Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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I am just curious what type of sleeper are the members on this list. I am a side sleeper and I like very firm beds with a very small amount of cushion on top to cushion my hips and shoulders. I also like Latex pillows but ones not too firm and not too high. I am petite and most mattress websites and mattress stores think a petite person should like a very soft bed. I love my FloBed but I really feel that website should add more questions to their latex layer configuration and change it to start out firmer and change it to be more in tune to the preference of the buyer than what they think a person likes. They had me at soft over soft. I then ordered in May 2007 Medium over Firm over Extra Firm and found this combination way too soft for me. I am now sleeping (changed it again last night) on 1" soft latex topper over 39 ILD (36 ILD Extra Firm but averaged out to 39 ILD) over 36 ILD over 44 ILD. I wish my 36 ILD was a 39 ILD also but otherwise I am comfortable. I am just glad I was able to have so many exhanges and then after my car accident to have more time to make more changes since I learned having back pain from a car accident may change preferences. This message was modified Feb 10, 2008 by Lynn2006
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Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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I sleep on my back and on my side. NEVER on my stomach. I prefer a firm base with just enough cushion to "cradle" my body without causing it to "sink" in. I want to be able to turn easily without feeling like I have to "cimb" out of a pit. But, while I'm on my side, I also don't want to feel pressure points that cause discomfort. When online mattress companies ask what position you prefer to sleep on, I find that I don't fit into just one category, ie; back or side. Each one seems to require a different sleep surface making it hard to choose a mattress that will work for someone who sleeps on both their back AND sides. Lynn2006 wrote: I am just curious what type of sleeper are the members on this list. I am a side sleeper and I like very firm beds with a very small amount of cushion on top to cushion my hips and shoulders. I also like Latex pillows but ones not too firm and not too high. I am petite and most mattress websites and mattress stores think a petite person should like a very soft bed. I love my FloBed but I really feel that website should add more questions to their latex layer configuration and change it to start out firmer and change it to be more in tune to the preference of the buyer than what they think a person likes. They had me at soft over soft. I then ordered in May 2007 Medium over Firm over Extra Firm and found this combination way too soft for me. I am now sleeping (changed it again last night) on 1" soft latex topper over 39 ILD (36 ILD Extra Firm but averaged out to 39 ILD) over 36 ILD over 44 ILD. I wish my 36 ILD was a 39 ILD also but otherwise I am comfortable. I am just glad I was able to have so many exhanges and then after my car accident to have more time to make more changes since I learned having back pain from a car accident may change preferences. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
| I sleep on my side and sometimes end up on my back. I like a medium-firm surface that is supportive but soft enough for my hip to sink in without too much pressure. I like cushier surfaces for a short time but my back will be unhappy in the longer run. I ended up with a kit bed with Dunlop latex layers of ILD 30 ("soft" Dunlop which is probably closer to a 28 on top and 32 on the bottom), ILD 35ish in the middle and 40ish on the bottom. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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Mattressmom, what base does our bed come with for the platform? It sounds comfortable but a bit too soft for me but I have a feeling that combination would be good for a lot of people. Beddybye, you are like me in wanting firmness with cushion on your pressure points. I can't sleep on my stomach either since it hurts my back and is uncomfortable on my neck turning my neck sideways all night. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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mattressmom, I forgot where you bought your Dunlop kit. So, one layer will be equal to two ILDS? I remember you or Cloud9 saying that one side of the Dunlop has a "crust" and seems firmer. Is this the case? What ILD of Dunlop would you suggest for a soft, but supportive comfort layer (top layer under my body.)? And, what is the thinnest thickness they sell? I would prefer 2" if possible. But, I'm on a budget, so can't afford a lot. I might check with my mattress guy to see if he can get me a layer of Dunlop and compare prices. mattressmom wrote: I sleep on my side and sometimes end up on my back. I like a medium-firm surface that is supportive but soft enough for my hip to sink in without too much pressure. I like cushier surfaces for a short time but my back will be unhappy in the longer run. I ended up with a kit bed with Dunlop latex layers of ILD 30 ("soft" Dunlop which is probably closer to a 28 on top and 32 on the bottom), ILD 35ish in the middle and 40ish on the bottom. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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BeddyBye wrote: mattressmom, I forgot where you bought your Dunlop kit. So, one layer will be equal to two ILDS? I remember you or Cloud9 saying that one side of the Dunlop has a "crust" and seems firmer. Is this the case? What ILD of Dunlop would you suggest for a soft, but supportive comfort layer (top layer under my body.)? And, what is the thinnest thickness they sell? I would prefer 2" if possible. But, I'm on a budget, so can't afford a lot. I might check with my mattress guy to see if he can get me a layer of Dunlop and compare prices. You know I really don't remember my old Dunlop latex mattress feeling any different from one side to the other. I asked other family members (we all slept on latex) and they said the same thing. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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Mostly a side sleeper, but occasionally I roll over onto my back. I never stomach sleep--it hurts my neck. I like a firm mattress with some cush on top to relieve pressure points, but when I press down I like to feel good solid support underneath. I'm 5'5", slender and small-boned. Now here's the weird part. Most of the people on this forum liked their mattresses softer at the shoulders. I really like it firmer--almost hard. If the mattress feels soft it makes my back ache across the shoulder blades. My lower back has really been bothering me since I had to stop taking ibuprophen (it was upsetting my stomach) and my "firm" mattress just didn't feel firm enough, so I stuck a couple of sheets of remnant carpeting under my 1" memory foam topper, a really flat feather pillow and some 1/2" HR foam. It's a little hard in the hips, but my shoulder just loves it, and actually my back likes the rigidity of it better than before. But my hips would still like a little more cushiness, so we'll see how it feels with the Brylane latex topper that should be here tomorrow under the memory foam. Although if it smells like deep fried donuts, like someone said, it may be awhile before I can even have it in my room let alone on my bed. Is that smell part of the latex or something they add in the manufacturing process the like smell of natural gas? If it is added they ought to think of offering an unscented product! |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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"Most of the people on this forum liked their mattresses softer at the shoulders. I really like it firmer--almost hard. If the mattress feels soft it makes my back ache across the shoulder blades." Depends on body type/shape and sleep position. If back sleeper, too soft at shoulders may result in spine/center sinking and arms floating, thus pain. If narrower shouldered, doesn't need to be as soft when on side to keep spine aligned/parallel to floor. However, it's also possible (again, just possible) that the soft mattress which makes your back ache across the shoulders, is due more to your hips sinking too much, but creating the kink higher up. From your present set up, almost sounts like that may be the case. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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BeddyBye wrote: mattressmom, I forgot where you bought your Dunlop kit. So, one layer will be equal to two ILDS? I remember you or Cloud9 saying that one side of the Dunlop has a "crust" and seems firmer. Is this the case? What ILD of Dunlop would you suggest for a soft, but supportive comfort layer (top layer under my body.)? And, what is the thinnest thickness they sell? I would prefer 2" if possible. But, I'm on a budget, so can't afford a lot. I might check with my mattress guy to see if he can get me a layer of Dunlop and compare prices. I got my mattress from Savvy Rest - there's a long thread called "Savvy Rest report" that goes into a lot of boring detail if you are interested. The people at Savvy Rest told me about the soft side/ firm side thing. I'm just guessing about the ILDs on each side. As I understand it - Dunlop settles in the 6 inch mold more densely in the bottom - so the bottom is firmer and denser than the top. There is sort of a soft "crust" on the outside of the latex - so when they cut the cores into 3 inch layers, there is an "inside" and an "outside" - like cutting into a loaf of Wonderbread. The "inside" is the softer side on my layers. Each layer has a soft "inside" and a firmer "outside". So - the big disadvantage of Dunlop is supposed to be that it is less consistent than Talalay but it becomes an advantage if you can reconfigure it in the layers. The Dunlop ILDs are rough estimates - not as exact as the Talalay measurements because the firmness is inconsistent within each core. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
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Lynn2006 wrote: Mattressmom, what base does our bed come with for the platform? We have a very sturdy maple futon platform that has 1x4 slats that are about an inch apart - so it is quite solid, without a lot of flex. |
Re: Side, Back or stomach sleeper? Tall or Average or petite? Like firm or soft beds?
| Mattressmom, that base sounds ideal for latex. I only tried a latex topper and I did not like the feel of it but the latex cores under a topper sound great with the bottom being firmer and that would be ideal for those that like firm beds. Thanks for sharing. |