Sit on the edge of the mattress to check the frame. My mattress is 20 years old, the edges are collapsing. Time to go shopping.

Don't buy at major department stores! As in Dillards. Buy from a mattress store. The prices where I purchased my second mattress was cheaper for a higher end mattress than Dillards.

I also suggest to take a good book, and your pillow, and lay on the mattress of your choice for a couple of hours. Then sit on the side for another 30 minutes to see, how long it takes for your body impression to go away. It should NOT stay.

On our first mattress it stayed for DAYS!

Be careful, those lovely cushioned mattresses are not all "the best".
Moni

We got a pillow-top last summer, and I love it for how great it feels, but our body impressions never go away. So there's a body dent on my side, and a body dent on his side. If he gets up in the night I scoot over and try to sleep on the "hill" in the middle.

So talk to your salesperson about possible body dents ... ours is a good brand, either Simmons or Sealy, and I should've taken it back after the first week.

I've told my story here enough times so that I probably sound like a broken record, but here's the brief version:

Bought five mattresses in four years. Body impressions were the problem. Got my money back on all four rejects because I bought them from department stores with good return policies.

Spent a lot of time hanging out at a mattress forum, linked below. Learned that the "S brands" (Sealey, Sterns & Foster, Spring Air, etc.) are usually a bad idea.

Learned that Select Comfort Sleep Number beds used to be wonderful, and people who have had them for years will attest to that, but the more recent models have problems.

Learned that memory foam mattresses usually consist of 3" or so of memory foam on top of cheap foam. It is the cheap foam that will develop sags.

Learned that it's hard to find a mattress firm enough to provide good back support and soft enough to cushion tender hips and shoulders. I have back issues and joint issues, so this was a big problem.

Learned that many have achieved this ideal combination with a latex mattress, while others report success with a good quality coil spring mattress topped with latex and/or memory foam.

My solution was to buy a coil spring mattress with extra lumbar support made by a small, independent mattress company (www.lemoynesleeper.com, but they don't sell in every state), which I topped with one inch of memory foam and one inch of latex (both from Overstock.com). It's worked beautifully for me.

Good luck!

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: What's the Best Mattress?

We bought a water bed when we were first married and replaced it 13 years later with a soft sided pillow top mattress. We replaced it with a Select Comfort in three years ago because we couldn't find a waterbed store in FL.
The Select Comfort is great. My sleep number is 50.

I bought a bragada online, its like a tempra-pedic I'm happy with it. I would just go a bit thinner next time, those thick mattresses are hard to put sheets on.

Here is a link that might be useful: bragada

Select Comfort owner for 10+ years here. You can have anything in my house -- EXCEPT my mattress!!

:-)

for those who have to be budget-wise either of the 2 "s" brands...seeley, or serta.

Compare by the number of springs in mattresses of the same size. More springs is better.

Also, ask about the gauge of the wire in the springs. The heavier gauge would be better. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the wire in the springs.

Make sure the edge is firm.

Ask about the box springs. My recent bed purchase had a box spring that had no springs, just a frame and platform. This may be ok, but it's good to know what you are getting.

Sadie, Sadie,

How about canvassing your neighbours and friends to find some who have put a new mattress on their guest bed recently then ask whether you can go there to sleep for a couple of nights (that you'd stretch into a week when you find one that you like).

Actually, if you've made use of my Christmas gift here over several years, contact the people on that list who live reasonably near to ask the same question.

Now ...

... here's a good sales challenge for ya.

With regard to other fiends who have bought their main bed recently, convince them to occupy the guest bad (drat those self-willed keyboards - that was supposed to be "bed") for a while, letting you use their bed to see how you like it, whether it does soothing things for your troubled neck, back, hips, legs, etc.

I hope that you find one that you'll love as much as that pen-pusher from OK does hers. But I guess that I'm hopelessly out of date - writers seldom use pencils or pens any more, right?

ole joyful

Good luck, bought a new mattess after reading on mattress sites, asking Kters, etc...still ended up with 2 duds. First one they came and got, second I kept because I thought it was going to work and didn't want the hassle of them having to come back and get this one too.

But, my back still hurts, still have to get up halfway through the night and sleep on the loveseat, sitting up to make the pain go away. I just realized that my hips haven't hurt since I got the new mattress, though. They used to kill me too, so I guess things aren't quite as bad as they were. I tried the memory foam topper too and ended up giving it to my dd who gave it to my ds. I hope you find something that works.

Sadie, Sadie,

How many fiends do you number among your acquaintances??

Especially ones who'd let you borrow their bed/room?

For sure - "drat those self-willed keyboards!".

o j