a regular mattress, but not "dead" like a memory foam (which gets too hot). It feels like I'm sleeping on a giant cloud. We got the soft version and it's great.
I have a question that's totally off-subject. Where is that beautiful red pillow from? I love it!
anapanda - Considering king beds use two twin boxsprings for the base, two twin mattresses would work as well as one big one. I've often debated if I ever gain a place large enough for a king bed buying one that way just so I can have a softer mattress and let him get a firmer one. Again so much for the experts since I'm not thin and I love a soft mattress - give me a firm one and I'll wake up with a back ache and a headache.
I love this project. But I need a new mattress soon and can't wait a year for the results! My husband and I are still sleeping on a waterbed. The heater no longer works on my side and I'm miserable. I have another bed-related question. Our bed is between two windows. It doesn't fit well, because it is king-size. My husband is against getting a queen. Would those out there with California Kings comment on if they are happy they bought that size? Is it too difficult to find bedding? Thanks.
Hastens is all-natural and bio-degradable with no harsh chemicals like memory foam. I think it should also be noted that although Hastens is more expensive than most beds the entry-level beds are quite affordable. If you're looking for value (considering their life-span), natural, comfortable, well-made beds this bed has stood the test of time since 1852. We fit the bed to the person and there are different levels of "softness".
So Hastens Store-Dallas, can you tell us what the entry-level Hastens start at?
I see I'm not the first to mention "Sleep Number" beds by Select Comfort. I don't have first-hand knowledge of them, but they're advertised pretty heavily on the radio here and the ads say you and your husband can each have a different firmness in the same bed. They're pretty expensive though:
http://www.selectcomfort.com/
I find it all has to do with pressure relief. Tossing & turning will be a result of pressure (restricting blood flow) which causes numbness, tingling & general discomfort. The body sends a message to the brain to move so you get the blood flowing= tossing & turning. Latex, visco/memory foam & select comfort are best for pressure relief. Get yourself pressure mapped. If you like firm you will find your body doesn't have many pressure points, that's why your body likes it.
Your body knows what is good for it!
I wish you had made this a blind experiment- calling the beds, A, B, C, etc with no knowledge of the price and reputation of the bed you are sleeping on. I can't help but think of how susceptible we are, as humans, to these little influences in our value judgments.
A mattress sales person once told me that a box spring doesn't actually have any springs in it (anymore, I guess they used to). It is basically just a wood box.
What about the Westin Heavenly bed....has anyone purchased one for their home?
I am moving to Florida in 3 weeks, and I want to buy a twin bed. The money is only partially important. I am a hot-blooded (meaning I am warm most of the time and rarely need a cover) so I don't want a bed that will make me feel warmer, especially in Florida! I should move to Alaska...anyway your letters and testings are important to me. Thank you. mary
After sleeping on the cheapie mattress I purchased 13 years before, my husband and I bought a Tempur-Pedic bed in 2007. There is a reason they let you test it for 90 days before your purchase is final. I had chronic mild back pain from too much 21st century living (long hours sitting in front of a computer, poor posture, etc). The Tempur-Pedic bed was not the most pleasant of experineces for the first two months of use--I woke up stiff and sore every day. But then something magical happened and I started sleeping like a baby and waking up feeling perfect! I think my back pain those first two months was the result of my spine readjusting to a more supportive mattress, and now I wouldn't think of sleeping on anything else. Perfect for me, and my husband loved it from day one.
We have one of the generic number beds, we are both heavy and like it very much. I have severe arthritis and after a surgery in a dirty operating room had to stay in bed for months. The ability to change the hardness of the bed was wonderful. With a lot of pain I found a softer bed helped, usually though I like a firm bed. Partner likes firm bed. We sleep on a king size and my only complaint is inability to hold hands without moving toward the middle. All in all, it's been great.
In response to the third item I agree to a point, but I think that there is also a case to be made for personal preference/requirement. If you are a lighter person and prefer to sleep on a firm bed I don't see a problem with that. Additionally different people have different requirements and this may or may not relate to their height & weight. I bring this up because I am a slim athletic person and I sleep on a firm natural latex mattress that I bought from here http:thenaturalsleepstore.com about 3 years ago.