As humans, we spend approximately one third of our lives sleeping. There is nothing better than a good night’s sleep and investing in sleep quality can really be worth it, as it can improve your overall quality of life. The problem is, though, that sleeping preferences are very individualistic, which is why buying a new mattress can be such a tedious task.
I would categorize myself as a hot sleeper, who often struggles to enjoy a good night’s sleep. Working mostly in front of a computer and doing way too little exercise can easily lead to muscle and joint pains, but could it be possible to address this without just doing more exercise?
I had been wondering about this for some time and I was becoming convinced that buying a new mattress would work wonders to solve this long-time problem. Our old mattress, a Tempur-Pedic entry level model Cloud ES from 2013, had been serving us well, but it was already a decade old. It was a memory foam mattress, which is a technology originally developed by NASA to be used by astronauts, but was made popular as mattress material by Tempur-Pedic in the early 1990s. Key selling point for memory foam mattresses is their ability to adapt to sleeper’s shape and weight, allowing the entire body to be supported evenly. We hadn’t previously owned or slept on memory foam, but Cloud ES was able to convince us of their superiority during these past ten years.
Old mattress had served us for many years
In the beginning, our Cloud ES mattress felt not just very firm, but even a little hard. This is because all mattresses require some time to adjust and in few months our bodies had adjusted to it and we continued to enjoy sleeping on it for eight long years. After that, the mattress did develop some softer areas, which started to impact sleep quality and cause some back pains. All Tempur-Pedic mattresses come with a limited ten-year guarantee, but meeting warranty conditions does require the mattress to really give in, and so our case didn’t qualify for it.
I cannot say that we were surprised or disappointed by any of this, as ten years is a long time for a high wear-and-tear item that sees hours of usage every single night and so, having to purchase a new mattress seemed obvious to us. What makes the purchase decision so tedious, though, is the excessive numbers of makes and models on the market. Surely it is helpful to visit a mattress store to lie down on different mattresses, but in our experience these short test lays won’t really tell you how you will enjoy a full night’s sleep on the same mattress.
Since we were happy with our first Tempur-Pedic mattress, we decided to stick with the brand, but still had to figure out the model to go with. There are a few dozen models, not to mention several firmness options for each, which quickly adds up and the final decision is likely going to be your best guess on the best option.
Since good sleep is so important and aches of all sorts so annoying, we made the decision to invest in a flagship mattress, as one cannot put a price on good sleep. And since I am a hot sleeper, we decided to give a try to a cooling mattress, which we had never tried before.
Multiple foam layers
Cooling features normally consist of several foam layers and special structure inside mattress, which allows body heat to spread out and dissipate. Some mattresses may have five, even six, layers for both comfort and cooling foam, which makes these mattresses really thick.
Purchase decision
The flagship model for Tempur-Pedic in North America is their LuxeBreeze lineup, which is the model we ended up buying. At the store, LuxeBreeze felt both luxurious and plushy, and its surface did indeed feel cool to touch. Our bed is King Size and LuxeBreeze mattress in this size weighs an incredible 141 lbs / 64 kg and it is a respectable 13 inches / 33 cm thick! Fortunately, getting the mattress into your bedroom is not a problem, as mattresses in this price category often come with delivery included.
LuxeBreeze is Tempur-Pedic’s flagship model
Unfortunately, our local store only had the Firm version available for us to test, which did feel good at the store, however it was hard to say how it might feel after lying eight hours straight on it. Our fear was that it would be too firm, so after lengthy deliberation, we ended up ordering the Soft model without being able to test it out.
Fortunately, mattresses often come with a 100-night exchange policy, but you can only exchange (not return) your mattress and you can only do it once. This is fine in Canada, where there is only a Firm and Soft model available, but in the US one can also buy a Medium Hybrid model and some mattresses even have a fourth Medium option. If you are at all unsure about the right firmness, I would start with a middle one, so you know which way to go with your only exchange opportunity.
Flagship mattresses do cost an arm and a leg, as the pre-tax MSRP for a King Size model in Canada is around $8,000 CAD. With taxes you are looking at almost $9,000 CAD all-in! That is, unless there are discounts and mattresses are commonly sold with ridiculous profit margins, so discounts of 10-20% are commonplace and we ended up paying 20% under MSRP for ours. Still expensive as heck, but at least little more tolerable.
There was also the option to buy an in-store display model, which are commonly returns from the 100-night guarantee, but we didn’t find the additional discount worth buying what is essentially used mattress. There is probably more room for negotiation in these situations, as our salesman was pushing this option hard, but we ended up ordering a brand new one.
Delivery and first impressions
The much-anticipated delivery took place in two weeks and the mattress was delivered straight to our bedroom, with our old Cloud ES being removed in the process. Our first impression of the Soft mattress was surprised, as it is really soft and one literally sinks in. The mattress certainly shapes around your body in a way that we had never experienced before and there were zero pressure points with the mattress supporting your body evenly from all places at the same time. It is a feeling that is somewhat hard to describe.
Soft mattress after delivery
One downside of the softness was the effort it takes to change side, which can be a pro for those that suffer from excessive tossing and turning. Both me and my wife were mentally prepared that the mattress might not feel perfect immediately, as most mattresses require some getting used to and breaking in. Even then, we were slightly disappointed by our first few nights sleeping on it, as I developed a new kind of lower back pain, which I hadn’t had before. I have to admit that mattresses that are too soft, like most found in any hotel bed, are not my favorite, but one can normally adjust to them by trying different pillows, which did help me a bit.
After two and half months, I had to give it up though, as I just didn’t find myself liking the softness. My wife was a bit more gracious with her verdict, but also she had to admit that there was next to no side support, which made it very challenging to sleep next to our daughter’s crib.
Exchanging to the Firm model
So, we made our way back to the store and test drove the Firm model once more. We immediately realized that the difference between Soft and Firm is very noticeable and they feel like two different models altogether. It is no wonder that the Medium Hybrid option exists, as there is clearly room for an in-between option. While we still had the same concerns about the long-term viability of the Firm option, we decided to exchange our mattress to it, knowing very well that we would be stuck with our decision for good.
Firm model was more to our liking
To our delight, the new mattress felt much better right off the bat and we slept a lot better. Also the Firm model requires some breaking in and only after three months of sleeping on it, I found it to be perfect and exactly what I had been looking for. During that time we also found our favorite pillows to sleep with, me preferring a higher pillow to my wife’s thinner one.
Surface that feels cool to touch
While the Firm model is a lot firmer than the Soft one, it is not hard and sleeping on it is a delight. One does sink in a bit, but it is nothing like with the Soft model and your body is still thoroughly supported with no pressure points, which we both really love.
Sleeping on the edge is also no problem with the Firm model, which holds it shape a lot better. It is also incredible how much kinetic energy the memory foam is able to absorb, as one cannot feel your partner tossing and turning. Tempur-Pedic is famous for their demonstration of their confidence in their product by placing a glass of red wine on one side, while a person is jumping on the other side. Based on our experience, this seems plausible, although I would never dare to try it out myself.
Famous advertisement
Cooling feature
But how about the much advertised cooling feature, does it work in practice? According to Tempur-Pedic, LuxeBreeze is supposed to be 10 degrees cooler compared to their entry level mattresses over a sleep period of 8 hours. Sounds good, right? In practice the mattress does really feel cool (not cold) to touch, even through sheet and leak protector, which is a really cool sensation (pun intended). One can also feel the mattress spread heat from around one’s body after few hours of sleep.
Cooling features make add to thickness
While this is great, it is still possible to sweat on a LuxeBreeze and some buyers have been disappointed by their experience. Based on six months of sleeping on LuxeBreeze, my own take on the subject is that the mattress does help keep you cooler, but it isn’t perfect and has its limits. It may alo be that cooling is either enhanced or made less effective depending on the type of bed frame in use, as more tightly-placed slats may prevent air circulation from happening.
Regarding bed frames, Tempur-Pedic also sells motorized frames, which we did find interesting. Being able to lift your head or applying a gentle lumbar support might be helpful to further increase your sleep quality, but considering how these frames cost not much less than the mattress, we just couldn’t justify the purchase. Using such frame with our current bed frame would also have made the bed way too high and require literal climbing in, further solidifying our decision.
Motorized bed frame didn’t seem worth it
After six months of sleeping with Tempur-Pedic LuxeBreeze, our current verdict is that the purchase has been worth the high price tag. It has removed past body aches and provides for restful sleep that is also cooler than our previous mattress ever was. Splurging on the LuxeBreeze model will also give you the assurance that you are enjoying the top-of-the-line experience, which is something someone buying the lower ProBreeze model might end up wondering. I know I would.
It has also become clear that buying an expensive mattress doesn’t automatically provide for perfect sleep, as the Soft model didn’t work for us at all and we hated it. Fortunately, the Firm model has been excellent. It should also not go understated how important finding the right pillow is and comparing pillows is strongly advisable to find the perfect match. On that note, I would venture to say that a less expensive mattress may also feel perfectly good with the right pillow, so conducting some tests while in store is recommended.
While buying a brand new LuxeBreeze was an expensive purchase, there is no price for good night’s sleep. I feel confident that the new mattress will serve us well for the next 8-10 years, after which any mattress will be past its prime.
As we spend more time with the mattress, I will be updating this post with updates on how the mattress holds up, as I did find it very hard to find unbiased user reviews to inform us while planning our purchase. It will also be interesting to see how well the cooling feature performs during warm summer months, so more updates to come.
