Temp-U-Pedic mattresses are, indeed, expensive, but if you can muster the cash and you have a history of back trouble, you will not regret buying one. When Edmund and I got married, five and a half years ago (!), I had to give up the bed my grandparents slept in because Edmund is at least five inches taller than your average late-victorian Canadian, and simply didn't fit. After a miserable six months on his smashed-down futon, we bought a brand-new queen-sized bed frame and a Temp-U-Pedic mattress that cost (get this) nearly $2,000 Canadian (the loonie was particularly low against the US buck at the time). Especially when used with a Japanese-type buckwheat pillow, it is by far the best mattress I have ever slept on.

However, it is also the heaviest thing in the house, so it's a good thing you don't have to turn it periodically. Neither can you put a quilted mattress top on it -- the material has to feel your body temperature if it is to mold itself to your shape -- so heavy sweaters will find it a bit of a nuisance to maintain, requiring great finagling to remove and replace the zip-on cover. I find it best simply to haul the bedhead away from the wall (made possible by wooden floor and slidy bed-feet) so I can get at it from all four sides.

If you have back and neck problems, especially muscle spasms arising from joint damage, you are likely to find considerable improvement with a Temp-U-Pedic mattress.