I had a very hard time going to sleep last night. Heat was a factor, as well as a stomachache, but my fourteen year old mattress, which I neglected to turn regularly, was a huge problem as well.
I’m seriously considering a memory foam mattress pad to help this out. Anyone have any experience with them and can provide guidance?
Thanks in advance.
It will help the feel of the mattress but they tend to be a little hot so they will not help with that part of your problem.
I have a 4" memory foam mattress pad from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and has revolutionized my sleeping. It’s totally worth it.
A 14 year old mattress, though… is there any way you could just bite the bullet and get a new one? A mattress pad is about $250, a cheap mattress isn’t much more than that.
Mattress pads are great if your problem is that the mattress is too hard. However, if the issue is that the mattress is old and the springs are sagging, I don’t think it will help and might make it worse.
Yeah, I was hoping for as quick a solution as possible, considering I’d have to wait for delivery. (Though I looked at the BB&B website, and didn’t see any mattress pads that expensive.)
As for the problem with the mattress, it’s not that it’s sagging, but that I can feel the springs too easily (or is that the same thing?).
A memory foam pad will help with that, but it will also increase the heat retention, so using one might be a push for your situation.
At my parents house, when I visit I am sleeping on a 20 year old innerspring in my old bedroom. I bought a 4" mattress topper from Sams Club and it is like sleeping on a new bed.
The problem is there are so many pads how do you know which one you want. There are a wide range of gels, foams, latex, etc in different configurations and densities.
Luckily I was happy with mine, and am glad I bought it.
I found one for $35 (plus 25% off if I get it this week) — no idea how good the brand is or anything.
I could also get a non-memory foam pad.
Or I could just shop for a new mattress.
Any thoughts on the issue?
Honestly, I would just buy a new mattress, and I would splurge on it a bit. You spend a third of your life asleep, you might as well be comfortable. 14 years for a mattress is way too old.
Aunt: Jeez, my back is really killing me. Mom, how old is that mattress in the guest room.
Grandmother: (Thinks for a moment) Let me see… You know, we got that bed when your Aunt Grace moved in with us, and she’s been dead for 25 years.
Aunt: You’re buying a new mattress.
How are your finances. A good mattress Queen size is going to cost $1200-2500. A good mattress topper can make a crap inner spring mattress feel pretty good. I’ve got a $2200 memory foam mattress at my apartment and the 20 year old innerspring with a $150 mattress pad on it at my parents. Both are pretty good quality for sleeping, although the foam mattress is a little better. However not 15x better, which is how much more it cost.
If you get a mattress topper don’t get a $35 one. I once bought a $30 one at TJ Maxx and it literally did nothing compared to the good one I bought for $150. A good one will cost $100-200 and will be 3-4" thick. An annoying aspect of mattress toppers is once you buy it and open it, you really can’t return it.
Overstock has a wide selection and cheap shipping.
We got our memory foam mattress from Overstock.com for about $500 for a king. It’s been fantastic, and held up really well. They don’t have to be all that expensive.
Our mattress is getting close to 20 years old. About 8 years ago, I bought a memory foam topper, and it’s wonderful. I have a mattress pad that goes over it, and I don’t experience the problems many people mention about it being hot. On the other hand, I tend to be cold when I go to bed, so I may not be a good data point. Still, I love the topper and I hate when I have to sleep on another bed - they’re never as comfy.
If you are in the market for a memory-foam mattress, here’s an interestring article:
Last year my wife and I replaced our old mattress and box springs with a set from a local mom & pop mattress store. The mattress is memory foam, but with a pillow top. I think we paid about $600 for both pieces, queen size. We’ve loved it. There is no need to shell out thousands (or even a thousand) for a good mattress.
Last year I got a 3" thick memory foam topper for my 13 year-old-mattress ( that WAS turned regularly) for about $129 on Amazon. It has been great, and I’m glad I bought it…the bed is comfortable once again, just a little harder to roll over on than a regular mattress, but you get used to it. The two things I regret: I should have looked harder for one that came with a cover, because handling the raw foam is not easy by yourself. I figured it would be fine since it was getting covered by a mattress pad, but shifting it a few inches is a challenge. But I sleep great, and it isn’t hot…and this is coming from a menopausal woman with hot flashes! The second regret is that I stupidly worried about the odor that some people mentioned in the comments sections, so I thought it would be wise to let it air out for a few days in the basement before taking it up to the second floor. Stupid, stupid, stupid…it’s like a jack-in-the-box. Once that thing unrolled, it took two of us to roll it back up slightly, tie it up and drag it up two flights of stairs. And there really wasn’t that much of an odor. plus while it was down in the basement it had to be draped over the washer, dryer, sink and some boards to keep it off the concrete floor. Not a well-thought-out move.
In short, I’m glad I spent the money, because it is giving me more time to save up for a really decent mattress…and in the meantime my daughter gave me her queen-size memory foam mattress for the downstairs bedroom, so I may eke out another year or two before I have to buy something new.
I have an old mattress/boxspring set and put a 4-inch topper on it about 4 years ago. I also put a mattress pad over that to kind of hold it all together and I think it keeps cooler that way. Plus it seemed weird to just sleep on a sheet right on top of the foam. Since all the sheets available these days are for thicker mattresses, those fit better now, too.
I got the topper (queen) from Overstock for around 100 bucks IIRC.
I spent about $75.00 at Target on a two-inch thick topper that I put over a pretty darn cheap (read: lumpy) Ikea mattress. Bad sleeping experience became super yummy sleeping experience! (Seriously, I love my bed so much now. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I think, “I love this bed!!”)
It’s not hot. My bed is nice and cool.
You can also get a new memory foam mattress for much less than you’d expect. Costco’s brand gets good reviews and their customer service gets good reviews, too. (Novaform?) Depending on what you want, you can get a new memory foam mattress for $500-$700.
Not all inexpensive memory foam is equal. But the Novaform brand is inexpensive and sounds like a good value.
If I had trouble sleeping just one night, I’d be very hesitant to blame it on a mattress and pop for a thousand dollars to replace my bed. How did you sleep the night before last, on your usual configuration?
If you don’t like to be hot when you sleep, you should also check out natural latex foam toppers. They don’t feel as warm as memory foam does and they last longer (but they are more expensive). I have a 3 inch thick latex foam topper on my bed (purchased on Amazon from Dreamfoam Bedding) which is wonderful.
I’ll repeat what some others have said: I have a 3" memory foam on top of a cheapish mattress. It was nice & padded, but hot, so then I put on a mattress pad over the foam. I don’t sink so far into the foam, and it’s not too hot any more. Still nice & padded. Win!