OK, so I think I need a new a new mattress. The old one is getting distinctly lumpy and uncomfortable. The trouble is, not only am I low on cash, but I have not bought such a thing in many, many years, and the options all seem to be different now. In particular, I am seeing a lot of “memory foam” mattresses advertised. Is this a good thing? I do not really understand what it is supposed to do. Apparently, it “remembers” your body as you lie on it. Presumably this means that where I put more pressure on it, it will sink down a little more, and where I put less it will compress less, and then it will retain (“remember”) this configuration when I get off it. Is that right? If so, I don’t understand how this is supposed to be a good thing. Isn’t it going to make the bed very lumpy? Even if it only has short-term memory, and has returns to flat during the daytime, aren’t there going to be lumps if I just shift position in the night?
It doesn’t remember things really so the name is a misnomer. It does adjust to your body by weight and temperature. Here’s a little more info here.
I used to love to sleep with the windows in the bedroom open in the winter time and get cozy under a feather bed. I haven’t been able to do that since getting a memory foam as they get decidedly firm in the cold.
Try one out in a store. The idea is that as you move, the areas you move away from recover quickly and the areas you move to sink fairly quickly.
For what it’s worth, the last time we mattress-shopped (replacing a waterbed), we tried a Tempur-Pedic in a store and I hated it. Lying on my side, it felt like my hips were being pushed upward and out of line with the rest of me - like a too-hard regular mattress. 3 years or so ago, I tried one again and its top layer had much more “give” in it, and it was MUCH more comfortable.
Can’t speak for other brands, but I know Tempurpedic mattresses come in several different grades of firmness; if one seems to stiff/soft, try another grade.
One huge benefit for mem-foam mattresses is that you can move around on your side of the bed without jostling your sleep partner. That commercial where the woman is jumping up and down on the mattress, and the glass of wine on the other side of the bed barely moves? It’s the real deal. If you or your partner move around a lot during the night, a mem-foam mattress might be just the thing.
DH and I found that our Beautyrest (separately wrapped coils) solved the motion-transmission problem too.
I’ve heard memory foam mattresses (such as the Tempurpedic) can be pretty warm. Since I still have menopause to “look forward to”, this did not strike me as a desirable feature.
I am sleeping alone, I am afraid, so that is not an issue. Frankly, I am also not at all confident that I can tell much about how a mattress would be to sleep through the night on just by lying on it, fully clothed, in a showroom for a few minutes.
I bought a cheap memory foam mattress on Woot! a couple of years ago,a nd it’s the best purchase I’ve ever made. If you are a side sleeper, it will allow your hip and shoulder to sink in a bit, so your spine is not all curled up during the night. If you are a back sleeper, it’s soft enough to just dispense with the pillow and again, you’ll sink in all the right places to let your body really relax.
If you are a stomach sleeper I suspect that you would just suffocate.
One warning, depth really matters. And many of the cheap ones have memory foam on the first two inches and old-school foam on the rest.
We got this from Amazon earlier in the year. We’ve been quite pleased. Took a bit to adjust to the new feel. The biggest plus is neither feels the motion of the other.
Read the reviews to find out if it’s for you. The main complaints about these types are heat retention for some people and an occasional bad mattress where the chemical smell doesn’t dissipate.
As to the “memory retention” part. You settle slowly into it and it bounces back slowly. A bit of a nestling-in feeling. Generally more evenly distributed pressure.
Hmm, I am mostly stomach, sometimes back, never side. But with my head on a pillow I will be alright, won’t I? Or is memory foam just not the right thing for single stomach sleepers?
Exactly. 10 years ago when we were actively looking, I don’t know if TempurPedic only had the one variety, or if the store (Sharper Image or something) just carried the one model. The second one I tried, a couple years back, definitely had the different top layer - a brochure actually talked about the different types.
A friend who owns a TempurPedic said that there’s a break-in period and she said she actually encouraged her kids to walk around on her new one (freshly divorced, hubby got the old one, so she knew it was something she wanted). I guess maybe it has to be softened up a bit. I suspect she was talking about one of the ones that’s firmer right out of the box.
njtt: Consumer Reports had an article a while back in which (and I’m speaking from memory, hopefully I’m getting it right) they said that people who went into the store, and spent 15 minutes or more on a mattress, and purchased based on that, were generally very satisfied with what they got. I would think that would be kinda hard to do, what with the salesdroids hovering and wanting to make a deal Right Now.
Something you could try in the interim, if you’re considering a memory foam bed: look for a cheap memory foam pillow (not TempurPedic brand) and give that a try. It won’t be the same as a full bed, but it will give you some idea of how it behaves.
Personally I was never a fan of memory foam, although the GF wanted one big time when we went shopping for the most recent bed. Ended up buying a traditional mattress, a GODAWFUL EXPENSIVE Stearns-Foster that, despite it’s price-- or perhaps because of it-- happens to be the best, most awesome, most wonderful bed I’ve ever owned (I love those oh-so-rare pricey purchases where one can say, with complete confidence, that I got what I paid for, and then some).
That said, I like my mattresses firm, and in recent months following plenty of weight loss, I found that my side-sleeping ways has led to a bit too much discomfort to my hips-- the bones just press into the mattress without enough give. This led me to finally breaking down and buying a memory foam mattress pad-- nothing too big, maybe a 1 1/2 inch pad-- and it’s made all the difference in the world.
If you are a warm person, memory foam can be a problem. For one thing, it holds heat - so if you’re prone to overheating during the night, the mattress will increase that tendency. I had several sales people in multiple stores mention this when I was looking at mattresses, so it must be pretty bad.
Also, yes, it can be a problem moving around at night. I know a couple who got a memory foam mattress. She’s a cold-blood and loves it. He’s a warm-blood and wakes up all night because he’s sunk into a hole and can’t turn over.
If you look at memory foam mattresses, definitely get specifics. The last time I looked, a number of them were just a layer of foam on top of a regular mattress.
Another option, although I don’t know how expensive at the moment, is just regular foam rubber. Makes a great mattress if you pick the right density.
I ended up with solid latex and love it, but it was pricey.
Tempur-Pedic will deliver and set up your new bed, then let you sleep on it for 90 days. If you don’t like it, you call and they come get it. Or if you want to swap it for a different firmness at some point, no problem. Also, the mattress and foundation have a 25 year warranty.
I tried memory foam once and absolutely hated it. It was just too warm and I’d wake up wet from sweat (which doesn’t happen when I’m on a regular bed).
I noticed you’re in the UK, so you don’t have the ability to buy from European Sleep Works in Berkeley, Ca. I’ve been sleeping on their beds for over 20 years and loved every second of it. Their beds are pricey, but worth it in my mind – comfortable, firm, with outstanding separation (i.e., feeling your partner turn over).
As for your particular situation, I’ll second the “go lay on beds in the showroom for 15 minutes”. In addition, even though you’re sleeping alone now, take a friend with you so you can tell what sleeping with someone else in the bed feels like. I noticed that even beds that claim excellent separation often don’t have it.
I don’t do a lot of stomach sleeping because of my CPAP, but the few times I have, it is fine.
My experience, they weren’t that obnoxious, and let me lie on it for a while. YMMV HWC.
Agreed. I bought mine right before having guests so I could let them use the guest bedroom. Didn’t happen. Took over a week before I could move in to the room.
Bring a magazine, kick off your shoes, and lie on the bed in the show room for half an hour. I have done this when buying several mattresses and no salesman has ever been rude or rushed me along. I think rhey’re used to it with the memory foam mattresses.
How exactly does this work? A material with a greater heat capacity (like water vs air/foam) isn’t going to make you feel warmer once it warms up, and if anything, will take longer to warm up, although foam is a good insulator; maybe that is what you meant (but does much heat really flow through a mattress?).
A conventional mattress has layers of padding and fabric set on the tops of an array of springs. The airspace within the springs doesn’t really insulate much, so you’re basically kept warm by the padding/fabric on top of the springs, which isn’t more than a couple of inches thick. OTOH, a memory-foam mattress is a big chunk of foam that’s 9-12 inches thick, a pretty good insulator.
