My Back Aches. I Need A New Mattress...What kind of mattress is best?

[arwalden]

My current mattress is 8 years old and even when I flip it seasonally it still sags.

I can't decide on whether I should get a firm or super-firm or soft or pillow-top mattress. (I can't figure out how ANYONE manages to fit their sheets on a pillow-top mattress either.)

I don't want to pay $1800.00 for a new queen-size mattress. I feel like those mattress "discounter" stores are the equivalent of car dealerships.

I wake up achy (even when I haven't been exerting myself the day before)... I seldom am able to sleep the whole night through without waking up and being uncomfortable. Surely there must be a better way.

-- Allen (the whiner)

[soleft]

1. One stuffed with money

:hi:

[GOPisEvil]

2. I bought a Serta. Firm. I paid about $700 for it at a furniture store.

So far I'm happy with it, but I've had it less than a year. The only thing I don't like it is that it is one of those really thick mattresses, so some of my old linens don't fit.

[hlthe2b]

3. Buy quality... I've owned my Simmons Beauty Rest for

15 years and it still feels comfortable.. I'd like to upgrade sometime, and will keep this mattress for the guest bedroom.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. well if you really want to know

If you have back problems a Duxiana is the best but they run about $4000.00 They mould to your spine for support. Apparently there is now a company competing with them that is more reasonable, but I don't know the name.

[arwalden]

6. I Don't Have Back Problems... It's Just That I Have Back Aches

when I sleep wrong. (Sometimes I feel like setting up the tent and using my sleeping bag and my sleeping bag pad. I've had better sleep on camping trips.)

-- Allen

[cade]

5. flat

[XNASA]

7. Pillow Top!!! Pillow Top!!!

Both of our teenage sons now have them. Our mattress is about 10 years old, and is a quality Serta, but man.......I wish I had a pillow top.

Feast your eyes on this Simmons Pillow Top

[arwalden]

12. Wow! Does It Come With A STEP STOOL?

Good gottamighty! I'd need to put gymnast exercise mats on the floor around the bed in case I ever rolled out accidentally.

-- Allen

[XNASA]

17. I was thinking "Spring Board".

;)

[trof]

8. please, PUHLEEZE trust me on this.

Air bed. ONLY way to go.
Dual controls.
Infinite firmness levels.
Looks like a regular matress, takes standard sheets, fitted or otherwise.
I think we paid $500 for a king-size, online, from a discount seller in CA.
Google "discount air beds".
Miz t. and I would never go back to anything else.
She has no more back ache.
DO IT!

[trof]

10. I'M NOT KIDDING!

I FEEL VERY STRONGLY ABOUT THIS!
If you don't get an air bed you are stupid and ugly and dirty and a liar and your feet stink and you don't love Jesus!
So there!

[arwalden]

14. You Got Two Out Of Six. So There!

I've looked at the "Select Comfort" ones online. (YES YES YES... I know that you can't test a mattress online.)

But they seem so expensive.

-- Allen

[trof]

19. S. C. is a ripoff.

http://sleepbetterstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=163

http://airbeddiscounters.com/royalserenity.html

Go Google!

[FlaGranny]

9. I have always

liked foam mattresses, but a year ago I got my first pillowtop. I went into the store and actually tried each mattress. I didn't get the most expensive one, but it was just as comfortable as the most expensive mattress. I absolutely love it. It has memory foam in the pillow top. The mattress itself is firm and the pillowtop is wonderful. It feels like it is almost wrapping around you. It is a problem with sheets though. You'll have to buy new ones if you want fitted sheets. Otherwise, put flat sheets on and use those little straps at the corners to hold the sheet on.

On EDIT: Try them all out in the stores before you decide.

[Bertha Venation]

11. New.

I don't think you can get a new, high-quality "discount" mattress no matter where you go. Be prepared to pay.

[arwalden]

15. Costco and BJ's and Sams Club Sell Mattresses.

Are they squeaky and cheap? Or worthwhile?

You can't TEST them because they are all standing UPRIGHT like giant books on a shelf.

-- Allen

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

13. Swedish foam

The Tempur-Pedic® Swedish mattress uses the unique pressure-relieving properties created by NASA to relieve the enormous g-forces experienced by astronauts during lift-off and flight. After years of research and collaboration, NASA and the Swedes produced a viscoelastic, open-celled, temperature-sensitive material that conforms to the body with the unparalleled support of 100% energy absorption. And it TASTES GREAT!

Just remember: Rymdbolaget arbetar med utveckling, uppsändning och drift av rymdsystem. Vid det tekniska centret i Solna utvecklas bl a avancerade satelliter, delsystem och experiment till sondraketer samt flygburna system för havsövervakning.

[hlthe2b]

23. Tempur-Pedic: and HEAT radiation: Don't these get hot?

I had a pillow made out of that foam, and found that my face would be drenched in sweat and my hair glued to the pillowcase during the summer-even with AC on....They just seem to radiate body heat. Is this a problem with the mattresses?

[Beaker]

25. My wife and I both have Tempurpedic pillows-

and we've never had that problem. I used to have only feather pillows, because foam pillows always got too warm/hot like you said- but the Tempurpedic has been just fine.

[arwalden]

16. Mattress Advertisements With Male/Female Couples...

... always, ALWAYS have "visible wedding rings". (Musn't offend.)

You never see 'un-ringed' m/f couples in mattress ads. You never see m/f couples with their ring hands hidden beneath the covers.

-- Allen

[LTR]

18. Check this thread out

Tucked away in the archives:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=445287

I put some info on it, and I sell mattresses for a living.

[arwalden]

20. Excellent Information!! Thank You!!

-- Allen

[geniph]

21. Let me reiterate what RatTerrier said

Read the previous thread! I put all my recent mattress-buying knowledge into my response in that thread also.

Find a good salesperson who's been selling beds for a long time at a reputable store, and spend a LONG time lying on each one. No one else can select a bed for you. Only you and your partner can determine what works for you (and you both really have to be on the bed at the same time to determine if the bed will work for you both).

A couple rules of thumb: spend as much as you can afford on a mattress with a NON-prorated warranty. Buy the largest bed you possibly can.

Oh, and as for fitting sheets onto a superdeep mattress; you have to buy specially-made extra-deep pocket sheets. Bed Bath & Beyond carries some specifically for pillowtops and other extra-tall mattresses.

[arwalden]

22. LOL ("Find a good salesperson...")

"Find a good salesperson who's been selling beds for a long time at a reputable store, and spend a LONG time lying on each one."

I'm not quite sure how lying on the salesperson will do much good... but I'm willing to TRY anything. :hi:

-- Allen

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

26. I spent a long time trying out a mattress at a huge furniture store...

The night security guard found me about 3:00 a.m. and threw me out :evilgrin:

[geniph]

28. Oops

Oh well, it's worth a try (lying on the salesperson). Maybe it wouldn't hurt YOUR back.

Teach me to not read my own posts before I submit them! :D

[Beaker]

24. Tempurpedic- try a mattress pad first.

a new tempurpedic matress- the swedish foam ones, can cost over $1500- but we got a tempupedic-type mattress pad for about $200, to try it out, and it has helped A LOT

http://www.amerimark.com/cgi-bin/am1live/cat_item.html?prod=2510803&media=g5563k&optin=yes

[madaboutharry]

27. We just bought a pillow top

and it is the best thing we have ever done for ourselves. It is like sleeping on a cloud. I know that sounds corny but its true. You should go to the store and hang out on one for awhile and see how you like it. And yes, you might have to buy new deep pocket sheets.

[tigereye]

29. we have had a futon for many years

A fairly flat one... not the one with a a lot of foam inside. We love it and I couldn't go back to a regular mattress. Futons are wonderful.
Couldn't help it, I feel compelled to proselytize for them!

[grasswire]

30. tip

First, do you need box springs, too?

We bought box springs and mattress recently and got a deal because it was an "unmatched" set (although the color is exactly the same).

We paid $440 total including the set plus frame plus delivery and removal of the old set. And it is a wonderful pillow top mattress, medium soft.

Don't go too firm, if your back hurts. Or get one of those egg crate pads to help relieve pressure points.

[geniph]

31. Just remember, ONLY YOU can pick out the mattress

that works for YOU and your partner. What works for one person - an airbed, a waterbed, foam, hard bed, pillowtop bed, whatever - will not necessarily work for you. You really cannot buy a bed without trying it, talking to someone who knows the pros and cons of the different types, and most especially, sleeping on it for 30 days. Any decent store will have a return policy - if you really hate the bed after sleeping on it for 30 days, they'll refund your money (most will want you to break the bed in for 30 days, though). Just because a bed feels initially super-cushy and comfy doesn't mean your back muscles will feel relaxed after a night of sleeping in it; you HAVE to lie on the bed for a good while, preferably with your own pillow and with your partner, in the position you'd normally sleep in.

Our old bed was a very expensive pillowtop, and we were religious about flipping it. It was causing us great pain by the time we bought the new one, which is a no-flip firm one. Price is not necessarily the best indicator, but never cheap out on your bed; you should be willing to spend at least three times what you spend on your couch on your mattress.

A good department store that has a home store or furniture section is often your best bet; around here, the Bon Marche was the best place I found, with good prices, a very wide selection, and very knowledgeable salespeople. Learn what the different support systems are, and the pros and cons of each, then go discuss them with a salesperson, who can evaluate your individual needs and preferences.

[jmowreader]

32. Buy a Simmons!

When my wife and I were in the market for a mattress, we tried everything that cost less than a thousand bucks. She fell in love with the Serta. I liked the Simmons better. Naturally, we got the Serta. Paid $900 for it.

Three weeks later..."gee, I wish we'd have got the Simmons."