When looking for a new bed, we seem to encounter the difficult decision of what type of bed would be best! There seems to be so many choices, and so many stores with mattress options.
Kathy, when needing a new mattress for the master bedroom, how does a person know what to select?
I know that making a mattress selection is one of the more difficult decisions that people encounter. First because they usually are coming from a bed that is sagging without good support and second, there may be two people with different comfort needs!
I always say you want to determine the bed size first. A lot of comfort comes from just having enough space to be sleep without interruption from a partner.
Then consider the firmness that supports your body the best, considering how you sleep such as a back sleeper, side sleeper or stomach sleeper. There are lots of different firmness's in mattresses. There are firm beds, plush beds and more plush beds such as pillow tops, super pillow tops and euro tops. These usually use the same spring systems, but the variable is the padding that is used from one firmness to the next.
I was just at a conference and stayed in a hotel, and if you are like me, you know that hotels love FIRM beds. The main reason for this is that firm beds last the longest. Usually what goes wrong with a bed is that the padding compresses and gives body impressions that appear as sagging in the middle. That can be due to coils, but many times it is the padding!
Prices in mattresses have to do with the spring system and the quality of the padding. Typically, firm beds are the lowest cost because they have the least amount of padding…. compared to pillow tops costing more due to much more padding! So, it makes sense that a hotel will use a firm mattress just because they last longer and cost less.
Is it the best for our body?
Let me ask you a question…you are at a seminar, and it will last all day. If You have the choice of a wood chair or a chair with a padded seat and back…. which will you choose?
Now, I know someone will say, the wood chair, but most people will prefer the padded…. just because after a while, the compression of our body weigh pushing on our hip bones will be uncomfortable, and we will move around and want to stand just to eliminate those pressure points caused by the hard seat!
Now, what about the hard mattress?
If you are a back sleeper, and your body shape is pretty flat, that firm bed ‘May’ be comfortable. You probably will still encounter the desire to move to your side just to alleviate some of the pressure points that occur on your shoulders, hips and heels, much the same as sitting in that wood chair. Support, I agree is needed, but padding to help cushion our body shape is mandatory to eliminate pressure points!
Can Pressure points for a side sleeper make their arm go numb?
Yes, that can easily happen. Many times, I think that most people benefit from the plush. It is not too hard but isn’t super soft either. It gives enough padding to cushion our body shape yet support our body frame. I will mention that the healthiest way to sleep is on your back. It allows for the least amount of pressure on our internal organs, allows your back to have complete straight support and does not obstruct your breathing!
Why would someone choose a pillow top mattress?
I like to respond to this similar to how you select a recliner to sit in. There are firm chairs with firm backs, that really keep you sitting on top of the cushions and don’t allow you to sink into. BUT, there are plush padded chairs that offer larger pillow arms as well as plush seat cushions and backs. Many of these chairs have what we call a pad over chaise which puts a pillow like cushioning under your legs from the seat all the way to the footrest where you feet hang over. So, which are you? If you like all of that padding, you are a candidate for a pillow top mattress. Possibly you have a lot of joint aches and again soft cushioning will help to alleviate some of those pains while you sleep!
Kathy, there are a lot of things to consider when deciding on a comfortable mattress. So just how you decide which firmness is best?
Yes, many people think they want a firm mattress, because they think that is the best. But it is important to consider how you are comfortable in other furniture pieces, and then determine what might be best for sleeping! Keep in mind, the spring constructions can vary so padding isn’t the only thing to consider. There is a reason why a mattress might be $299, as compared to $699. You don’t realize all the components that are NOT inside the mattress. It is a big box, and unless you have X-ray vision, you are not able to see if there are 300 large coils which do not offer the same support as 800 smaller coils. Mattresses generally are long term pieces, so investing in quality gives you the lowest cost investment. Disposing of it to a landfill is not a good option, but happens way too much today, because people think that a cheap mattress will hold up! It will be great, as long as you don’t use it! 2 adult body weights can be 400+ pounds, so it is important to have enough support system and quality padding to give you years of comfortable rest!
Thank you Kathy for helping us understand what to think about BEFORE buying a mattress and what will give our body the best sleep! And thank you for watching DesignTime!