Sleep Number Bed - Good or Bad?

SleepySandy · Post by **SleepySandy** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:51 am

So, it's 3:45am here in Seattle and I haven't slept yet.

I'm afraid the new king size bed I was so excited about has caused an old back injury to flare up in a horrible way. For the past 2 days I've had major back spasms and a lot of pain. The pain is the reason I'm still awake.

While I while away the night wishing the pain away I'm seriously wondering if we're going to need to return the bed and start over. My husband really likes the new bed because it's really soft. I think the softness is the problem for my back. That makes me think about a Sleep Number bed by Select Comfort since each person can choose their own firmness.

If you have or have tried a Sleep Number bed, I would appreciate your opinions.

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:16 am

I've tried one at my sleep study place... that's the kind of bed that they have there. It's pretty nice You can get them so that you can adjust each side individually, which sounds like it would be good for you.

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:16 am

Somehow this posted twice

blarg · Post by **blarg** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:28 am

Only problem with those is that there's a bit of a "wall" in the middle where the gap between the two air pads are. They put foam there. It's not a huge problem, and it's not uncomfortable, but if CPAP didn't cure you of liking to cuddle while you sleep then the bed probably will.

SleepySandy · Post by **SleepySandy** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:58 am

blarg wrote:if CPAP didn't cure you of liking to cuddle while you sleep then the bed probably will

CPAP didn't cure me of liking to cuddle because there was nothing to cure .

I'm more of a don't infringe on my sleeping space kind of person.

zzzzzz!! · Post by **zzzzzz!!** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:13 am

I had one back before they started calling them Sleep Number beds, so I guess that was a while ago! Bought it in 1995, actually, with my now-ex, but I don't think they've really changed since then. We had the king size. We liked it a lot because we could each adjust our own side the way we wanted. The thing we liked most, though, was that movement wasn't transmitted across the bed, so you could toss and turn without bouncing your sleep partner around as well.

If your two sides are about the same firmness you won't really notice the foam in the middle; if they're not, you'll just need to snuggle on one side or the other, or even horizontally across the bed, depending on what kind of "snuggling" you're doing...

There was a bit of a mold issue with the foam on the older models; I don't know if they ever resolved that or not.

I would love to have another one! It was really comfortable.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:17 am

I have a king size one, and its the best bed I have ever had in my entire life. Used to have back problems, now their gone. Once you find a comfortable setting its great. The only problem is going on vacation and not sleeping on one.

Sleepy-eyes · Post by **Sleepy-eyes** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:23 am

I bought a Select Comfort (what they called them back then) when my late wife started having severe back pains connected with her pancreatic cancer in 1999. Have continually slept on it since the purchase. I find I go through periods where "soft" is nice...............and then "harder" is nicer! It's really convenient to be able to change it so easily. I've never had a problem with mold in the foam divider or the foam perimeter. It's so light weight that I put it in my teardrop trailer when traveling. Talk about "uptown" camping!!!!!!!

SleepySandy · Post by **SleepySandy** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:34 am

Thanks for all of the replies. The more information the better.

I have questions that might seem stupid to those who haven't been up all night but I'm going to ask anyway...

There was a bit of a mold issue with the foam on the older models; I don't know if they ever resolved that or not

How does foam get moldy if it doesn't get wet?

Looking at the website there are many different models and the higher-end models have fairly thick foam tops. Can you really feel the different levels of firmness through the thick foam?

Also, is the foam replacable? Some of the pictures show you can unzip the top to expose the foam. It would be cool if you could replace that because it seems to me that's the first part of a mattress to wear out.

Sleepy-eyes · Post by **Sleepy-eyes** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:40 am

At night, as our bodies perspire, (some people more than others) I guess the foam could absorb moisture, just like the mattress cover. I recently added a memory foam topper to mine, and it doesn't change the hardness factor of the mattress at all. As far as putting it inside the mattress.............I found I liked the topper on the outside rather than the inside.

zzzzzz!! · Post by **zzzzzz!!** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:03 am

SleepySandy wrote:
There was a bit of a mold issue with the foam on the older models; I don't know if they ever resolved that or not
How does foam get moldy if it doesn't get wet?

I don't know the explanation but remember seeing the report on our local news in Minneapolis (Select Comfort is a Minnesota-based company). If you do a Google search for it, you'll find a lot of complaints (but remember that on the internet you will always find lots of complaints about everything!). We did in fact discover mold on our air chambers and foam as well. The company apparently claimed that was true for any mattress, the difference being that with the Select Comfort you can actually unzip the mattress and see inside. I believe their recommendation was to take it apart and air it out periodically as well as treat the materials with a bleach solution (again, you'll find the specifics in an internet search, or you could try asking the company directly).

We had a pillowtop version. It provided some extra cushioning but of course not so much that you couldn't feel the firmness or softness of the bed. Another option would be to get a non-pillow-top version and add your own pillow top or egg crate foam if you wanted to.

hhopper · Post by **hhopper** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:09 am

We bought a Select Comfort bed nine years ago after my wife was paralyzed in an automobile accident. It was perfect for her since she sleeps on her back all of the time. She never got any bed sores in that bed. It was really great for me also as I had always had back problems in a regular bed. The Select Comfort solved that.

We moved a couple of years ago and decided to get one of the newer Sleep Number beds where the head and foot of the bed raises and lowers. This is absolutely the greatest thing I ever bought. My wife can change her position during the night if she gets uncomfortable and it's great for watching TV in bed. It's the top of the line with a really soft pillow top but when you pump it up, you can make it as firm as you want.

I know I sound like an ad for the company but we truely love this bed. Since I've been on apap, it's been wonderful to have this bed.

DrowzyDave · Post by **DrowzyDave** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:17 am

Sandy,

My wife and I bought one in November 2006. It is without question the best bed we have ever had!! For the past 15 years I have been sleeping with rolled up blankets under my knees to elevate them to relieve back pain. When they delivered the Sleep Number bed, I figured I would give it a try without the "blanket roll". My back felt fine the next morning and I have not used the "blanket roll" since.

SleepySandy wrote:How does foam get moldy if it doesn't get wet?

The place where we bought ours also sold us a "moisture proof" mattress cover. This thing was pretty amazing. They did a demo where they stretched the material over the mouth of a jar filled with Windex and shook it. You could smell the Windex but the outside of the material was not wet at all. We have small children who do get sick once in awhile so this mattress cover seemed like a good idea.

SleepySandy wrote:Can you really feel the different levels of firmness through the thick foam?.

Absolutely.

SleepySandy wrote:Also, is the foam replacable?

Yes, I believe pretty much all of the components of the bed are replaceable.

If your two sides are about the same firmness you won't really notice the foam in the middle; if they're not, you'll just need to snuggle on one side or the other

If you and your sleep partner have two different levels of firmness, you can request a "chamber lift" which is a block of foam which goes under the air chamber to level out the bed. That is what we did. Since it was less than 30 days since the purchase, they gave it to us for free.

Hope this helps.

Dave

KimberlyinMN · Post by **KimberlyinMN** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:54 am

DrowzyDave wrote: The place where we bought ours also sold us a "moisture proof" mattress cover. This thing was pretty amazing. They did a demo where they stretched the material over the mouth of a jar filled with Windex and shook it. You could smell the Windex but the outside of the material was not wet at all. We have small children who do get sick once in awhile so this mattress cover seemed like a good idea.

We bought a new bed last year (Sealy, I think) and bought a mattress cover like this. Thankfully it DOES work as one of our dogs got sick on the bed. (Ewww.) The mattress remained clean and I was able to wash the mattress cover in the washing machine.

One nice thing about buying new mattresses is that you usually get up to 90 days (maybe more depending on the company) to "try out" the mattress and can return it if you don't like it. My aunt and uncle just bought a Tempurpedic (sp?) mattress and had to return it because my aunt got motion sick as she sunk in. Thank goodness they could take it back!

Good luck!! I think a good bed is soooo important. If I had to choose, I'd give up our widescreen TV and all of the living room furniture if I could save the bed.

Kimberly

dieselgal · Post by **dieselgal** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:33 am

I have had the sleep number for about 2 years and it is great. My husband sleeps on a 85 setting and I use a 35 to 50 so that shows how different people are. He enjoys it and so do I. We have a kingsize and you definitely would not want to cuddle on the foam divider but I hate sleeping on anything else.

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