“I like memory foam mattresses. A minority of people really don’t.”
I tried a memory foam mattress—the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme, queen size. This is a $3000 bed. It felt amazingly soft in the store. But when I tried it at home, it was unbearable, for 2 reasons:
I don’t roll over in my sleep. Doctors don’t believe me, but I don’t. Memory foam is very good insulation. So I would wake up around 3AM, drenched in sweat, because the foam underneath me was about a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, then roll over to a cold part of the bed, then wake up 3 hours later when that part got hot.
People talk about getting back support from a bed. You don’t want back support. At least, not when we’re talking about the small of your back. With soft memory foam, the heaviest parts of your body—your torso and your butt—sink deeply into the foam over time. The small of your back does not. Pretty soon your body is in an upside-down-U shape, with torso and butt sinking down into the bed, while between them the small of your back is bent over a lump of memory foam that it isn’t heavy enough to squash. Painful.
Before that, I had a semi-wave waterbed, a very cheap one (for a waterbed). It was a terrible hassle to move (you could never drain out all the water, so it still weighed about 150 pounds empty), but wonderful to sleep on. In the summer, I didn’t need air conditioning at night; I controlled my temperature by how many blankets I put between me and the water. In the winter, heating the bed was probably cheaper than heating the house.
Yes; I tried it in the store several times before buying it. Why would I spend $3000 on a bed if I didn’t think I’d like it?
It could have been someone else’s purchasing decision, or you were reluctant until you laid down on it. I was pretty sure the answer would be yes but wanted to check.
Interesting—I’m the opposite—can’t stand water beds, because I turn into a U-shape with small of back down and head-and-butt up… So uncomfortable!
Whereas I love my memory-foam mattress. Never looked back! One other feature I love is a drastic reduction in partner-based sleep-disturbance (through movement… can’t do anything about snoring).
As a compromise, you know you can buy a memory-foam mattress-topper. That gives you the support of the normal mattress, with the softness of the memory-foam. It’s also much cheaper than buying a whole memory-foam mattress.
“I like memory foam mattresses. A minority of people really don’t.”
I tried a memory foam mattress—the Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme, queen size. This is a $3000 bed. It felt amazingly soft in the store. But when I tried it at home, it was unbearable, for 2 reasons:
I don’t roll over in my sleep. Doctors don’t believe me, but I don’t. Memory foam is very good insulation. So I would wake up around 3AM, drenched in sweat, because the foam underneath me was about a hundred degrees Fahrenheit, then roll over to a cold part of the bed, then wake up 3 hours later when that part got hot.
People talk about getting back support from a bed. You don’t want back support. At least, not when we’re talking about the small of your back. With soft memory foam, the heaviest parts of your body—your torso and your butt—sink deeply into the foam over time. The small of your back does not. Pretty soon your body is in an upside-down-U shape, with torso and butt sinking down into the bed, while between them the small of your back is bent over a lump of memory foam that it isn’t heavy enough to squash. Painful.
Before that, I had a semi-wave waterbed, a very cheap one (for a waterbed). It was a terrible hassle to move (you could never drain out all the water, so it still weighed about 150 pounds empty), but wonderful to sleep on. In the summer, I didn’t need air conditioning at night; I controlled my temperature by how many blankets I put between me and the water. In the winter, heating the bed was probably cheaper than heating the house.
I’m curious about his heuristic- did you think you’d like it before you took it home?
(For anyone trying to aggregate opinions, I have the exact same mattress and enjoy it.)
Yes; I tried it in the store several times before buying it. Why would I spend $3000 on a bed if I didn’t think I’d like it?
I now have a spring mattress that I bought at a garage sale for $10, including delivery. I like it better.
It could have been someone else’s purchasing decision, or you were reluctant until you laid down on it. I was pretty sure the answer would be yes but wanted to check.
Two people commenting on LessWrong both own a Tempurpedic Cloud Supreme, queen size!? Is that a very common model in the (I assume) US?
The birthday paradox comes to mind.
The cheaper memory foam mattresses on Amazon right now aren’t pure memory foam, but mixed foam, and they are much more breathable while you sleep. Something like http://www.amazon.com/LinenSpa-Viscoelastic-Mattress-20-Year-Warranty/dp/B00474X5DO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1324654812&sr=8-10 claims air flow as a product feature.
Interesting—I’m the opposite—can’t stand water beds, because I turn into a U-shape with small of back down and head-and-butt up… So uncomfortable!
Whereas I love my memory-foam mattress. Never looked back! One other feature I love is a drastic reduction in partner-based sleep-disturbance (through movement… can’t do anything about snoring).
As a compromise, you know you can buy a memory-foam mattress-topper. That gives you the support of the normal mattress, with the softness of the memory-foam. It’s also much cheaper than buying a whole memory-foam mattress.