I customized a Helix mattress to meet my particular sleep needs - and at a lower price than other high-end foam mattresses
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- The Helix Dusk mattress has changed my sleep for the better. I feel more supported at night, regardless of whether I'm sleeping on my side, back, or stomach, and have noticed decreased neck, shoulder, and back pain.
- What sets the Helix mattress apart from my previous foam mattress is that I got to customize it to my specific sleep needs.
- Before buying a Helix mattress, you can take a quiz on the company's website that asks you about your preferences and sleeping style. To start, I provided my age, height, weight, and whether I'd be sleeping solo or with a partner.
- At $995 for a queen-size, the price is perfectly reasonable, especially compared to the number of high-end mattresses that go for well over $1,000.
A sub-par mattress can significantly detract from your quality of life. I've learned that lesson the hard way, slowly moving on up in the mattress world year after year, ascending from an appropriated futon (disastrous) to a standard spring mattress to a decent foam mattress to, finally, a latex/foam combo that's dramatically improved my sleep quality.
Before my latest (and best) mattress, a good night's sleep proved elusive. I'd regularly wake up tired, with stiffness in my neck, shoulders, and back. Sometimes, even my hips felt as if they'd fallen out of alignment.
The Helix Dusk changed that for me. I've been sleeping on it for a couple weeks, now, and I noticed a difference on day one. After getting out of bed after my first alarm, when I usually press snooze up to - no exaggeration - 10 times, I figured it had to be a fluke. It must have been a coincidence that I'd slept so well during the first night of my new mattress.
Then I woke up again the next day to decreased neck, shoulder, and back pain. Again, I felt well rested and got out of bed after my first alarm. When this pattern continued, I knew it was time to give my new mattress credit.
I think what set the Helix mattress apart from my previous foam mattress is that I got to customize it to my specific sleep needs. Before buying a Helix mattress, you can take a quiz on the company's website that asks you about your preferences and sleeping style. To start, I provided my age, height, weight, and whether I'd be sleeping solo or with a partner. I went on to provide my usual sleeping position (I sleep mostly on my stomach), my firmness preference (medium), and how often I wake up with back pain (at least a couple times per week).
I wound up getting the Helix Dusk, which is somewhere between firm and soft, provides extra support, and contours to all body positions.
This happens through a series of layers. The top of my mattress feels squishy, as if there's going to be plenty of give when you lay on it. (To be fair, the top layer is actually made up of two separate covers so that there's more airflow within the mattress, preventing users from getting too hot while they're asleep.) But underneath that soft surface, there's a relatively firm latex-foam hybrid layer to keep you comfortably propped up while offering appropriate give. This is especially key in keeping your hands and arms from losing circulation if you're a stomach sleeper.
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There are still more layers after that. The polyfoam layer offers ergonomic support and is meant to accommodate your general height and weight, while wrapped coils beneath make it so your movements don't reverberate across the bed. Both my partner and I can be restless sleepers, constantly readjusting our positions throughout the night. This keeps us from waking each other up while we're doing it. It's not as if I forget he's there, but it's an improvement from our old mattress.
For all those different layers - there's also a base foam layer for even more support - I'd be lying if I said I could feel how each, individual part has been improving my sleep. However, as a whole, I feel more supported at night, regardless of whether I'm sleeping on my side, back, or stomach. My weight feels as if it's evenly distributed throughout the mattress - no sinking in, no weird propping up. During the days, sitting up straight seems like an easier feat.
That being said, no mattress is going to magically solve all your sleep problems.
I still wake up some mornings feeling a little stiff, but nothing like the way I used to feel after sleeping on my old mattresses. I've also been sleeping better lately because I've been making an effort to exercise more, drink less alcohol before going to bed, and maintain a fairly regular sleep schedule. Knowing I have somewhere between six and seven hours to look forward to on a great mattress helps motivate me to stick to these good habits.
Helix mattresses come with the standard 100-night sleep trial, but I can't see myself taking advantage of that. At $995 for a queen-size, the price is perfectly reasonable, especially compared to the number of high-end mattresses that go for well over $1,000. Helix also offers a range of specialty mattresses for plus size sleepers and two-sided dual comfort mattresses for couples for an additional $195, available in queen, king, and California king.
If you're looking for a mattress that won't break the bank but will make a significant improvement in your day-to-day comfort, I'd suggest giving the Helix sleep quiz a try.