[robmerki]

I spent ~$2700 on a new mattress. I no longer wake up with hip or lower back pain. My sleeps are an order of magnitude better.

I ended up with a Tempurpedic. I spent about 2 hours trying every mattress at the store and bought the one that felt best. There’s probably a million hacks to get that mattress cheaper, but I regret nothing. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made. It also came with 2 “free” memory foam pillows, and my random neck pains are also gone.

[notacoward]

I second this suggestion. I also spent years on crappy cheap mattresses, until I was traveling monthly and noticed that (at least after the first night) I slept better just about anywhere else than at home. So I bought a Tuft&Needle Mint, which has been pretty good. Then over the Christmas holiday I let my brother use my bed and I slept down on a crappy fold-out loveseat in the basement for a week. Much to my surprise (and a bit of deja vu) I found I was sleeping better than usual. Apparently I now need something even firmer than the Mint, so I have a Helix Twilight on order as my 2022 Christmas present to myself. I've also spent a fair bit of money on good pillows, good curtains, etc. because getting a good night's sleep is huge and increasingly hard to get at my age. Nobody I've known has ever seemed to regret getting a good mattress.

[stronglikedan]

Seconded on a quality mattress. I acquired a new luxury Puffy hybrid from my parents, who bought it but didn't like it. I sleep better than I can remember, and don't wake up with random aches and pains. It's life changing, coming from a series of budget mattresses.

[shireboy]

I did similar but had worse outcome. Thought my shoulder pain was due to 10 year old mattress. Tried them all, got Tempurpedic thinking "30 day guarantee" would be worth trying. 30 days passed and we both felt it too hard, but not so terrible we wanted the hassle of returning and picking another. Didn't fix my shoulder - that was unrelated. Still have insomnia.

[linsomniac]

7-8 years ago I got one of those Leesa online mattresses, based on checking out all the different mattresses, it seemed to be the one that was closest to a latex-like experience without being latex priced. My wife was still having some pain so we ended up putting a ~3" latex topper on it. It's been a great mattress. I'll agree that a mattress that is comfortable is a worthy investment.

[awillen]

Oh yeah, 100% agree this is the clear-cut best answer. If you can only upgrade one big thing, make it your mattress.

[lagrange77]

> memory foam pillows, and my random neck pains are also gone

those gave me my random neck pains in the first place :D

[notacoward]

Getting the right pillow is a struggle, all right. It has to be just the right depth for me, which is hard to achieve in the first place and harder to maintain even as the pillow and my mattress and my body all age in different ways. It almost seems like truly quantitative pillow personalization is a business opportunity.