Hey, MG, saw in your post that you are thinking about the sleep number. Last year I had to buy a new bed and did a lot of looking. If you haven't done a lot of looking yet, you might want to look at the tempurpedic as well. I looked at the sleep number, but determined that it has hard sides that for me made getting in and out of it harder, plus you have to sleep in the middle to get the full benefit of the mattress. I have a tendency to move all over the bed and some times sleep cross ways, so this was a big deal for me.

I ended up buying the tempurpedic cloud deluxe (softer than their regular mattress) with the adjustable base and love it. It was a hefty investment, but I decided that a good night's sleep is more important than some of the other things I buy, so I adjusted my spending to compensate and went for it. Although I still don't sleep through the night (I never have), I don't wake up as often because I'm in pain. With my recent lumbar and thoracic surgeries I find I'm sleeping on my back more (not what I would have expected) and being able to "sit up" and raise my legs is wonderful. I still sleep primarily on my side though and find that slightly raising the legs and upper body help me align things better than trying to use pillows to do it. I also sleep with 4 large dogs and am able to sleep on the side of the bed when needed.

Promise I'm not an infomercial for tempurpedic , but just wanted to share what I've found out from my own experience.

Hope you all find ways to sleep better than you are. The importance of a good night's sleep is often underestimated and having spent several years not getting a good night's sleep, I know how much if can affect your life. All the best!