Bedroom Update: Sleeping at Zero Gravity (a Casper review)
About a week ago with no real plan, we began our master bedroom makeover. Next thing you know, we made a $4,000 impulse purchase ? – a new Casper mattress and an adjustable frame. (Affiliate links included throughout this post). This isn’t a sponsored post – and the price tag really stung. But we are so desperate for a comfortable night of sleep that are willing to do anything to feel better!
It helps knowing that we are in a 100-day “trial period” so I thought I would share the experience of our first full week of sleeping at zero gravity (I will explain more about what that means later in the post).
Our sleep history & back problems…summarized
We’ve officially reached the age where we talk about our aches and pains..so bear with me!
For about the last 10 years, sleeping has become an extremely painful experience for me. You can tell on my face in the morning, I am SO groggy and feel so awful. Not getting good rest ages you quickly!
I have a 10 degree curves in both my upper and lower spine. Bone spurs from other injuries (sports, a few falls on the ice) and a recently confirmed broken tailbone (from a horse-riding accident in my 20s). I still stay active…but I pay the price! Mark has had a recent back spasm, and a crunched shoulder from years of side-sleeping and sports injuries. I have been under chiropractic care since I was 7 years old.
Wow – we sound like old people!
10 degrees doesn’t sound like much of a curvature. But over time it’s created popping and cracking hips, lots of throbbing headaches (I’m now a migraine sufferer). I struggle to exercise without pain – or even to sleep, stand or sit for a long period of time.
Week 1 of Sleeping on a Casper:
Casper retail stores can be found across the country if you want to test them out. A Casper mattress can be purchased as a standalone mattress -or- you can add an adjustable base. We opted for Casper Hybrid mattress coupled with The Adjustable Pro base so that we could elevate our head / feet. You can lay flat as well and if that’s what you prefer, then you should downgrade the bed frame.
What is “zero gravity”?
We bought the set on a Friday night, and it was delivered within a week. They even remove your old mattress for you! We added the risers that are included with the purchase to make the bed taller. The adjustable frame can sit inside a bed frame as well, so we will be shopping for that as we redesign our bedroom.
1st night // After our 1st night our aches and pains still existed, but we both woke up less groggy. I slept through the night at zero gravity and I’m normally a side-sleeper. Mark got out of bed at 4am because he struggled to fight the urge to sleep on his side so he finished out the night on the couch. He is typically a tossing and turning type. I have lots of insomnia.
2nd night // On day 2, I woke up and felt slightly more rested. My lower back felt less stiff and I made it again sleeping through the whole night on my back at zero gravity. This time with a neck prop, no pillow. And no insomnia. Mark got up around 6am. But he also said he slept at zero gravity and felt mostly better. Both of us confirmed less pain the next day.
3rd night // Mark made it through the whole night on his back. His snoring is much less and his desire to sleep on his side is subsiding. He started to experiment with a neck pillow. He turned on “vibrate mode” in the middle of the night. The next morning, I started to feel different. Maybe even better. I hobble a bit most mornings, but not this time.
4th night // Vibrate mode is awesome to help you go to sleep. Sounds kinky but it’s really alllll about the orthopedics ;-). It’s a soothing, relaxing vibration that turns off after about 15 minutes. We woke up, both refreshed at zero gravity. Trying to decide if we should be exploring more adjustable angles. The neck tilt for instance stretches out our neck more which feels great but we haven’t slept that way yet. My afternoon headache is not making an appearance like it normally does.
5th night & beyond // I had a chiropractor appointment, who confirmed my back is really messed up, so working on getting that fixed. But now we’ve both transitioned to “feeling good” in the morning! I even look rested, so there is a bit of an anti-aging quality to a better night’s sleep. Now we’re just trying to figure out the pillow situation. We both have My Pillows and for me that’s perfect. I am really happy with the purchase so far!
We are actually going to bed…early?!
I struggle to fall asleep before 10pm and I also avoid bedtime because it can be so uncomfortable. Mark is even worse — he’s a late night TV watcher. Now I go to bed early on work nights and I feel so much better during the day.
Working, sleeping or watching movies in bed
I love the adjustable function to sit upright in bed to work (or write). We like to watch movies until we’re sleepy (a bad habit of ours that probably won’t go away) but now we can do it in comfort. I’m beginning to look forward to turning in early. Feeling better is a wonderful thing!
Master Bedroom Progress…
As I mentioned, we started our master bedroom makeover (see the after) with no real plan, we’re letting it unfold organically. We sold our old bedroom furniture and started looking for pieces that work better in this space. I bought these dressers from my friend and gave them a fresh coat of paint. (See the new and improved night stands!) We worked on adding wall trim this weekend. Downsizing our furniture has made this room seem more spacious.
We’ll share these updates as we progress along with even more reviews of our Casper mattress and adjustable frame as we make our final decision. We are also looking for a bed frame that fits our adjustable frame, so stay tuned!
Thank you for your unbiased review of the Casper mattress. My husband and I have been considering a new mattress, so your review and updates will really help with our decision.
Thanks Paula, I hope it helps. Convincing Mark was the hard part. His side-sleeping habit is a tough one to break. So far so good…I feel much better and his snoring is so much quieter.
Jeanette what is zero gravity and is it not possible to sleep on your side with the Casper mattress? I guess I am unfamiliar with the mattress. I could not sleep on my back so that would make it something I would not buy. We are looking at mattresses as my husbands shoulder needs more support. Is the mattress too hot? Is the top foam? I hope this helps you both sleep better. Keep us posted:0)
Hi Lori,
Sorry I left those parts out – I will update the post to answer your questions. :) I added the definition of zero gravity (obviously I was really excited about this feature) — and YES, you can definitely sleep flat as well. If you do NOT want the adjustable feature, they make bases that are flat as well. Prior to buying this I always propped my knees / feet with pillows and it never lasted. So the zero gravity feature is great for me. I’ll also include links to the exact mattress so you can see what it’s made of. I get hot sometimes at night but so far it’s not an exceptionally hot mattress like my previous Amazon boxed mattress.
I’m so glad you have a chiropractor! Mine is the only thing that keeps me going because I have scoliosis as well, bone spurs and about every other ailment that go wrong with a person’s back and I’m fighting a recommendation for back surgery. I thought people snored worse on their backs! It’s interesting becoming a back sleeper has helped your husband. I can’t imagine what it would feel like or whether it would be good for a person to have their intestinal tract down in a valley if your head and feet were both elevated, but I suffer from chronic lymphedema so I’m sure having my feet elevated would be wise. Still, the price tag. Glad it’s working out for the two of you, though.
I hear you, chiropractors are miracle workers! SO sorry you also have pain. The price tag for this mattress is soooo crazy. But we never invest in ourselves, so when we had some bonus $ we decided to be selfish and upgrade all of the mattresses in the house and totally spoil ourselves. Sleep is so important and I haven’t had it for years (even my kids saw me on the couch so many months propping my legs with pillows and still felt miserable). About the snoring, the zero gravity actually elevates his head quite a bit, then there is a neck function that tilts his head even more forward. We are experimenting with all of the angles right now. Yes, the legs being elevated would help you a lot I would imagine!
Hi Jeanette,
All I have to say is,if the picture of you, (that you have on this blog) is that of a tired, groggy, woman, suffering from back pain and insomnia, SIGN ME UP! You look absolutely gorgeous without sleep. Save your money and get your old mattress back! I only wish I could look as great as you, at my most rested best.
Can’t wait to see how your room evolves. Maybe, you’ll post a video of yourself doing cartwheels, too!
Oh Karen, that’s so nice…but that picture is already 3 years old and 20 pounds ago! :) Trying to get my groove back, feel better and to get back in shape! I’m blaming the lack of sleep (ha!) — thank you for your kind words, I would definitely do a cartwheel if I felt better!
I’m sure you are still just as lovely even with the extra years and pounds. I can certainly relate to that! I can also relate to the essentials of good sleep and chiropractor visits.
We replaced our mattress about a year ago and the difference has been amazing! Ours isn’t the same brand as yours, but I am sure you will begin to notice the difference very soon, too. Good luck to you. Loving all of your beautiful changes around the house. I’ll be watching for the cartwheel video!😉
When my husband saw the price of our adjustable mattress he first thought I was crazy. I mentioned what we pay for automobile and how much more time we spend on bed. I have about the same problems as you and our mattress is a life saver. My husband raises his head a bit snitch really helps with his snoring. I put my side on zero gravity. It’s a miracle for me. I can also sleep on my side which I could not do before. Ours is a sleep number and worth every penny. My brother got a different brand and it has made a big difference to him. It helps back, hip, snoring and reflux.
I’ve had an adjustable bed for around 30 years (Craftmatic). I sleep on my side with the head slightly elevated and don’t have issues. I bought the bed to deal with a severe case of acid reflux and now after sleeping on it for so long I have issues when I sleep on flat mattresses. My back is so accustomed to the adjustable that I develop bad back pain when I get up from a flat bed. The salesman corrected me when I called it a “vibrator”, He firmly stated that it was called a “massager”.