Let's face the facts- if we're getting enough sleep, we're spending a third of our lives in bed.
That means it's more than worth it to commit a good amount of time into researching and shopping so you end up with the best mattress and bed possible. You will continue to reap benefits in terms of quality of sleep for many years, and if you choosy poorly, you'll have to live with it for seven to ten years.
When you go shopping for mattresses for your home, you'll want to wear comfortable, non-revealing clothing so you can get nice and physical with the contenders. Wear shoes that are quick to get on and off, and if you want, bring your pillow.
Try to relax into a nice king-sized mattress. Close your eyes, tell the salesperson to leave you in peace, and try to imagine yourself sleeping there. Try different positions, try actually napping. If a salesperson is making you feel nervous, this isn't the place for you to get your new bed.
Go ahead and try out some memory foam mattresses- but keep in mind that just because it's the state-of-the-art right now doesn't mean that you necessarily need one- some people prefer them, some do not. Listen to what your body is telling you.
We've all heard of the tempur-pedic mattress, but exactly what is a
memory foam mattress, how does it work, and why do people like them?
Generally, any good foam mattress will not just be made of cheap packing
foam or what have you- they are made of very specifically produced latex or
viscoelastic memory foam, which is highly reactive and conforms to any shapes
impressed upon it. That shaping quality is what makes them capable of fitting
the body better than a saggy spring mattress.
Another perk of these types of mattresses is that they tend to be more
hypo-allergenic than other forms of mattress, and are a great choice for people
with allergies and or sensitive skin.
One thing that is tricky about memory foam mattresses is the rangei n quality
they present- there are definitely mediocre foam mattresses, just as there are
fantastic ones. To some extent, this is true of any mattress, but foam is
slightly more 'high riak' in the sense that really great foam mattresses are
fantastic, the best out there, but mad ones tend to be pretty terrible and
clay-like. If you're trying to go for a bargain with a foam mattress, you might
be disappointed.
Used beds and mattresses turn up in the oddest places – in the bottom of lakes, by the side of the road, in the classified ads of the newspaper. Clearly, people don't know what to do with old mattresses! It estimated that nearly 70% of old beds stay in circulation, handed down like heirlooms to children and other family members. This is especially harmful for children, whose active, developing bodies require the support of a good quality mattress. If the bed is no longer good enough for you, it's not good enough for anybody else; throw it out. Here are two ways to get rid of an old sleep set:
1) Ask the store where you bought your new mattress to pick it up when they deliver the new set. Many retailers today offer this service as part of your purchase price or for a nominal fee.
2) Call your local municipality, sanitation department or garbage collector. They usually have provisions for picking up larger items, but you may need to make arrangements in advance. If you find the condition of the old mattress embarrassing, do as many others do and send it off with an old, fitted sheet to serve as cover-up!
You may have heard somewhere that hard mattresses are better for your back, but don't be fooled. That is a lame excuse for hotel owners and people who like camping. Everyone needs a differing amount of softness, and most of us require quite a bit of spinal support from our mattresses.
The problem is, softness and support are not the same thing. A memory foam mattress can be very supportive without feeling too soft. Or it can feel like clay. Or you can have a hard bed that's super supportive, or one that's not.
The best way to tell if you're getting the support you need is to lie back on the mattress, place your hand under your lower lumbar vertebrae. If you don't feel the mattress pushing back on your hand from that position, you're definitely not getting enough support. If you're a side sleeper, try the same trick with your hand at the curve of your waist.
Also important is to make sure you have a good pillow for support. You can conduct a similar test with the curve of your neck as you rest it against the pillow.
In general, you want your entire spine to be in its natural alignment as you sleep, without twisting or bending too sharply.
Back in the seventies, NASA developed a pressure-relieving material known as a viscoelastic foam in an effort to try to cut down on the G-forces that astronauts had to endure. After its initial use in space shuttles, the material was made available for the larger market. On the whole it proved too unstable for consumer use, but after years and years of research and development by NASA, they reformulated it into a commercially viable product.
A Swedish company was the first to pick it up, and patented the 'tempur-pedic' product. Early in the nineties, when this was going on, North American distribution was given to a entreprenuer to begin making the min the States. The two distributors later merged in order to create a "Tempur World" company a decade ago.
Since then, dozens of companies have begun formulating similar products, all based around the 'memory foam' idea of cushioning a sleeper on his or her mattress. The foam itself has not varied much in its general composition, though of course now there are lots of varieties in thickness, density, and size. And of course the invention of the memory-foam pillow, for those who don't want to spring for the while mattress (they tend to be pricey) but want a little extra support for their head and neck, to keep their spine in alignment.
Critics of memory foam claim it feels like lying in clay, but the fact of the matter is you can choose a foam that is a little 'lighter', that you iwll sink into less, if that is your particular taste preference.
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