What mattress/pad and pillow do you sleep on?

Life Health & Fitness
1

Lately I’ve been finding it inordinately difficult to get a good night’s sleep. My neck hurts, my back hurts, I can’t fall asleep before midnight, and I’m tired all the time: so tired, in fact, that I got sick last night and had to go to the hospital today. I think this is largely due to my inability to find a mattress or pad that I consistently like to sleep on. Currently I have:

A Sultan Hamnvik mattress purchased from Ikea last year (too hard)
A blue memory foam pad from B&Q/特力屋 purchased three years ago (getting old; smashed down in the middle from being folded)
An Exped Downmat 9 air mattress purchased from REI a couple months ago (best thing I have, but tends to get hot due to the insulation)
(these are all designed for a single person: I live alone)

I’m also struggling to find a good pillow. The other day I went to Hola in Neihu and bought a fat one stuffed with memory foam, but so far I haven’t liked it at all. I hope they’ll let me return it!

Before I go out and shell out thousands of NT for yet another pillow and mattress/pad, I thought I’d ask you guys what works for you. The only thread I could find on sleep issues is seven years old; we need some new thoughts on how to get a good night’s rest. Preferably without breaking the bank.

Thank you!

2

I’m interested in this too actually.

Currently both of my pillows suck. One is too big and the other too small. But they are those standard sizes in the “everything” dollar store-type places all that I could find. Ikea have decent, normal pillows?

And I’m sleeping on my camping sleeping pad. Blow up, Thermarest. I’m actually only using it as a “Omg what the hell is this? A bed?! Hmmm… I guess I could throw my sleeping pad under the sheets for now…” Its definitely affecting my sleep.

What about those foam square block things that come in the 5-7 packages? You lay them on the floor for the kiddies to play on. Are those comfy to sleep on? lol
Otherwise I guess its off the Ikea for me.

3

Yes, us too! I could have written this post.

Our current furniture are from a rental company. I had to ask them to change our mattress after two weeks because it was so firm it was like sleeping on the floor. The current mattress is too soft now, though it was their less firm one. So I went and bought a dehumidifier thinking maybe we’d sleep more comfortably. Nope, we confirmed it’s the mattress. I only had time to go to the mall and saw Temper Pedic for…$90,000. 15 years guarantee! No thanks!

Once I have time, I’m going to look for the same mattress we have back in the US. Something 600 coils, with a thick pillow top. Sleep is toooooo important to cheap out on. With some nice high thread count hotel sheets and blanket. We brought our own pillows. Mine is made for side sleeping and is hypoallergenic. Getting our shipment of pillows from home was a day of tears and joy.

4

Hmm, we seem to be long on problems and short on solutions. Lili, let us know what you find at Ikea! I haven’t bought a pillow there before.

At least I have one bit of good news: after getting a full-body massage yesterday, I slept fantastically last night. Woke up this morning and felt like a new man! You can read about the massage in my other thread. It’s still too early to draw any conclusions, but if I continue to feel good and sleep well, I’m going to schedule a monthly or even biweekly massage. That may be a good partial fix.

My other idea is to buy a new memory foam sleeping pad. When I lived in a grad student dorm three years ago, I slept in a metal bunkbed with no padding other than a NT$2000 blue memory foam pad from B&Q, and for the most part I did fine. The next year, I moved to a rooftop apartment in Yonghe where the mattress was way too hard, so I just put the pad on top and continued to sleep just fine. It was only after I moved to my current swanky Muzha apartment and buying that lousy expensive Ikea mattress that I started having problems. I “fixed” it by putting the blue pad on top like before, but at some point I had folded the pad in half for storage, and the resultant crease down the middle made it much less comfortable. It seems like buying a new pad (hopefully B&Q still sells them) and putting it on top of my Ikea mattress would be an inexpensive preliminary solution.

Incidentally, my current apartment has no bed, only a Japanese-style raised area with a wooden floor next to glass doors that open onto the balcony. In the summer, sleeping next to the glass doors means I have to crank up the A/C at night, but in the cooler months I love it. When I was sick yesterday, the doctor told me to try sleeping without the A/C on; I did, and oddly enough, although I was hot and somewhat sweaty even with the window open, I slept better in the fresh air.

5

Well, with my current work schedule, God knows when I’ll have a chance to get to Ikea…

What is/Where is B&Q?

6

[quote=“Lili”]Well, with my current work schedule, God knows when I’ll have a chance to get to Ikea…

What is/Where is B&Q?[/quote]

Well, B&Q was a British home improvement store a lot like Home Depot. Apparently it went bankrupt a couple years ago, so now the stores only have the Chinese name 特力屋 (te4li4wu1). They have a distinctive orange logo you can see at the top left of their website. If you go to Google Maps and paste in 特力屋, you should be able to see their locations. The one I usually go to is above the Carrefour on Baoqiao Road in Xindian. The flagship store is not too far away from the Neihu Costco, and I’ve also been to the one on Jihe Road in Shilin.

I’m not sure if they still have the blue pad I bought before. I’m planning to go look for it either tomorrow or Friday.

7

i-house.com.tw/event/dailysale/

Did you see this? I guess I need to get over there soon to check it out.

8

[quote=“Lili”]Well, with my current work schedule, God knows when I’ll have a chance to get to Ikea…

What is/Where is B&Q?[/quote]

Avoid going on weekends. IKEA is also one of those places local people like to go stroll, sightsee, take pictures, etc… Really. And the quality is nothing to crow about. Better luck in B&Q or Hola on sale, or even better: local markets and smaller stores.

Just don’t buy at the nearby Shida Whatchamacalit stores -the ones that sell anything, 10nts up. Even Carrefour would be better.

BTW, the department stores are on their big anual sales, up to 40% off. I usually purchase my stuff then.

In my early days in Taiwan, I learned to sleep on the floor. This helped when I moved tothe dorms, as I had only a wooden plank as bed. I wrapped myself in my fat winter down, managed to survive almost two years. Then, I dragged a thin mattress from IKEA through two MRT lines and got myself a semi proper used single bed -still alive, BTW. Next winter I picked up a full double size bed from the street -with a nice mirror- which I exchanged later on with a classmate -he needed more space for him and his GF- when I moved into my current place. The this last bed had a straw mattress, which I cannot begin to describe -it has to be experienced. Finally, with my current job, I couldn’t take it anymore and about a nice metal, Spanish style bed -which took me a lifetime to find- and a new mattress of those anti-mites, anti whatever, and a nice mattress cover. 5 years later, it needs change.

9

We use a rock solid (wooden style) matress, with a thin rubber overlay that moulds to your body shape. Overlay cost about $3000 NT but it was SOOO worth it.

So we have a nice firm bed, but cushioned to be comfortable. We are so bringing this rubber mat with us when we leave taiwan!

10

[quote=“pqkdzrwt”]We use a rock solid (wooden style) matress, with a thin rubber overlay that moulds to your body shape. Overlay cost about $3000 NT but it was SOOO worth it.

So we have a nice firm bed, but cushioned to be comfortable. We are so bringing this rubber mat with us when we leave taiwan![/quote]

Mine is soft, and 4K. Thought I couldn’t stand the hard stuff anymore but I have discovered teh hard way that sof mattrsses biggest drawback is the sea wave effect, especially if you sleep with 4 fat cats.

11

[quote=“Icon”][quote=“Lili”]Well, with my current work schedule, God knows when I’ll have a chance to get to Ikea…

What is/Where is B&Q?[/quote]

Avoid going on weekends. IKEA is also one of those places local people like to go stroll, sightsee, take pictures, etc… Really. [/quote]
What? -.-;;

Yea, but I like IKEA for better or worse- cheap, functional, one-stop, nice design for the price. Huge deal when they finally opened one in NY. And I need little cheap things like stationary holders and bathroom stuff, kitchen stuff for cheap so I won’t feel bad about spending the money and leaving it here when I leave the country. Especially the kitchen stuff, I would rather buy from a trusted store. You know, teflon and whatnot. Better to go with IKEA imo.

[quote]Better luck in B&Q or Hola on sale, or even better: local markets and smaller stores.

Just don’t buy at the nearby Shi-Da Whatchamacalit stores -the ones that sell anything, 10nts up. Even Carrefour would be better.
[/quote]
Yea, they’re weird. There’s all this crap for 10nt/50nt/75nt. But the things you actually need like dishes and hangars are mad expensive. 5 Hangars for like 300nt or something!

I don’t think Ill be able to do any real shopping for 2-3 weeks… :confused:

I was debating how to do this. I think I’ve decided on either delivery option (if I do end up buying a bunch of stuff at once) or just taxi’ing back to ShiDa. Pretty sure I will not be loved on the MRT as I drag something through the Wenhu, Bannan, and Danshui lines back to Taipower. Omg. Just getting through Zhongxiao Fuxing :astonished:

12

I got a handmade mattress from a local mattress factory. The owner asked for our preferences and put it together in less than a week. His materials were brought over from the US. I think the cost came to [strike]$20K[/strike] $13K, but it’s the best mattress I’ve ever had. Totally worth the cost.

13

Wow, a custom-made mattress? That sounds awesome!

I finally made it to B&Q today. (I went to Costco first, but I didn’t like anything I found there.) There were at least three different memory foam pads for sale in single and double sizes; I got a locally made one with bamboo fiber for NT$3000 and a pillow of the same material for an extra NT$500. The pad was too big to carry on my scooter, so I ended up taking a cab home. Tonight will be my first night on the new pad; I just put it directly onto the wood floor. I hope I sleep well!

14

Try out a goose down pillow, i tried many different types, but after the goose down, i wont go back to any other type.
Not sure where in taiwan one can find them though, got mine back home in sa. Aprox cost, NT 2000

Nb: believe the westin hotel heavenly pillows are also down filled pillows.

15

[quote=“madracer”]Try out a goose down pillow, i tried many different types, but after the goose down, i wont go back to any other type.
Not sure where in taiwan one can find them though, got mine back home in sa. Aprox cost, NT 2000

Nb: believe the westin hotel heavenly pillows are also down filled pillows.[/quote]

yep, you can, on sale now, mine was stolen by my cats. :frowning:

16

[quote=“Lili”][quote=“Icon”][quote=“Lili”]Well, with my current work schedule, God knows when I’ll have a chance to get to Ikea…

What is/Where is B&Q?[/quote]

Avoid going on weekends. IKEA is also one of those places local people like to go stroll, sightsee, take pictures, etc… Really. [/quote]
What? -.-;;

Yea, but I like IKEA for better or worse- cheap, functional, one-stop, nice design for the price. Huge deal when they finally opened one in NY. And I need little cheap things like stationary holders and bathroom stuff, kitchen stuff for cheap so I won’t feel bad about spending the money and leaving it here when I leave the country. Especially the kitchen stuff, I would rather buy from a trusted store. You know, teflon and whatnot. Better to go with IKEA imo.

[quote]Better luck in B&Q or Hola on sale, or even better: local markets and smaller stores.

Just don’t buy at the nearby Shi-Da Whatchamacalit stores -the ones that sell anything, 10nts up. Even Carrefour would be better.
[/quote]

Yea, they’re weird. There’s all this crap for 10nt/50nt/75nt. But the things you actually need like dishes and hangars are mad expensive. 5 Hangars for like 300nt or something!

I don’t think Ill be able to do any real shopping for 2-3 weeks… :confused:

I was debating how to do this. I think I’ve decided on either delivery option (if I do end up buying a bunch of stuff at once) or just taxi’ing back to Shi-Da. Pretty sure I will not be loved on the MRT as I drag something through the Wenhu, Bannan, and Danshui lines back to Taipower. Omg. Just getting through Zhongxiao Fuxing :astonished:[/quote]

lili, ikea is different here , just as pizza hut or mcds or whatever has been assimilated. remember citibank, or see marks and Spencer case. no trustie.

oh, and you can’t move heavy stuff on mrt now, my feat happened a bit after it was inaugurated… :grandpa:

17

Loving the pad and pillow from Teliwu! They’re hard at first, but after a few minutes they take the shape of whatever part of me is lying on them, and I can sleep in just about any position. I’m not even using my Ikea mattress anymore; maybe it’s time to sell it.

18

In addition to all kinds of mattress and pillow, other reasons that cause poor sleep and body ache might need to ponder over.

I seldom have sleep problems. I can sleep on hard and soft mattress. The nature of the pillow also doesn’t bother me too much. But it’s not auspicious to say so in Chinese tradition. It will bring bad luck, especially when I’m a Taiwanese. Anyway, part of the reason that I have a fair sleep is to exercise regularly after working for a whole day. Some told me that they do laborous duty every day and sweat a lot, but they still can’t sleep well. That’s because physical labor doesn’t necessarily translate into exercise. Repetitive physical labor will exhaust part of your body and cause lactate accumulation and trivial trauma, which will make pain long-lasting. This will hinder sleep and render vicious cycle. On the contrary, gentle exercise can facilitate metabolism, eliminate the waste in your body and increase the balance of your muscles. Not to mention the soothing effects on your mind.

Poor sleep and body soreness could interact and make things worse. When the body ache lasted for a long time, the face of pain would change afterwards. I mean prolonged pain might force the brain to react excessively and eccentric neurologic response to sensory input will ensue. That’s why some will overreact to an ordinary stimulus and cause severe agony. In this circumstance, even regular exercise might not re-educate the brain back to its former state. One of the example is fibromyalgia.

So if your indisposition couldn’t be easily solved by changing mattress and pillow, you may try to do some gentle exercise. If this still doesn’t work. then visiting medical professionals, including physical therapist or cheiropractic therapist, might be the next option.

19

Hi, digging up this od thread as I am finding my pillow choices unsatisfactory:

-down pillows: too soft, sinks irremediably, not comfortable
-white foam: 2K each, huge, with cooling system and memory capability and who knows what: too soft, foam breaks down -WTH?!
-blue foam pillows: too hard. I have this spot pain at the back of my skull and base of the neck, which tells me that no matter how ergonomic/space age/etc. whatever these things are, they are not working
-white foam with hollow in the middle: indescribably uncomfortable
-assortment of cheapie supermarket pillows: nope

Most worrisome for me is that ALL of them cannot be washed. No hand washed, no machine wash, no dry cleaning. That makes no sense to me.

Ideas or suggestions welcome.

20

3m filtrate great for allergies, cannot wash and I recommend replace pillows every year or two at most.