Hi all,
My bed sucks, I’m forming a crater on my side and while flipping/turning may delay the inevitable this won’t stop here.
I’m considering all types of beds: air, foam, springs. So that begs the Q- “Does any of that “gimmicky” stuff work?” Like Temperpedic beds or “Sleep Number” stuff or their competitors: Nautilus.
Then there’s the plethora of spring mattresses, which I wouldn’t know where to start. So if you don’t have any info on the the more novel mattress approaches, maybe you could just leave your opinion about what you like. Thanks
There was an article in the June Consumer Reports on buying a mattress. They didn’t give specific reccommendations because individual variation in taste was so high, but they did review those special beds - Tempurpedic, Sleep Number, etc. Their conclusion was that people either really like them or really hate them. I tried a Tempurpedic in the store and thought it was weird, creepy, and not something I wanted to sleep on. I know somebody who bought one and liked it for a few months but said after that it was like sleeping on the softest rock you’d ever known.
There is no factual answer since it depends on what you like. You may suggest to the mods that this move to IMHO.
That said I like a firm mattres with a soft top. I recently stayed at the Sheraton Gunter in San Antonio and they touted their “sweet sleeper” beds and even offer them for sale. “Hype” says I, until I sleep in one. Wow. I don’t just want one of these beds, I want to marry one of them. The perfect combination of softness and support and they top it off with crispy sheets, a massively thick comforter and duvet along with about half a dozen nice squashy pillows on a queen size bed. It made me never want to get out of bed and the fact that I had to be up at 5:00 to get to the office was painful. I actually had a dream about being drowned in marshmallows which was probably about that bed. To paraphrase Homer Simpson, I felt like a big toasty cinnamon bun and I never wanted to leave. Anyhoo, you can buy one of these for $1,100 in queen size.
FWIW at home we have a king size select comfort. Conventional firm mattress with a nice pillowtop. The only complaint I have it there is too much motion transferred when someone moves. There is a brand where the coils are not connected to each other I might try but I dread the thought of dragging a kingsize mattress up our stairway again. When I got this one up it ended up crimping one of the edge wires at the head of the bed.
This is certainly an IMHO, but I will try to give you some mattress hunting tips with opinions that I heard from others. I bought a new mattress last month.
It is impossible to say what is the best mattress, because so much of it depends on personal preference, and you are only going to know what you prefer by going out and actually laying out on the beds and start eliminating ones you do not like.
You can start eliminating by type. Go out and try them and then read reviews written by people who have bought the same type to help you sort your own opinions through the different dimensions that the reviewers brought up. You may also eliminate some through price, but keep in mind that good mattresses are expensive. I personally tried the latex (felt like hard wet sand)and the sleep number beds and was able to rule them out. I also had a budget of between $900 and $1,300 for a king size which ruled out a lot as well.
Once I got that far I had to decide between firm (firm bed with barely any cushion), plush (firm bed with a medium amount of cushion), or pillowtop (a firm bed with a thick soft pillow topper that is sewn onto the mattress). I decided to get a plush- the firm was too severe and the pillowtop was so cushy I felt that I was sleeping on a soft hammock). I have read that a large percentage of the cost of a mattress is the fabric.
Once I eliminated those, I looked around to see which store offered the best deals (freebies like delivery, bedframe, and financing) and service (like 90 day test drives). I also considered the major “S” brands (Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Spring air, and Stearns and Foster. I think that Consumer Reports found that they were all good in quality. Keep in mind that manufactures will create the same mattress with slightly different upholstery for different stores with different names. I am making up this example, but lets say that the Sealy “Hampton” sold at JC Penny Department Store is almost exactly the same as the Sealy “Coventry” sold at Foley’s Department store. If you look at the stats and the way that they describe the mattress, you soon pick up which ones are really the same.
By this time, I only had to decide amoung 3 beds at two different stores. I laid on each one for about 15 or 20 minutes (and multiple times for shorter periods) before I made my decision.
Here are two links that helped me- This one is a basic guide, oddly called http://whatsthebest-mattress.com/ and this guy is some sort of mattress guru who sells mattresses as well: Ask the expert
My Beloved, who has worked for a very large mattress company for over 25 years, says that there is a nice little Sterns and Foster pillowtop mattress that goes for over $7000 that is quite comfy and cozy.
Of course, I cannot tell you what very large company she works for.
We’ve had ours for 18 months and we love it. I like a very soft bed; mr.stretch prefers a firm bed. We both got what we want. And because the two sides are mostly independent from each other, you really don’t notice when your partner moves in bed.
I suggest you take advantage of the trials offered by some of the premium beds. Both Sleep Number & Tempurpedic offer your money back if you return it before two months. You do need to disassemble & pack the bed, so its not hassle free, but well worth the effort. If either of them give you a great night’s sleep they are worth the money.
For myself, I found that my bedding needs changed radically when I hit 40. Prior to that I slept very well on a hard foam mattress. Now I need something considerably softer.
We have one of the big-name S brands - it’s either a Simmons BeautyRest or a Sealy Posturpedic (I can never remember). We love our mattress. However, we love our generic TemperPedic mattress pad even better! I sleep on my side, and it has greatly reduced the shoulder/knee pain I used to get from laying on a firm mattress. We’ve also got the “memory foam” pillows - the knock-offs, that is. I had the “real” $100 pillow from Brookstone for over a year, and I ended up stealing my husband’s $25 knock-off. It’s a whole lot thicker and more comfortable.
I think one the “best bed” factors must be body size. A bigger person is probably gonna need a bigger, more well-supported bed than someone who’s lighter and can get away with something cheaper.
I have a firm well-made “European” style mattress (i.e. designed to be used without a box spring) on a slatted wood bed frame (both Ikea). I’ve always thought box springs were kinda silly and I like the extra room and the look you you get without a box spring.
My wife wants to know if you sleep on a Temperpedic, do you sink into the bed. I guess she’s afraid of not being able to move easily from one position to another. Any owner feedback is appreciated.
If anybody could tell me what its called, I would be eternally grateful.
The best nights sleep I ever had was at the Top Hotel Praha in Prague. The matress was about 4 inches thick, and very firm. I slept like a rock every night, without any tossing and turning whatsoever. Ever since, I’ve been trying to find one of those mattresses.
I had a Tempur-type mattress for about two months recently. Worst two months of my life as I was not sleeping well and woke up with horrid back pain. The sensation is like flopping down in wet sand, and because the stuff conforms so well to you, it is harder than ususal to turn over. Our dog was unsure of the thing as well - I guess the way the foam yielded to her paws registered as “not strong enough to hold me up!” and she’s scramble off. Took her about two weeks to figure out that she wasn’t going to fall through it.
Happily, the shop has a 90-night return policy, so it was replaced with a mid-line (about $1900 for queen) mattress from (I think) Stearns and Foster. Extra-firm innards with a thin layer of memory foam on top.
Speaking of “do not disturb” mattresses, the memory foam one was completely “dead” in terms of transmitting any jiggling, bouncing or whatever from one side to the other. You could truly jump into the bed on one side and someone on the other side will feel nothing. The replacement has all of that individually-wrapped coil business and also does very well at keeping things still.
It’s been 5 years now, and I still love my “sleep number”* bed. Love it.
I go to bed at night thinking how wonderful it is, and I wake up in the morning not wanting to get out of it, because it’s so comfortable. I have never had an uncomfortable night’s sleep on it.
It’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, and you can take it away from me when you pry it from underneath my cold, dead, but incredibly well rested body.
That said, I like softer mattresses and sleep on my stomach without a pillow. So, this bed is perfect for me. YMMV.
*It’s not exactly a sleep number bed, the cheaper models don’t have the digital number read out, just an inflator/deflator switch. But it’s the same mattress technology, I just have to go by feel.
Kalhoun please let me know your thoughts after your stay at the hotel you mentioned.
CynicalGabe, if it were me, I’d of already called this hotel and asked them what beds they use and who knows maybe with the magic of email (you know the hotel must have an email addy) you might not even have to pay the long distance charges this way.
What’s more important than good sleep? Go for it man, can’t hurt anything.
I bought one back in March and love, love, love it. This was after trying a bunch of different beds and disliking them. **Especially ** the Sleep Number bed. It might be a convenient idea for couples where one likes a firm and the other likes soft, but it felt like I was sleeping on a sandwich with inflatable peanut butter and jelly. It seemed poorly designed like I was sleeping on a bubble. Then there’s the incident (my fault) where I was sleeping in the king-sized bed alone and adjusted just the one side, I woke up very sore since I rotated and half my body was a 75 and the other half a 35. Ouch. On top of that, if there’s a discrepency in the numbers on the halves, it’s rather hard to cuddle or spoon.
The Tempurpedic is the king among the beds, imo. I sleep on my side and back usually and do roll around a bit (but not as much as I used to). I have slept through the nights much better since getting it too.
The three problems with the Tempurpedic were minor. One, the stink. It really, really stank when I first got it. After about 2 weeks, that disappeared, but that wasn’t a fun part of it. Two, it took a while to get used to the “sinking feeling”. My feet would sink in and it would take a little bit of lift to get 'em out of their newly made molds. Three, it’s a bit prissy about temperature. If the room is too cold, the mattress is too firm.
Otherwise, I couldn’t be happier with it and highly recommend it.
