Margit Goes to the Mattresses

A quest to find the perfect bed.

By Margit Detweiler

I’d been waking up congested, bleary-eyed, coughing and sleeping so close to the edge of the bed that my husband would remark “You’re going to end up on the floor.” 

From my side-hugging perch, I could see fine grains of yellow dust sprinkled across the floor.

“What the heck is this?”

My husband wedged himself under our bed.

“Oh… this thing is falling apart,” he noted, also coughing

For two big and tall-ish people in their 50s, we’d outgrown our Queen-sized closeness, and our 16-year-old Stearns & Foster mattress was falling apart. It was time to get a new, bigger bed, something we could get up the stairs of our Brooklyn walk-up, and something that wouldn’t make us sick. (Google was telling me that my decomposing bed was likely causing me congestion, headaches, and possibly cancer, digestive issues, clown nightmares….)

Panicking, I began my quest for:

THE VERY BEST MATTRESS

THE VERY BEST MATTRESSES 2022

THE VERY BEST MATTRESSES 2022 THAT WON’T HURT MY HIPS WHEN I SIDE SLEEP CLOSE TO THE EDGE.

I eventually ended up on Reddit. 

Until recently, I thought Reddit was a sketchy geek-boi space for user-generated muck, and maybe it still kinda is (save for the occasional AMA from notables and the politically-inclined), but in the last few months, I’ve joined several niche groups on everything from the TV show Yellowjackets, to SNL to, yes, mattresses.

Pro tip: Set aside large chunks of time to spend in the 34k-member Mattress group. You will never believe how deep you will go into the pros and cons of latex, side sleeper options, and mattress toppers. Not to mention, mattress companies are notorious scammers, bed-review sites are often paid to say nice things, and there are no right answers. The more you research, the harder it gets. As one poster titled their post, “I Hate This Group.”

After months (yes months) of Reddit research, I decided on a bespoke Sleep-Ez series of organic latex mattresses. When I called Sleep-Ez to place my order, the Arizona-based rep came dangerously close to telling me who he voted for in 2020 before I told him, “Shhhh, tell me more about your natural Talalay latex.” Before long I was plunking down cash for a series of latex mattresses that came in four layers — extra-firm, another extra-firm, firm and medium. Never did I think I would DIY my mattresses, but here we are. After doing research in the same Reddit group, I also got a gorgeous Thuma bed frame that —with its Japanese joinery — is the freaking easiest thing in the world to assemble (with the YouTube videos to prove it.)

For what it’s worth, I’m not being paid to tell you any of this, but I am very happy with my purchases. And I have room to sprawl! I am still a bit congested but I think that has more to do with living near the very, very car-congested Flatbush Avenue.

Now if we could both work on our snoring.

IN THE COMMENTS! Do you have a fave mattress or bed? Something that made your sleep more snoozy? (Don’t make me rethink my choices, but…)