Need a Bed - Need some advice (?)

originally posted by: eXia7

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: eXia7

I guess I could, but it just seems kind of weird...not going to bed at night in an actual "bed". It's like I'm cheating or something.

I think I've actually slept in stock trailers and gotten a better night's sleep than I do in that dang bed!

Maybe a bed isn't the answer for you these days. I need a new bed myself, I actually just throw a mattress on the floor and sleep on it.. and I feel like I'm 80 years old when I first get up and I'm only 31 LOL.

The recliner might be a better fit for you because it puts you in a more relieved position for your joints and what not where as laying flat basically just keeps everything in a weird position making you stiff.

I've got a 12" thick mattress - from Dreams (a UK mattress company). Originally it was on a bed frame, but when I moved I just took the mattress. Definitely worth every pound compared to the thin mattresses that come with futons. Getting up from a mattress on the floor does hell to my joints. Maybe there is a better way of getting up that kneeling on both knees then standing up.

The best place I had a sleep was in a Norwegian hotel which had blackout curtains. The room was completely dark at night - no street lights, cars, or glowing LED's. So dark, I was scared I wouldn't wake up the next day.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
I mean, in order for me to tell if a mattress is comfy I need to go out and chop a bunch of wood, wrangle the cows for a while, come inside and have a couple beers...and take my pants off, lay on the bed and phart a couple big rippers, toss around a few times, adjust (well, you know), scratch a few times, get the pillows just right, rip off a couple more pharts...and then go to sleep.

The only way I'll know if the bed is comfortable is after waking up and seeing if I'm paralyzed or not.

I'm thinkin' if I go into the bed store and try to replicate my routine I'm gonna' get some odd looks.

Yes, it's not enough time, but it's better than nothing, and it's really all we have. I can use "rule-out" as some you can lie down on and know instantly it's not for you. Plus, the one I bought had up to 12 months to send it back, reportedly no questions asked. (I didn't take mine back so I can't vouch for that, but some brands do offer that now.)

I just sleep on the concrete floor here in my holding chamber.

Back has never felt better.

i have lower back issues and neck issues. i've had a lot of improvement sleeping on a memory foam bed with a memory foam pillow that's contoured for people who sleep on their sides.

it's not for everyone, though. i'd go to a bed store and try a few out, lay on them for at least 10-15 minutes and see what you think. they come in varying levels of firmness, too.

hope you find something that works for you

a reply to: infolurker

I bought a sleep # bed around 10 years ago and it served me pretty well up until around last year. It only had a 1 inch layer of memory foam and it finally started dishing out in one spot last year so I bought a Tempurpedic 3 inch mattress topper to put on it. In the beginning, it made the bed unusually hot and I had problems because of it. I finally removed the heavy fabric casing it was in and put it back on the bed inside the original mattress casing. The heat problems were gone but, like you, I;m getting old and hurt everywhere and even the new mattress topper didn't help much.

I have since found that the mattress may not be as important as trying to alleviate as much pain as possible before you go to bed. I have 2 cervical fusions in my neck and nothing the medical industry did helped me. I used the V.A. for a time and they instructed me in methods to try stretching the neck muscles to relieve pain but what they do not realize is that, try as you may, you can't stretch muscles around 4 vertebra that have been fused together. After years of trying to get help, I finally decided that if stretching didn't work, I would try compression. I would raise my upper body up on my elbow and lean my head and neck into that shoulder and rotate my head and neck compressing the affected muscles. What a revelation. It gave me 10 times the relief as stretching.

I also have to work my lower back to relieve the pain there before I go to bed. I place one leg on the kitchen table and bend my upper body as far as I can over the leg. I do this with both legs to stretch all of the tendons from the lower back all the way down to the knee. I also stand flat footed and deep bend from the waist.

Getting old does suck but there are ways to relieve some pain associated with skeletal issues if you try.

I do all of this before I go to bed and I now sleep pretty good now.

PS: You may be able to sleep in a recliner but just sitting on one is the absolute worst thing you can do to your lower back.
They are back killers................

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: abago71

Well, considering you spend about 30% of your entire life sleeping, spending some good cheddar for a comfortable place to sleep seems like a good idea. $5k would probably be my upper limit though (I was thinking more like $3k, but I could go higher).

The wife and I went to town and priced out the Sleep Number beds (which were highly recommended to us from two lifelong friends from different households) and something called a Tempur-Pedic. The Cadillac of the Sleep Number line went for something like $13K. The Tempur-Pedic was about half that as memory serves.

If you want my opinion, comparing beds like this is like the old "Let's compare your vacuum cleaner to our Kirby (or Rainbow). the Kirby and the Rainbow would vacuum your floors and furniture and what-not real fine, but did they really do a better job considering the amount of cash you were putting out? The answer (for me) was a big, fat "No."

Being able to sleep in a reclined position, after we've rode our bodies hard and put 'em away wet for years, is quite possibly the solution to your question. I'm sure you can find a bed that keeps your upper body elevated for a lot less. Me? I'll probably get a king sized Sleep Number bed ... AND ... a Tempur-Pedic once when we've finally decided where we're retiring to. You can't take the money with you when you go.

Update:....Okay so today I went and tested the "mythical" Sleep Number bed.

Honestly, I didn't have an orgasm as soon as I laid down on it. I wasn't speechless. It was just a bed, just kind of a funky bed. I did the sleep numbers from 100 to 30. I tested the flex frame (feet and head). Honestly, I was actually having some sciatica in my right leg on the bed no matter what pressure or tilt..

The best one I tried was $7,770...and it was just a tiny bit better than the lowest one (at $5,500). Seriously, seven thousand seven hundred and seventy dollars!! For that much, I expect instant and repeated orgasms...over and over...for months...years even! It didn't happen.

Frankly, it was nothing more than a glorified camping bed air mattress.

I'm sorry, but it really wasn't all that.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

There are mattress toppers you can try....a couple hundred versus several thousand.
I think there is a Beauty Rest that is supposed to be very good.

I also recently started using a wedge pillow...it's got memory foam. The wedges vary in lift....some 8 inches...to 12 inches.
It has helped my sleep a lot...although back issues were not my sleep issue.

There is also whole bed wedges that fit between the mattress and the frame that are supposed to be good.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
Now go to Sams and grab one of those memory foam beds from the line, place it on the floor and give it a shot. They are only $400 tops, and have a 90 day return. Give yourself a few days at home and see if it feels right for you. I always thought the sleep number was a gimmick, and now with your testimony and that of others who mentioned the same I know it is.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

That drowning and heating problem you mention, is why I went for the memory foam cap, rather than a full foam mattress. The full foam would have been too deep and soft. I like a hard mattress, to keep my back properly supported. I do not sink into the mattress I have. I rest on it. That means that I do not overheat either, unless its a warm night, in which case you could lay me down on granite, the heat would still keep me awake!