Getting a good nights sleep

[Mutiara]

I have recently suffered some back problems which are related to a "slipped disc" and am having some sleeping difficulty ( hence why I'm up at silly O'clock this morning!) , as my mattress is quite old, and can't find a comfortable position. Do any of you use a memory foam mattress or a memory foam mattress topper ?

I have a UK size double bed, but the mattress is not suiting me. What would I ask for in France?  After speaking to some French friends, back problems seem to be more prevalent that I imagined. I had a look at the Ikea website and noticed that they do very thin matresses that I presume sit on top of a standard mattress ? 

All experiences which may help me get a decent nights sleep much appreciated please.

[Frenchie]

Mutiara, I know what you are talking about...........

I also have a slipped disk, I know how painful it can be, especially at night when you can't find the right position.

In the past, they used to say that a hard mattress is  the best thing in those circumstances, well, NOT FOR ME !!!!

In French, the word for memory foam mattress is " matelas à mémoire de forme "

I have not tried the thin matresses that sit on top of a standard mattress, maybe some people on here could tell you about tat.

I ve found my mattress,  ( only people with bad backs can understand that I guess..)

I really do wish you'll find yours.

I feel for you, I know what you're going through.

My back has been OKish for some months, I mean , never been bed ridden for a long time, fingers crossed !!!.

[Clair]

The double bed in the gite is from Ikea and I have had many many compliments about how comfortable it is.

We bought our bed in Ikea and have two singles put together. We also bought the thin mattress at the time, several years ago. It did not last as long as the mattresses, which in turn, did not last as long as the base.

The replacement mattresses we bought last year are latex mattreses from Pirelli and were bought at La Redoute, using one of the discounts they keep mailing me.

They were costly, but are very comfortable and very supportive, if a tad too warm for me. The main drawback is that they are quite high (18cm/7in) and the fitted sheets don't fit!

We are still using the bases we bought in Ikea about 10 years ago, as they are still in perfect condition.

My advice is to forget about using the thin mattress. If your mattress or base are not in good condition, it will only disguise the problem.

Try the beds in the shops, choose a good density mattress, i.e. one suited to your weight and build. Go for comfort before price. Narrow it down and use the internet to buy from a reputable shop.

[Suze01]

I suffered terribly for five years from a "slipped disc" until it ruptured and I needed emergency surgery as it had crushed my spinal cord.  My mattress at the time (the disc actually ruptured when I turned over in bed) was a top quality, squillions of springs very expensive etc but was very uncomfortable.  I now have a Bultex (a brand of Latex) mattress and it is very comfortable.  The bed base has adjustable slats to make it softer/harder.  With the old mattress I had to very gingerley turn onto my side and slowly push myself into sitting position in order to get out of bed, now I can get up relatively normally. As for my back generally it's OK as long as I don't stand without moving for too long - I can walk miles but as soon as I stop to chat to someone it seizes up after two minutes.

Bultex/Latex mattresses are available from anywhere that sells beds.  I spent several hours trying out the mattresses in the shops - lying down on each bed for several minutes, some people just sit and bouce on the edge [8-)]

[Théière]

After I injured my back the only way I could sleep was on the foam sofa. We had a mattress with 1200 springs and I could feel everyone of them on my side of the bed so slept on the sofa.

We through the mattress away and purchased a memory foam, amazing! it is the most comfortable mattress ever. In truth they are latex with 3 inches of memory or is it 4 can't remember [:D]

Bonded to the top. Only downside is its much warmer than a conventional matress.

They arrive in a vacuum packed bag so they fit in the boot of a car, once opened they slowly expand into a full size mattress that does take fitted sheets.

 

[Iceni]

We have an Ikea mattress, at least partially memoryfied which gives me a good night's sleep. The downside is heat retention which, in this weather, sometimes keeps me awake.

In the good old days we were told "the harder the better" but modern fashion is "memory" - or should that be wishful thinking ?

John

[Théière]

Anyone still got a relic of the seventies?

The waterbed

[Gardengirl]

I also suffer from a bad back. We bought a new bed in UK about 18 months ago. The mattress has a layer of springs, then other, technical, things then memory foam. It's blissfully comfortable, can be a little warm, gives a really good night's sleep - and it never needs turning, apart from top to bottom.

A year ago we tried to buy the same model to ship down to France, and found the model had changed - and it's even better! It has the same ingredients, but is even more blissful - getting up in the mornings is very difficult sometimes!

[Weedon]

Having had a suspect back for over thirty years I have never been able to detect whether a mattress is going to be suitable unless I spend a few hours sleeping on it.  Naturally, shops are a little sniffy if they find you still lying on their beds in the afternoon, having been there since early morning.  So buying a new mattress is usually a hit and miss thing, and I have found good cheap ones and not so good expensive ones (for me), so it probably means that what suits one person might not suit another.

Having recently bought a camping car I found the mattresses to be really uncomfortable and couldn't sleep at all well on them.  I tried the single mattress from indoors which had been comfortable enough, but it wasn't the same in the camper.  Now I have bought a mattress topper from these people http://www.raskelf.com/ and have found it to be really comfortable when used with my mattress from indoors.

I think you have to experiment with pillows as well and not just with the mattress.

 

[Judith]

I bought a mattress topper to put on top of an ageing futon - the only thing I can say is that it did soften it a bit.  The topper itself did not keep its "lift" anything like as long as I'd hoped, no matter how many times I turned it.  It was not a cheap one, but a mid-price from John Lewis.   So the topper itself may not do anything good for an older mattress.

But it did serve for 2 years and saved me having to buy a new bed, before I moved to France and back to the "proper" bed we had gone in our first move out here.

But this is someone speaking who, as yet, does not have a bad back.  The bad hip did not like the futon, and though it still troubles me, it is OK on the proper bed / mattress.

[Théière]

Very true Weedon, our memory foam mattress came with memory foam pillows that are shaped to support, I have to try another pillow soon as it may have induced snoring apparently [Www]

Weedon a cunning marketing ploy by our mattress supplier, they lend you the mattress to try for 60 days/nights on a satisfaction basis, felt like John and Yoko for a while but it didn't go back JO JO [:D] 

[Frenchie]

[:D][:D][:D]

 

[Mutiara]

Gosh, I went out for the day and come back to all these wonderful replies. Thanks to everyone so far. It seems that your replies are a bit of a mixed bag of experiences.

 One thing seems sure is that I need a new mattress, and pillows as my neck is not comfortable at night either. My existing matress is a quite firm one and was bought from John Lewis around 15 years ago ! After getting the results from my doctor yesterday after a standard scan at hospital last week , (not an IRM ) it seems I have two herniated discs in the lombar region, one between L5- S1 which is the more prevalent. He has given me some visits of Kiné and medications to take but I am in constant pain, with a view to having an IRM later on if needed. The worse is that I have to travel today on business and shall not be back in France for a week or so and am dreading the drive/Flight/ sleeping arrangements.

I like the idea of a memory foam one and will look at all the links you have sent me. Please keep up any helpful replies as it is comforting to know that I am not alone in my suffering, and any excersises or things to do to ease pain etc etc!

PS. I have just read a Pm from somebody who says that Ikea allow a 90 day trial on their mattresses. I've no time to check this out now but sounds interesting as I do not want to spend out a fortune on a matresss and find it doessn't suit me.

[krusty]

I sympathies with all you back sufferers.

But on the subject of a good nights sleep , I have found having the shutters closed making the room completely dark really helps and friends who visit from the UK  agree "best nights sleep we ever had" , is the usual comment.

[Clair]

[quote user="krusty"]I have found having the shutters closed making the room completely dark really helps[/quote]Totally the opposite for me.

I like waking gradually with daylight and a totally darkened room disturbs my sleep pattern.

[Théière]

But if you were sleeping with Krusty you may prefer the shutters closed too [:P]

[Clair]

But if Krusty was sleeping in the same room as me, he may want some daylight too... [:P]

[Frenchie]

Well, closed shutters do it for me too, but I'm not sleeping with krusty  , ....... nor Clair  !!  [:D]

[mint]

Why, do they snore/grind their teeth?  What?[8-)]

Edit:  Just had a thought.....is it because Krusty is an elephant and would take up too much space in the bed and Clair is a cockerel and would wake you up too early with her crowing?[I]

[krusty]

Takes up too much space ......what cheek [:P]

[IMG]http://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss141/jimfromctown/snoreelephantsmallbw.gif[/IMG]

[mint]

Oh, Krusty, thank you for the lovely picture of you in bed.  And, yes, I do see now that you don't take up too much space at all.  In fact, I think you look rather sweet with your head on the pillow..........so, apologies for my thoughtless remark.[:D]

PS, what do you munch in bed?  Not crackers surely as they leave crumbs?

[krusty]

[quote user="Clair"]But if Krusty was sleeping in the same room as me, he may want some daylight too... [:P][/quote]

 [Www]

[IMG]http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l55/jr32560/moz-screenshot-5.jpg[/IMG]