Sleep number beds, worth it?

Sleepnumber beds are not worth it but Temperpedic ones are godsends!

My wife and I have a king size that is triple layered to supposedly lessen the beds problems with getting warm. Ours definitely never gets warm. We also have the Temperpedic pillows and love them as well. They are a little harder than in the store at first but its not too bad and they will soften up with use.

The bed has cracked my back. When you sit down it bunches around you so that if you lay down, it rolls up your back and can crack it.

It also has reduced my monthly neck aches to twice a year. The duration of my neck aches is significantly reduced from a week to 2 days.

Add another fan of the Tempurpedic stuff to the list.

slight hijack... For those of you that got the tempurpedic beds where did you purchase them from and are they the actual tempurpedic brand or a copycat?

Jayhawker wrote:

it is a completely different kind of padding.

Altogether!

IMAGE(http://www.movie-list.com/a/airplane.jpg)

Quintin_Stone wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

it is a completely different kind of padding.

Altogether!

IMAGE(http://www.movie-list.com/a/airplane.jpg)

It is a completely different kind of padding

We recently upgraded from a 9 year old queen to a king. We looked into the sleep number and visited the store a couple of times. We ended up not going with it because of so many complaints on the internet. From the allergy stuff to people saying it falls apart to the comfort complaints and the dip in the middle, it seemed like for every person that liked it another didn't and for the cost it was not worth the risk.

I get really hot at night, even in the winter so we didn't really consider the memory foam type ones. We tried a couple out in the store but didn't really like how they felt when you laid on them.

We ended up going with a replacement of the same kind that served us well for 9+ years and just got a Sealy posturpedic signature. It is the plush pillow-type kind and has been good so far.

Yeah, pretty much everything I'm reading says the sleep number beds aren't worth it.

I'm interested in the memory foam, and there's a store nearby that will do a 3-month in-home trial, so that's probably the way we're going to go. If we don't like the foam, we'll just go back to a good old fashioned spring mattress.

Thanks for all the advice!

The wife and I were ecstatic last year when some friends of hers wanted to get rid of their queen sleep number bed. We got it for a decent price, set it up, and used it for a year. Just bought a new bed set because we could never seem to get comfortable in the sleep number. Tried all kinds of settings but could never find that sweet spot. Even put a two inch memory foam pad on top which made it better but still not good.

Biggest downside: rolling to the middle because the divider sits lower so you end up smashed together in the middle of the bed.

If we would have bought it new I would've been very unhappy, but as it stands I can look at this as a learning experience and know that I never want that again.

Fletcher wrote:
mrwynd wrote:

All I have to add to the conversation is a long time mattress salesman told me pillow tops are completely useless to purchase. They take the same padding and just detach the sides so it looks like an extra layer.

I'm not sure I agree with that. My wife and I tried out about a dozen different mattresses in the store and the pillow-top we chose was by far the most comfortable. And I have never in my life seen a mattress with that amount of padding already on the top. Ours is sooooper padded.

I can concur that take on the pillow tops. We tried out a several mattresses at Nebraska Furniture Mart. I can't see anyone could claim that they aren't different. Now, I wonder if if they will stay cushy, but it is a completely different kind of padding.

IMAGE(http://www.nfm.com/GetPhoto.ashx?ProductID=27983212&Size=L)

In my house, we all have cheapish mattresses (beautyrest individual coil ones) without pillow tops, covered by memory foam pads.

Get all the comfort of a pillow top, without the price.

I've haven't had any back/neck pain, but not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I remember my old mattress 'hammocked' and made my back hurt.

LeapingGnome wrote:

I get really hot at night, even in the winter so we didn't really consider the memory foam type ones. We tried a couple out in the store but didn't really like how they felt when you laid on them.

I can't sleep when I'm warm. Fortunately the memory foam mattress pad (not a full mattress) we got does not heat up like we were worried it would.

JC wrote:

slight hijack... For those of you that got the tempurpedic beds where did you purchase them from and are they the actual tempurpedic brand or a copycat?

I too am interested in this.. there's a huge price difference.

yeah looking on Amazon there's a huge difference and I want to know if there is anything to it other than the name.

Whatever you do, do not ever buy a Tempurpedic bed.

I've slept on mine for 5 years and only the spiteful rage at having spent so much on a matress seemingly designed to cause pain has stopped me from burning the 400 pound piece of NASA crap in my backyard.

It is by far the most uncomfortable mattress I have ever slept on, save a waterbed. If I lie on my back, it forces my vertebrae to separate and I literally can't walk the next day due to the pain. if I sleep on my side, I have a bruise where the "body conforming material" didn't conform enough.

Seriously I cannot say enough about Tempur Pedic. Worst purchase i have ever made.

I love Denver Mattress. Old-school, high-quality, and reasonable prices.

/shill

Well gee Seth. That's a pretty ringing endorsement.

Seth wrote:

Whatever you do, do not ever buy a Tempurpedic bed.

I've slept on mine for 5 years and only the spiteful rage at having spent so much on a matress seemingly designed to cause pain has stopped me from burning the 400 pound piece of NASA crap in my backyard.

It is by far the most uncomfortable mattress I have ever slept on, save a waterbed. If I lie on my back, it forces my vertebrae to separate and I literally can't walk the next day due to the pain. if I sleep on my side, I have a bruise where the "body conforming material" didn't conform enough.

Seriously I cannot say enough about Tempur Pedic. Worst purchase i have ever made.

Wow, that is really strange Seth. I have back problems and my mattress has really helped. My wife has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type 3 (her joints dislocate very easily - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers-...) and she used to put her shoulder out in her sleep on a regular mattress with alarming frequency. The Tempurpedic has made a huge difference for her.

I guess this is another vote for the importance on trying a mattress out before pulling the trigger if so many people can have different experiences with the same mattress.

Gameraotaku wrote:

I guess this is another vote for the importance on trying a mattress out before pulling the trigger if so many people can have different experiences with the same mattress.

Indeed, I've done a lot more reading over the last day on tempur and sleep number mattresses, and the stories are just all across the board. I'm not sure I even want to bother with either anymore based on some of the horror stories I've read.

It seems like the safe bet is to get a quality old-fashioned spring mattress and call it good.

Serengeti wrote:
Gameraotaku wrote:

I guess this is another vote for the importance on trying a mattress out before pulling the trigger if so many people can have different experiences with the same mattress.

Indeed, I've done a lot more reading over the last day on tempur and sleep number mattresses, and the stories are just all across the board. I'm not sure I even want to bother with either anymore based on some of the horror stories I've read.

It seems like the safe bet is to get a quality old-fashioned spring mattress and call it good.

Yeah, I'll repeat myself on that. If you or your significant other don't have medical issues that are affecting your sleep or are affected by your sleep, you should probably just get a regular 'ol mattress.

Serengeti wrote:
Gameraotaku wrote:

I guess this is another vote for the importance on trying a mattress out before pulling the trigger if so many people can have different experiences with the same mattress.

Indeed, I've done a lot more reading over the last day on tempur and sleep number mattresses, and the stories are just all across the board. I'm not sure I even want to bother with either anymore based on some of the horror stories I've read.

It seems like the safe bet is to get a quality old-fashioned spring mattress and call it good.

Also, be cautious of pillow tops...I've known lots of people who find they are great for a year or so, but once the foam breaks down, they are no longer comfortable. It is cheaper to add your own foam which you can replace later, instead of replacing the whole mattress.

I purchased a Healthy Foundations foam mattress in November of 2008. Previously I'd only slept on coil spring mattresses and I was a bit skeptical about the foam. I like to be on the cooler side while sleeping and I was worried that the mattress would be too hot. The company offers a 365 day no questions asked return policy (less a $75 return delivery charge) so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try them out.

The foam is nice and firm with a comfortable give after being in one spot for a few minutes. I still find my self moving around in my sleep quite a bit but the soreness I used to have with a coil spring bed is gone. I also find this bed to be no warmer than the old coil spring. Granted it's "winter" here so I'll see how the next few seasons play out before making my decision whether or not to keep it.

I also picked up a pair of the foam pillows with the valley in them. I can't say I'm really sold on the design. One side is higher than the other and no matter which way I turn them I just can't get completely comfortable. Maybe if I could sleep on my back the entire night they would be ok but if roll to my side the peaks are slightly uncomfortable for a minute or so. I'll use them far a little while longer but may end up going back to a traditional pillow.

some other zach wrote:

I also picked up a pair of the foam pillows with the valley in them. I can't say I'm really sold on the design. One side is higher than the other and no matter which way I turn them I just can't get completely comfortable. Maybe if I could sleep on my back the entire night they would be ok but if roll to my side the peaks are slightly uncomfortable for a minute or so. I'll use them far a little while longer but may end up going back to a traditional pillow.

They also sell the "regular" type foam pillows. I originally started with the valley type you described and shifted over to the regular type after a year or so.