<p>My daughter is very happy with her school, but complains the bed is not comfortable at all, it makes her back pain, and even we bought her a mattress pad. We are thinking either buy another better mattress pad (but have not found yet) or just buy a mattress for her lifted bed. Any suggestion is appreciated.</p>
<p>Why is the bed uncomfortable? Too hard? Or too soft?</p>
<p>If it’s too hard, a nice thick mattress pad is a good idea.</p>
<p>If the mattress is too soft, then it’s difficult. You could buy a new mattress for her, but then you’ll have to figure out where to store the dorm mattress for the year. My dorm mattress is too soft and I had no room to store a mattress, so I solved the problem by putting plywood on top of the mattress and putting a mattress pad on top of it.</p>
<p>I got a foam mattress pad (not the memory foam style, the convoluted foam eggcrate style) and then got a decent mattress pad to put on top of it. I figured $50 of investment into those two was well worth the (hopefully) six hours or more I’d be spending on it every day for the duration of my stay in grad school.</p>
<p>we bought the memory foam last year for S2. His bed was horrible! It was a bit pricey, but if we get 2years out of and less complaints out of him it was money well spent!</p>
<p>S2 came home after orientation saying the bed was like a slab of concrete. I bought a nice thick mattress pad and also a feather bed topper for him. Haven’t heard any more complaints.</p>
<p>I just came back from Parents’ Weekend and we had to go to the local BB&B to get the memory foam mattress topper. I figure even if we had asked Res Life for a different mattress it might not have been any different; D could feel the mattress springs. This seems to have done the trick. I agree it’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth everything if it alleviates the back pain.</p>
<p>My daughter also has a bad back. Last year we bought a feather mattress topper for her because she lived in a dorm. I think they may have requirements on what kind of mattress you could have in a dorm due to fire code. This year she is living in a sorority, so we bought her a memory form mattress and she loves it. We figure she could use it for the next 3 years.</p>
<p>My kids all SWEAR by their memory foam mattress toppers, saying that when dorm mates sit on their beds they are amazed by the added extra comfort of the memory foam. They are reasonably priced and shipped from Overstock.com. I’d recommend the Serta brand for quality.</p>
<p>You can order it online and have it delivered to the dorm. We used this for my daughter: [Latex</a> Topper - Twin Size](<a href=“http://www.foambymail.com/LatexTTwin.html]Latex”>Hypo-Allergenic Latex Mattress Toppers | Foam Factory, Inc.)</p>
<p>It is by far, the most amazing of all the products out there. We got her the 2" thick, 20 ILD (soft).</p>
<p>Here’s some advice for parents reading this who have dorm beds in their child’s future. Put some kind of mattress pad on your shopping list, even if a mattress pad is included in the dorm furnishings. The pads at my son’s school were very thin and over a vinyl covered mattress so a regular store pad (twin XL) was a good idea. The extras mentioned above depend on the student.</p>
<p>Get an eggshell mattress to put on top of the bed. That will solve the discomfort problem. You can also increase the height of the bed with those bed stands if she wants to sleep higher.</p>
<p>Thank all of you for your advice and suggestion. We may buy her Memory Foam Mattress Topper to make her bed feel softer.</p>
<p>I tried everything…eggcrate, featherbed and memory foam. The memory foam was the best investment I made. I bought a 4" topper for $120 and never had a bad night sleep.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind spending some money, the Sleep Number beds (mattress) are a good investment. They collapse and store easily and can be shipped in a large box. Somehow WildChild talked us into one when he was in boarding school, and it has come in handy.</p>
<p>My D. bought foamy pad for $15 at Wal-Mart, and said that it made huge difference. She could not even sleep first night. She has a permanent shoulder problem, scar tissues from swimming injury. Pad was enough to make it very comfortable for her.</p>
<p>memory foam xlong twin pad…from Bed Bath and Beyond and Sams Warehouse for our son’s twin beds. The BBandB lasted longer.<br>
sleep in college is gold…spend for that 3 inch memory foam in my opinion…this generation is sleep deprived and addicted to internet/texting late at night</p>
<p>If you decide that she needs a new mattress, check with the school. Many schools will not allow you to replace their mattress unless you have a letter from a doctor (allergies). I think this has to do with fire safety.</p>
<p>The general consensus here is that she needs a mattress topper but you should be aware of the differences between memory foam, egg crate and latex toppers. Do not buy memory foam (especially anything with Visco in in) IF she gets overheated easily. Visco memory foam (most of the memory foams out there) sleep hot you sink into them…trapping the heat around your body. Latex foam ([FOAMBYMAIL.COM</a> - your source for cushions, mattresses, pillows, and much more](<a href=“Hypo-Allergenic Latex Mattress Toppers | Foam Factory, Inc.)because%5DFOAMBYMAIL.COM”>Hypo-Allergenic Latex Mattress Toppers | Foam Factory, Inc.)because))is soft and springy and you sleep ON TOP of it. It dosen’t make you warmer. Egg crates, while not as soft as the other two, allow air to circulate around you (because of their surface).</p>
<p>Memory foam from Bed, Bath & Beyond worked well for us (no connection to the store, not even stock). We’re in a cold climate, though, unlike seiclan.</p>