I was looking forward to Easter weekend to go up to my Mom's in Portland to be "pampered" a little bit. At any rate, I "turn in" in the downstair's bedroom (the guest room) where my Dad spent his last years so he didn't have to do the stairs and couldn't fall asleep! The damn mattress was ridiculously FIRM.

My own mattress is somewhat firm, but it softens up nicely to adjust to body contours and the shifting of your weight. (Nothing special, just a $ 450 set). That right amount of sponginess, together with flannel sheets, and I'm asleep in 5 to 10 minutes as if I was under anesthesia.

So, the mattress in my Mom's guest room screwed up my Easter weekend.

What type of mattress firmness do you prefer?

Sealy Posturepedic Ultra Plush Pillowtop for a good night of sleep.

Soft mattresses mess with my back.

Sealy Posturepedic Ultra Plush Pillowtop for a good night of sleep.

Hah did you get a new job selling mattresses?

Oh and soft mattress for me.

A 3/4" thick sheet of marine-grade plywood.

I sleep on a Hindu bed of nails, just like Mahatma (महात्मा) Ghandi!

Edited April 11, 200718 yr by Pontiac Custom-S

I fractured a couple of vertebrae when I was a sophomore in high school as a result of a 4-wheeler accident. I had a soft mattress up until that point and loved it, but I need to sleep on a very firm mattress, flat on my back or else I feel like crap the next day.

A 3/4" thick sheet of marine-grade plywood.

How very Klingon of you!

I guess I'm in the middle. Too soft or too hard wouldn't work for me. I need support, but I don't want a rock. I've been shopping around for a new mattress for a couple of weeks and I think I've finally decided on a natural latex mattress. I didn't care for the memory foam. It makes a good pillow, but a terrible mattress.

I like it in the middle as well. I can't fall asleep on a really firm mattress, and I can't stay asleep on a really soft mattress.

I have no idea. All I know is that my mattress kills me and it's on the stiff side. Granted, it also has springs randomly higher than others that aren't very pleasant either.

This thread has some dangerous potential.

I can't fall asleep on a really firm mattress.

So I'm NOT abnormal. I learned this, too, after 2 miserable sleepless nights.

What's your "sleep number"?

Everybody's different. I was of course joking about the plywood. I like the idea of a weight-distributing mattress, but memory foam is expensive. Can't say I've tested the latex mattress.

I think it's important to have a mattress that can stand up to a good pounding.

I had a waterbed for about 25 years. The last one I had, consisted of 7 bladders of water. It was perfect, because you could customize each side (his and hers, so to speak) and it was heated, which was nice on those cold winter nights. Alas, a few years ago when I peeled back the outer foam skin, I saw there was dampness and mold in there. Rather than spending hours trying to figure out which bladder was leaking, I threw it all out.

But I don't get people who spend $3,000 on a mattress! I am currently sleeping on a $500 special, but my partner is eyeing the $1,500 ones.

I had a waterbed for about 25 years. The last one I had, consisted of 7 bladders of water. It was perfect, because you could customize each side (his and hers, so to speak) and it was heated, which was nice on those cold winter nights. Alas, a few years ago when I peeled back the outer foam skin, I saw there was dampness and mold in there. Rather than spending hours trying to figure out which bladder was leaking, I threw it all out.

But I don't get people who spend $3,000 on a mattress! I am currently sleeping on a $500 special, but my partner is eyeing the $1,500 ones.

I have a question about water beds. Do you have change the water out every so often, or can you leave the same water in it for years?

I think it's important to have a mattress that can stand up to a good pounding.

:AH-HA_wink:

seriously the harder the surface the better i sleep. If i sleep though. Life is too short to sleep. I get my best sleep when i roll of the couch and i find myself on carpet.

What's your "sleep number"?

I think it's important to have a mattress that can stand up to a good pounding.

I got to try the "Sleep Number" system at a Radisson once. Mine is "30." Fairly soft. Slept like a baby.

As for your second comment, I won't touch that, but can use my imagination.

So I'm NOT abnormal. I learned this, too, after 2 miserable sleepless nights.

I actually sold beds for a leading bedding company, for a bit...

(Yeah, it went over really well, when meeting a girl's Father for the first time )

Contrary to popular belief, the best bed for your back, is a moderately firm/soft ('cushion firm') bed. Here's the reason: If the bed is too firm, your spine winds up conforming to the bed, instead of the bed conforming to your spine.

Firm, very firm. I'd rather sleep on plywood than a soft mattress. Probably my worst sleeping experience in recent memory was a sleeper-sofa in a Country Inns & Suites in Cortland - it was ridiculously soft and impossible for me to get comfortable on. I felt like my butt was an inch off the floor. That'll teach me to be a nice guy and take the less-comfortable bed despite paying for the room.

Anyone have any experience with memory foam? I'm thinking of splurging for it the next time my matress needs replacement, and I'll probably get the memory foam pillows next time I'm near a place that sells bedding.

"I have a question about water beds. Do you have change the water out every so often, or can you leave the same water in it for years?"

My parents had their first waterbed in 1975 and used to put Javex in the water twice a year. Later, there were liquid additives that could be added so you never had to empty the water. Water beds are great to sleep in, interesting for other activities , but a nuisance if you move from house to house a lot. Emptying the bladders (they were too heavy to safely move full) and taking apart the frame, etc. became a pain.

Besides, the days of my needing a King-size play pool in my bedroom are long over.

I prefer soft, but still supportive. The matress I had at my parents house came from Sam's Club... it ws like cloth covered springs. When I bought my own matress, I got the plushest one I could find without going to a pillowtop. I didn't like the height of the pillowtops, and didn't find it anymore comfortable for the added money. Mine is considered "luxury firm". BTW: I went back and slept on my old matress one night last summer, and it ws AWFUL... I could never go back.