Sometime during the 19th year of life my back went haywire. Perhaps it was that waitressing job at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Perhaps it was my insanely tight hamstrings and abdominal muscles rebelling against the extreme stretching they experienced at the height of my pubescent growth. Or, perhaps, it was a combination of the two. Whatever the cause, my back quickly exchanged its youthful ability to move freely, without pain for the back of one far past the prime of life.
I do what I can with stretching and exercise to keep back pain at bay, but sleep….Ah, sleep has been my nemesis for many years. It isn’t that I don’t like to sleep. My husband could tell you that I am quite the opposite. Indeed, we joke that I slept my way through about half our courtship. No, I love sleep. What I don’t like is how uncomfortable sleeping is.
When my husband and I got married we bought a memory foam bed that, we thought, was going to solve a lot of my back pain. Well, it was better than the 20 year old, landlord owned, student used mattress I was then sleeping on, but by no means did it end my back pain. For seven years I’ve slept like a barrel on the move, waking up every hour or so to rotate my sore body out of one sleeping position and into the next.
Last year I told The Husband that I wanted to start saving up for a Sleep Number bed. I’d seen them on TV and was fascinated by the ability for each sleeper to choose their own sleep number to determine the firmness or softness of the mattress. I was so excited when, this month, we got our very first Sleep Number® bed!
We received the new Sleep Number® m7 Bed with 3 inches of CoolFit™ Foam. The set up process was a breeze! I just stood back and let the Sleep Number techs put our bed together. All said the process took about 30 minutes or so. Because The Husband and I had been to a Sleep Number store and done the IndividualFit 3-D Imaging we already had a general idea of what our ideal sleep numbers would be. The 3-D imaging shows you the amount of pressure on your body at the different sleep numbers (sleep numbers relate to the firmness of your mattress; the higher the number, the more firm the mattress). In store I settled on 35 and The Husband settled on 60 or 65.
Here is a fun little slideshow I made of our experience.
We knew that whenever trying out a new bed, mattress, or mattress topper you need to give your body up to several days to adjust. It took me just two days before my body adjusted to the soft number 35. I felt a little like Goldilocks, “This number is much too hard. This number is much too soft. And this number is just right!”. The Husband took a little longer to adjust finally settling on 40 (I’m convinced he has his side too low though). He also had several outside stress factors that were inhibiting good sleep so it took him a full two weeks before he settled on a number.
A unique feature of the m7 bed is the CoolFit™ foam. The CoolFit™ is infused with gel to keep your bed cool and allow for a more restful sleep. Maintaining a cool temperature in the room is key to a restful sleep. We still have our thermostat up too high most nights (I always forget to turn it down when I got to bed) so despite the CoolFit my feet still get too hot. The CoolFit foam is nice, but I’m afraid it doesn’t work miracles.
The Final Verdict?
I am loving the m7 Sleep Number bed! I am much less sore when I wake up in the morning. I think some amount of soreness is normal given my unusually tight hamstrings and abdominal muscles, but I’m no longer having frequent headaches due to back and neck muscle pain. The Husband, who really liked our old bed, likes the Sleep Number bed but doesn’t find it any more or less comfortable than our other. Just goes to show you why DualAir™ technology that lets each sleeper select their own optimal comfort number is so important.
All Sleep Number beds come with a 30 Night Trial, meaning, if you’re not 100% satisfied after 30 nights you can return your bed and be refunded the full purchase price less the shipping and set up fees. In addition to that all beds come with a full 2 year warranty and a 20 year limited warranty.
For just a couple more days Sleep Number is running their Memorial Day Sale! You can receive 50% off a Sleep Number Silver Edition bed and 25% off select bedding items. Be sure to check out Sleep Number’s great financing options!
Don’t forget to follow Sleep Number on facebook for great sleep advice and updates on their latest promotions!
Disclosure: I received a Sleep Number bed, at no cost to myself, in order to facilitate a review. All opinions expressed are honest and are entirely my own.
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
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