5 foundations later- It wasn't until I had something completely flat that I was able to sleep well
Strict side sleeper. Boney hips and shoulders. Got a new Beautyrest Queen hybrid mattress after having full size mattresses most of my life and along with that got a new (rather cheap) Amazon Zinus platform bed months ago. I didn't think much of it but I also didn't know much about slats as I slept on an old school box spring most of my life. After two nights the mattress started sagging a bit. Turns out the cheap thin slats this thing came with were a whopping 4.5 inches apart.
I then ordered a set of custom slats, thick, nice. Only 2 inches apart. Next thing I knew I was able to feel pressure points after about 4-5 hours of sleeping through the night. Didn't get one truly great night of sleep for weeks. I had no idea what was actually happening but could only imagine that somehow the slats were pushing up into the coils on the bottom creating the pressure points which as a side sleeper I was able to feel more. That said, I blamed the issue on the mattress and instead got a Sealy Dakota Ridge mattress along with a $200 Sealy flat/wire grid foundation, the ones that look like an old box spring. Sealy and Sealy. What could go wrong, I thought.
Same issue. Same pressure points. Same early morning wake ups feeling like I was being stabbed in the ribs, hips, etc. I then tried a bunkie board on top of the foundation but it turned out the bunkie board was actually slatted inside with just a strong fabric cover. Seemed like getting something completely rigid and flat was near impossible to find out there. Finally I splurged and bought an adjustable base for $400. This time it was a completely flat foundation (wood inside with one break in it where the base moves).
Game changer. No pressure points, no issues.
I'm wondering what exactly happened though and why I was so sensitive to the slats, the wire grid, especially when before all this started I had a box spring which technically is a slatted foundation, though it is constructed a bit differently with actual springs inside.