The Question of Sleep! (& N:Rem tablets)

Unrefreshing sleep is a symptom of ME, and of many other long term conditions. Indeed, the topic of night-time hours (and of making them as comfortable and restorative as possible) is one that is often debated online.

Luckily for me, I was in the right place at the right time and was offered a free trial of these N:rem foam mattress toppers, in exchange for an honest review of them on my blog.

Disclosure notice: "I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers (http://chronicillnessbloggers.com/chronic-illness-bloggers/) network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company. "

Background: I had seen these mattress toppers mentioned generally favourably on various FaceBook groups, and so I understood that they worked on the principle of giving different parts of our body more or less support according to individual need. This seemed so sensible and simple, that I knew I had to give them a go.

The N:rem website can be seen here: https://nremsleepsystem.co.uk/ and the toppers viewed here: https://nremsleepsystem.co.uk/topper/

Before my month's trial, I found I could mostly sleep through the wee small hours of the night provided I went to bed an hour after midnight and then rose before seven o’clock.  Trying to stay  in bed longer did not produce more sleep - yet I also knew I needed more sleep than this short window provided. Part of my problem, I think, was discomfort making me restless. (I have been attending a chiropractor for many years to keep my back "right"!)

The trial N:Rem system consists of 5 tablets of foam, of differing densities, that can be placed over your existing mattress.  The idea is to re-arrange these tablets so that the softest ones are beneath pressure points that cause you bother, and the firmer ones are then placed to give more support to less tender areas.

On receiving the huge delivery box from the N:rem people, I immediately placed them over my mattress according to one of the patterns in the accompanying literature. I then snuggled down enthusiastically for the first night.

Sadly, that first arrangement did nothing good for my sleep whatsoever! The firmest tablet was WAY too firm for my liking.  I pulled it out and relegated it to the bottom of my bed, where my even my feet rarely reach!

Re-arranging the tablets over the next couple of nights helped me fine-tune an arrangement that suited my personal needs, and remarkably as the month of the trial progressed, I found that I was starting to sleep on longer each morning. Then I discovered that I could also head to bed earlier, and still sleep right through the small hours of the night.

The scientist in me says that this result might not be entirely due to the mattress toppers - that maybe some other factor was at play?

However, the part of me that just happens to like sleeping well, won the internal debate with the logical argument that - I was mighty pleased to get the toppers back again, after I lent them to a friend for a couple of nights!

So the end result is that I really do like this system.  However I have one very small suggestion for improvement.  I think it would be nice to have the option of a narrower piece so that I could place a small slightly firmer strip just about my waist level.

Overall Conclusion:  Thumbs Up! 

And, I’m seriously tempted to get one of their full mattress options in the near future.

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PS I probably shouldn’t admit this - but when I took the trial on, and heard that I could keep the tablets after the trial, I remember thinking that if I really didn’t like them, that at least they would make good dogs beds!  Well I’m sorry Finn, but you lost out chum!