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Dr. Pepper

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Just curious what other people use as I'm in the market.  I've had bad luck with mattresses over the years.  I've tried a lot of stuff.  Foam mattress was the worst, didn't sleep well for the three months I had it.  Plush mattress hurt my back. The best sleep I had was on a super old and cheap mattress at a friend's house.  When I asked about it one morning I was so disturbed about how old it was and how many people had slept on it.  But still, was good sleep and had apparently cost $79 at some hole-in-the-wall mattress store.  I'm staying at someone's house and getting good sleep and have been told it was a simple discount mattress they bought just for the occasional guest.  So I've been wondering if I should go the discount route if that's what works for me.  

Anyway, what do you have?  What do you wish you had?  What would you never sleep on again?  What do you recommend?

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A good money foam mattress is worth its weight in... well, silver (they're pretty heavy), bad ones though, can be pretty ferrible (and which one's which often has little to do with price... within limits).

However, these things are so personal that generic advice doesn't really apply. I'd also comment not to think that a harder, or "orthopaedic" mattress is better for you - cos that just isn't true.

 

For advice, go memory foam, and go with companies that offer money-back guarantees, it can take a good 3-4 weeks to get used to a new mattress and find it comfortable, so get at least a month with the ability to return it if it doesn't work for you.

You may (not always) have to pay the postage anyway, but that's a hell of a lot less than throwing away a mattress that just isn't comfortable.

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I can't do memory foam, because I toss and turn too much. Pocket sprung works best for me. But you can get hybrids, that have a layer of memory foam on top of springs.

Two big factors are: is anyone else sleeping in your bed? (I know, personal question, so don't answer that. ;) But it is something to consider, because it makes a difference to selecting a mattress. If your partner doesn't sleep well on a mattress, you won't either, because they'll waken up often. The other is how warm you like to be, because the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that memory foam mattresses are warmer.

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We tried a high end memory foam and hated it — not good for sleep movement, felt hot, weird odor.  We now have a dense pocket-spring (clusters of springs in tube silos) that is firm but not rock hard, with a pillow top (not foam).  I used to sleep on a softer mattress but now find that hurts my lower back (I sleep on my front). 

There are online guides to buying a mattress but the simplest advice is to actually lie on each one for about ten minutes in your typical sleep position.  The guides can give you lots of information about coil density, hybrids, and more.

If you’re based in the US, only buy during one of the frequent sale periods.  Heavily discounted is the natural price.  “Full” price is only so they can advertise discounts.

And buy a washable dust shield with your mattress.  The extra $10-20 isn’t much to reduce dust allergy as you sleep. 

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8 hours ago, mormont said:

I can't do memory foam, because I toss and turn too much.

I think this might be why I can't stand memory foam.  I probably move around a lot more than I think at night.  Perhaps even plush is too much for me.

7 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

We tried a high end memory foam and hated it — not good for sleep movement, felt hot, weird odor.  We now have a dense pocket-spring (clusters of springs in tube silos) that is firm but not rock hard, with a pillow top (not foam).  I used to sleep on a softer mattress but now find that hurts my lower back (I sleep on my front). 

There are online guides to buying a mattress but the simplest advice is to actually lie on each one for about ten minutes in your typical sleep position.  The guides can give you lots of information about coil density, hybrids, and more.

If you’re based in the US, only buy during one of the frequent sale periods.  Heavily discounted is the natural price.  “Full” price is only so they can advertise discounts.

And buy a washable dust shield with your mattress.  The extra $10-20 isn’t much to reduce dust allergy as you sleep. 

Where does one go to find a place that they can lay on a bunch of mattresses for ten minutes without being constantly disturbed or without the sales person standing there staring at you?  Serious question.  My anxiety simply won't allow for me to test out beds with someone interrupting or staring at me.  I get irritated and stressed and have to leave.  Which is why I'll probably buy my next mattress online.

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A subject dear to my heart, but only because I am old. I always favoured the cheapest and thinnest mattresses when I was young because I found them perfectly comfortable and my main fear was a mattress that was too hot and soft. It sounds like you are in this boat so I would just buy a cheap one, lie down on it in the shop to test and don't waste money on something that will just annoy you. You find a place you can lie down for ten minutes by doing just that and ignoring any comments. They are unlikely to ask you to leave if they think you might buy something. I wouldn't buy online and I'd check the warranty and beware of specials on particular mattresses (as opposed to an overall sale).

At some stage I switched to highly expensive mattresses with pillow tops and I do find them comfortable as I am now an unfit ancient wreck. We have a bed now that supports just perfectly when you lie on it you just relax and it kind of holds you in place. Joy! 

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57 minutes ago, Dr. Pepper said:

Where does one go to find a place that they can lay on a bunch of mattresses for ten minutes without being constantly disturbed or without the sales person standing there staring at you?  Serious question.  My anxiety simply won't allow for me to test out beds with someone interrupting or staring at me.  I get irritated and stressed and have to leave.  Which is why I'll probably buy my next mattress online.

Hard for me to relate to.  I developed near god-like powers of not caring what other people think of me.  That might seem like a negative personality trait but it contains its own protection from seeing that as a negative. 

Putting myself in your shoes: Try walking into the showroom, introduce yourself to a salesperson, let them know that you plan to buy a mattress but would like some uninterrupted time to test them, then ask for their name and tell them you’ll come back to them in 30 minutes.  

If you remove their anxiety about losing a possible sale, and set a boundary explicitly, then hopefully they’ll give you space.  If they start hovering, just tell them that this will take some time and you’ll come find them when you’re ready.  If they’re still crowding you then tell them that’s why you’re about to leave. 

Pushy sales people exist everywhere.  Avoidance is good but it’s nice to also have a coping strategy so that avoidance isn’t your only recourse. 

Alternate strategy: go to the home goods floor at any Macy’s.  You couldn’t find a salesperson if you tried.  But the selection will be limited and overpriced. 

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12 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Hard for me to relate to.  I developed near god-like powers of not caring what other people think of me.  That might seem like a negative personality trait but it contains its own protection from seeing that as a negative. 

Putting myself in your shoes: Try walking into the showroom, introduce yourself to a salesperson, let them know that you plan to buy a mattress but would like some uninterrupted time to test them, then ask for their name and tell them you’ll come back to them in 30 minutes.  

If you remove their anxiety about losing a possible sale, and set a boundary explicitly, then hopefully they’ll give you space.  If they start hovering, just tell them that this will take some time and you’ll come find them when you’re ready.  If they’re still crowding you then tell them that’s why you’re about to leave. 

Pushy sales people exist everywhere.  Avoidance is good but it’s nice to also have a coping strategy so that avoidance isn’t your only recourse. 

Alternate strategy: go to the home goods floor at any Macy’s.  You couldn’t find a salesperson if you tried.  But the selection will be limited and overpriced. 

It's less about caring what other people think and more about the ptsd induced anxiety.  I simply can't have someone standing there over my shoulder.  Even shopping for regular stop can be too stressful at times.  I will try your suggestion to see if that makes them scamper off while I test out a mattress or two.

Though I'm wondering if @Castellan is correct and that I just need to get a cheap spring mattress since taht's what seems to be working.  I could take comfort in the fact that I'm not yet old enough to need the more expensive quality ones.  

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On 12/29/2017 at 1:55 AM, Dr. Pepper said:

Where does one go to find a place that they can lay on a bunch of mattresses for ten minutes without being constantly disturbed or without the sales person standing there staring at you?  Serious question.  My anxiety simply won't allow for me to test out beds with someone interrupting or staring at me.  I get irritated and stressed and have to leave.  Which is why I'll probably buy my next mattress online.

Shops selling mattresses expect you to lie on them in my experience. That's what we did prior to buying ours. I think it's essential that you test it in the flesh before buying. But even lying on it for ten minutes or whatever isn't the same as sleeping on it all night.

For example, we tested a range of sprung mattresses in the shop and agreed we wanted the most firm one. But the first night we slept on it at home we had very different feelings about it. I loved it. My husband said it was so firm that it left him in pain. So we bought a memory foam topper that day and it's been perfect for us both ever since.

In fact, we cat sat over Christmas and tried sleeping in both the beds there and found them both awful. One was a crappy old sprung mattress (only a standard 4'6" - how do people manage this feat?), the other was a queen size 100% memory foam. I just don't find memory foam supportive enough for my chronic lower back pain. I need springs. 

Can you try some of your friend's mattresses to get an idea of what you like? 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Without any testing whatsoever, I got the cheapest mattress, box springs and frame set from the discount mattress seller.  I have slept so deeply on this thing.  When I go out of the house, I think about how quickly I can get back to my mattress.  I've had the craziest dreams, too.  One was a dirty dream about a poster on this forum who I've never even talked to aside from a response here or there.  So weird.  

I'm really curious how long this mattress will last before it starts to sag.  Surely something this inexpensive isn't made to hold up over time.  I only spent about $250 for the entire set.  

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