Home mattress recommendations

[bz_711]

Had low back pain for years sleeping on a soft mattress...last year went with a firm foam mattress $325 off amazon, shipped to your door, easy to get upstairs and then just slice plastic and watch it "inflate"...back pain was gone in a couple days and has not returned...this was a little over a year ago.
The options, firmness, and low prices available on these memory foam mattresses are great right now...it's like TV's, they just keep getting cheaper and better quality. Several other family and friends have ordered the same one now after checking ours out. No complaints yet.

Good Luck!

 

[sodaksooner]

Tempur pedic hybrid medium. Life changing for me. Surprisingly the firm was too firm. My wife was surprised and it saved a shitload of money as we didn't do the split system. She likes the medium too. They threw in the pillows for "free" and they are just as awesome if you like a firm pillow. No back issues any more at all since we picked it up a few years ago.

 

[sodaksooner]

That’s a great suggestion, thank you!

They do have really good mattresses.

 

[Rich M]

I have a mattress factory bed and like it.

Wife’s bed is intense but she has back issues.

Dont cheap out on a mattress.

 

[Donjuan]

My wife and I are searching for a new bed. We’re middle aged and are both experiencing fitful sleep and sore backs/hips. We’ve been using Memory Foam mattresses of one brand or another for years and it seems to be the same story each time.

I’ve been searching best mattress for lower back pain online and, not surprisingly, each website lists a different mattress. The top pick from one site may be 9th out of 10 on the next. I understand this is like asking for the best boot. It’s going to be different for everyone.

Has anyone made a life changing mattress purchase recently? I believe we need a mattress that’s more firm than we’ve been purchasing, but I don’t know for sure. Some online medical resources suggest going with a medium-firm mattress if in doubt. I’ve had poor luck listening to sales associates so would appreciate any opinions you all would be willing to share.

I have 3 bulging discs. My wife made me go furniture shopping with her. I had enough and randomly laid down on a tempur pedic. I never felt so comfortable so we bought the bed. I still have that mattress and love it.
I’ve tried a sleep number bed and they are glorified air mattresses

 

[Floated_down]

Wife and I have both struggled with back pain and poor sleep. We got a tempurpedic pro adapt in firm a little over a year ago. Tried the luxe adapt first but we exchanged it for proadapt which was noticeably firmer. When you first get in bed, it feels outrageously firm (it did in the showroom as well fwiw) Once your body warms it up a bit, it is by far the most comfortable supportive mattress either of us have either slept on. Massive improvement in sleep quality for both of us almost immediately. I haven't had a back spasm fit since we got it (I used to get them every other month)

Not a cheap buy, and I was opposed to it initially, but it has paid for itself several times over in the improvement to our quality of life

 

[Rogue Bay]

This has definitely been eye opening. Given the need to do something (really anything) to alleviate the horrible sleep and chronic back pain, and the extremely limited options we have locally, we went a different direction. We weren’t able to find a king sized bed we were satisfied with. We did find another queen in firm that was the most comfortable mattress we could find locally. We ended up buying it and an adjustable base to use while we are shopping for the perfect king. That way we can take our time. This new mattress is way better than our old one but not the life changing mattress I was hoping for. Once we find the one, this one will replace the old queen in our spare room.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. You have given me a lot to think about and try out (where possible). We’re about 3 hours from anywhere that has a good selection so we are looking any time we go to a bigger town, which isn’t often this time of year. The search continues! Lol

 

[RockAndSage]

This has definitely been eye opening. Given the need to do something (really anything) to alleviate the horrible sleep and chronic back pain, and the extremely limited options we have locally, we went a different direction. We weren’t able to find a king sized bed we were satisfied with. We did find another queen in firm that was the most comfortable mattress we could find locally. We ended up buying it and an adjustable base to use while we are shopping for the perfect king. That way we can take our time. This new mattress is way better than our old one but not the life changing mattress I was hoping for. Once we find the one, this one will replace the old queen in our spare room.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. You have given me a lot to think about and try out (where possible). We’re about 3 hours from anywhere that has a good selection so we are looking any time we go to a bigger town, which isn’t often this time of year. The search continues! Lol

Thanks for posting your question. In the market myself, and the info in here from everyone has been great.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Any of you tried the Saatva classic lux/firm?

 

[RockAndSage]

Any of you tried the Saatva classic lux/firm?

That's one that keeps coming up in my research too.

 

[darcytribe]

I’ll throw out another option- Latex. We’ve used traditional innerspring mattresses and memory foam ones as well. Our latest is A latex mattress which we like the best. We went with an online company to buy ours- Sleep On Latex. With theirs you choose a base and then a topper. After reading the reviews on them we chose their firm model. It’s lasted many years and we still love sleeping on it every night. My wife often sighs when she gets in bed enjoying its comfort. One nice thing about latex compared to memory foam is it doesn’t get “hot” like memory foam seems to do for us. We like to sleep cool. Oh and we’d recommend the bamboo cover option for the mattress, it’s been great too.

 

[timmymac24]

Going with earlier post 3 sleep numbers in our house the original one being 15 years old. I sleep on the 100 setting wife 35.

Agree with earlier post on Hampton beds used to be awesome seems like they aren’t as firm as they used to be maybe it’s me.

 

[AndrewMT34]

My wife and I have had a Tuft & Needle Mint mattress for about 4 years. We absolutely love it. It’s on the firmer side, but you can toss and turn and move around without disturbing the other person.

It also stays pretty cool.

 

[Uhflt]

I totally feel your pain. My wife and I went through the exact same "memory foam trap"—it feels great for the first 10 minutes, but by 3 AM, your hips are sinking, and you wake up feeling like you’re 90 years old.

We eventually switched to a Latex Hybrid (medium-firm), which was a huge improvement because it pushes back instead of just letting you sink. But honestly? The "life-changing" part for our back and hip pain didn't just come from the bed itself.

We realized that at our age, our bodies just don't flush out inflammation like they used to. Even on a perfect mattress, if your joints are inflamed from the day’s stress, you're going to toss and turn. About six months ago, we started doing 3-minute cold plunges before dinner. It sounds brutal, but it completely numbs that deep ache in the lower back and hips.

If you have some space in the garage or backyard, I’d highly recommend looking into a Cold Plunge Bundle. We use one from Ice Dragon, and it’s been a game-changer for our sleep quality. It spikes your melatonin naturally and drops your core temp, which helps you fall into that deep, restorative sleep much faster.

For the days I don't want to do a full setup, just having a dedicated Ice Bath Tub ready to go has saved us a fortune on physical therapy.

My advice: Definitely go for a medium-firm mattress with zoned support (firmer in the middle for your hips), but don't overlook "inflammation management." If you can get your body to relax and cool down before hitting the hay, even a decent mattress will feel like a cloud.

Good luck with the search—it’s a literal minefield out there!

 

[Vaultman]

This has definitely been eye opening. Given the need to do something (really anything) to alleviate the horrible sleep and chronic back pain, and the extremely limited options we have locally, we went a different direction. We weren’t able to find a king sized bed we were satisfied with. We did find another queen in firm that was the most comfortable mattress we could find locally. We ended up buying it and an adjustable base to use while we are shopping for the perfect king. That way we can take our time. This new mattress is way better than our old one but not the life changing mattress I was hoping for. Once we find the one, this one will replace the old queen in our spare room.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. You have given me a lot to think about and try out (where possible). We’re about 3 hours from anywhere that has a good selection so we are looking any time we go to a bigger town, which isn’t often this time of year. The search continues! Lol

Look into Posh + Lavish. There are some places over here in PDX that have them on display if you are every this far inland. We got one exactly a year ago and are very happy with it.

We buy for the long haul, and I think we hit a winner with this one. It is kind of a different option, a rubber latex. Sounds weird but we are both very happy with it. We went for a Cal King with a split head, and a 3" top. The split head is great for the adjustable base, but there can actually be some heat escape out of that split. I am not 100% I would do the split again, but it is pretty nice to be tilted up when I want to read and she is sleeping.

I was concerned about it not having 'cooling tech' like others in the current market, but it was not a problem in the summer. It certianly isn't hot like a memory foam. That latex stays a good temperture in summer and winter. That concern did not manifest.

Now finding sheets for a Cal King that is split head.... That has been a trick.

Anyway. Best of luck to you. Finding a good one is dificult.

 

[c670809]

This is strictly N=1 — obviously, sleep and pain are individual because everyone's back issues are a little different. I'll just share what finally worked for me...

TLDR: I settled on latex, with different layers of firmness. Also, don't discount the importance of good pillows under your head and perhaps beside your body.

Before my back surgery, I had the same mattress for 20 years. It worked great, zero complaints. After surgery, the pain wasn't terrible, but I was never truly comfortable sleeping. Finding a new mattress was really tough because my wife and I wanted completely opposite things.

We started with a Sleep Number bed, which lets you adjust the firmness differently on each side — that helped a lot since we could each dial in what felt best. Memory foam was a no-go for either of us. Then we tried a latex topper and loved it. We kept that for years.

I also toss and turn a lot, so another big part of my sleep strategy has been a do-it-yourself pillow that I use when I sleep on my side. I use one filled with shredded foam, usually latex that I just buy off Amazon, and I buy extra so I can add or remove filling over a couple of weeks to fine-tune it. That small adjustment makes a huge difference for side sleeping — it takes pressure off my shoulder and helps me stay more comfortable. I went to the extreme here. I use the same stratagy for the pillow under my head. I is adjustable and filled with shredded latex foam.

Ultimately, I realized I had to experiment to get what my body needed, which meant skipping local store-bought options. I also had to be okay with "wasting" a bit of money on trials to figure it out.

Here's where we landed: A split king so my wife can have whatever she prefers — we just make sure the heights match up perfectly. For me, latex is the winner (like a few others have said). I built a 13-inch bed with multiple layers of latex foam of different firmnesses. The top 2 inches is a removable topper, and if my pain level changes, I just swap it for a softer or firmer one. Storing a twin XL latex piece is kind of annoying, but it's 100% worth for me for the flexibility it gives.

You need a solid, supportive base. I built mine, but there are a lot of good adjustable or platforms out there. ). Remember that Latex is extremely heavy. Way heavier than you'd guess. Also, latex can smell for a few days after you open it but it goes away.

This worked for me and allowed me to have the flexibility to have what I wanted and for my wife to be happy

Matt