The Good
From the very first night I slept on the mattress, I knew my days of hip agony were over. I put my full weight on my side and waited for the familiar stabbing to come—but none did. While my sleeping pattern will always put pressure on the area, my too-firm mattress wasn’t offering my hips enough “give” while sleeping, adding even more pressure to the mix, as Aletha Health explains. (By contrast, a mattress that’s too saggy can also exacerbate hip pain for side-sleepers, as it can throw off your alignment, which also creates pressure, according to Spire Healthcare.)
The medium-firm cush of the Avocado Green with a pillow top, by contrast, offered a just-right level of support for my aching sides. This was likely helped along by the mattresses's fancy five-zone coil system, which is designed to distribute weight more evenly across the entirety of the bed to alleviate pressure points—like those found in my hips. (But don’t just take my word for it: It’s also backed by the American Chiropractic Association, which is given to products with a chiropractic-related benefit and is rated by consumers and doctors of chiropractic.)
This coil system is also made to cut down on motion transfer—something I can wholeheartedly confirm. While I can sense when my boyfriend or cats are moving around, my body doesn’t bounce along with them.
I also love that this mattress comes with a 25-year (limited) warranty (non-prorated for the first ten years, with a prorated charge for years 11 to 25), for defects in workmanship or material. But honestly, between the all-organic materials and the hand needle tufting techniques that are used to make the bed’s rosettes, they’re likely to be few and far between.
The Bad
Truth be told, there’s not a whole lot about this bed that’s not to like, sans for the fact that at 142 pounds, it weighs more than I do. As one might imagine, this can make it somewhat difficult to change the sheets, since lifting it to get the corners underneath is a definite sweat session.
Beyond that, while the pillow top was a dream come true for me (truly, I’m never going back), it might be too squishy for back sleepers who rely on that extra firmness for support. My boyfriend, for instance, did acclimate to the mattress after it settled, but requested that we put the mattress topper back on for a little bit of added stability. Now, we’re both fully comfortable.
Last but not least, as an animal lover, I wish that I had done some more research before making my bedding selection, as I likely would’ve opted for the brand’s vegan mattress over the Green. Because, while the Green mattress uses responsible shearing practices to obtain its wool, if the RWS certification is any indicator, the vegan option removes the wool from the picture entirely—hence why it’s PETA-approved.
Final Thoughts
The Avocado Green mattress with pillow top is an ideal mattress for side-sleepers like myself who are experiencing added pressure on their joints. For those who tend to sleep on their backs or stomachs, it might be preferable to pick this mattress up without the pillow top for a little added firmness, and vegans may want to opt for the vegan version to avoid using wool.
Though rare (the Allergy and Asthma Network states that roughly 1 to 6 percent of the population will affected), it should be noted that this mattress may not be a great choice for those with existing latex allergies, as Avocado does not claim that its organic latex is hypoallergenic.
The pillow top version is high-quality, organic and great with motion transfer. It also doesn’t seem to trap heat thanks to that aforementioned wool, which, believe it or not, has cooling properties, despite the fact that we live in Florida, where it’s perpetually 90 degrees.
Yes, it comes at a fairly high price point, but it’s also at least partly backed by the company for up to 25 years (which, by the by, is a good 15 years more than most beds need to be changed out, according to the Sleep Foundation). And honestly? You can’t really put a price on a great night’s sleep, free of pain.
