12/17   Why is too soft of a mattress bad for the back?  My mattress is
        soft and it bents downward when I sleep on it, and sometimes my back
        hurts when I wake up.  I don't understand why it'd make my back hurt
        since my back muscles are all relaxed when I'm sleeping anyway.
        \_ soft mattresses are bad because your back is not straight when
           you sleep on them.  I'd definitely recommend futons or tatamis
           over any mattress.  You can get futons everywhere.  I've only
           found one place that sells tatamis.  There's a store in Cupertino
           called Murakaki or something like that.  They carry tatamis or
           various sizes that can be put onto a regular bed frame.  I have the
           king sized tatami bed.  It's great.  In the winter I have a futon
           over the tatami.  In the summer I just sleep on the tatami.
           \_ Please sign your post. I've a few questions for you. --ulysses
           \_ But doesn't sleeping on a tatami hurt too?  For an average
              person without a very big waist, the butt sticks out more than
              the lower back.  So sleeping on a tatami either leaves the lower
              back up in the air and puts all the pressure on the butt, or
              forces the lower back to bent in the U shape so as to rest on
              the tatami.  Isn't that so?  Thx.
              \_ millions of people in East Asia sleeps on tatamis everyday.
                 I doubt they're all hurting.  If it's too hard for you, just
                 put a thin futon (or any old blanket) over it.
        \_ you expect an answer from *CS*UA?
           \_ it seems reasonable to me that the poster might expect an
              answer on the subject... especially given all the blather
              a few days ago about breathing with diaphragms vs. inter-
              costals. c'mon pre-med's... where you at?
              \_ on second thought, they're probably all sleeping in
                 main stacks or something before their o-chem finals...
                 give it a couple days.
        \_ http://www.ask.com
        \_ They're not all relaxed when you're sleeping, that's the
           thing. They're kinda stretched, since you're kind of in
           a U shape. Think of how you're hanging if your head and
           feet were tied to ropes on the ceiling. Your back is in
           kind of the same configured, but less extreme obviously.
           \_ Kinky.  What's your URL?  Trade pics?