Hi Stacy,

Thanks for getting in touch with us about a mattress to help with your shoulder and hip pains. Ideally we would need to know your exact body weight and height to offer a tailored recommendation but we can provide plenty of advice to get you started with a suitable mattress. If you've not already watched our video on the top things to look out for when buying a mattress then that may help get you upto speed on what you need to look out for in a new mattress. You can watch it below.

Benson's mattress collapsing:

We're sorry to hear your Bensons mattress has collapsed on the side. This can sometimes happen with edge sleepers. especially in foam mattresses, such as the Simba model and other pocket spring models. This is because very few mattress manufacturers use any edge support until you get to the high-end £1500+ mattress models.

With foam and memory foam mattresses, there's no easy way to add edge support, so this is not a fault with the Simba or Tempur but just a flaw in the way that all foam mattresses behave. For edge sleepers, we would always advise against a memory foam bed for this reason.

We use perimeter support in all of our pocket sprung models, even our entry-level Origins Comfort model. This comprises of a perimeter bar and then a firmer single layer of pocket springs around the edge of the mattress to prevent roll-off. It sounds very much like the Bensons model (even though expensive) was lacking this edge support spring layer. It's hard to know exactly without the manufacturers report as to the fault or knowing exactly what's inside Bensons for beds mattresses. This is why you always need to ask exactly what's inside.

Simba & Tempur mattress advice for Side Sleepers:

Simba and Tempur are both forms of memory foam / hybrid foam mattresses. For some people these are great. They offer a slow 'wet sand' like sink into the foam which then holds you there all night. They're slow to react so if you're a fidgety sleeper then can be difficult to turn in. They also retain a lot of heat compared to natural fibre models. Meaning if you're a warmer sleeper they can become too warm.

You may have already experienced if you've had a Simba mattress and sent it back. It's hard to know without more detail but we would hazard a guess that it either felt too 'dead' and was harder to turn in for you or you got far warmer than expected!

Mattresses for Side & Front Sleepers

We always advise that for a side and front sleeper you need a mattress with a slightly softer top upholstery layer - so nothing too firm in the comfort layers. This is to enable your hips/shoulders to sink in enough and not be held to firmly. Also for front sleepers, an overly firm mattress can end up pushing your head back at an awkward angle which is why more often a softer feel mattress is nearly always recommended for a front sleeper.

Without knowing your weight and height its hard to fully advise but have a look at our Artisan Bespoke 004 which would be suitable for a side and front sleeper. It's 100% Natural fibre and uses a vanadium coated calico pocket spring unit which is tailored to your bodyweight. It also has full perimeter support and is two-sided.

Unlike the Simba and Tempur models where you can only ever sleep on one side. This means a two-sided mattress can in effect lasts twice as long before any potential settlement issues occur, as you can turn it over and use both sides evening out this settlement.

Artisan Bespoke 004 Mattress

1 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON

2 HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER

3 200GSM SOFT BAMBOO

4 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL

5 1000GSM BONDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON

6 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [ 49MM ] [1.28MM]

TOTAL: 3600GSM

DEPTH: 27-30CM

CHEMICAL-FREE COVER

Please let us know some more details and we can help tailor this recommendation even further for you Stacy on 0161 437 4419. We hope that helps.

All the best

John & Ryan