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By Laura
Jean Whitcomb
Updating and remodeling your home is a no-brainer.
Ripping out old carpet, rebuilding a deck or
installing energy-efficient appliances add immediate
value. But homeowners don’t always see the return on
investment of a new mattress.
According to research by the International Sleep
Products Association, the typical American consumer
keeps a mattress far too long — an average of 10.2
years. The vast majority of consumers are unaware of
the signs of mattress deterioration and rarely
connects the condition of their mattress to a
decline in sleep quality.
Where do you start? Like most savvy shoppers, you’ll
probably begin with a budget. “Most customers come
in with a price level in mind,” says Scott Fontaine,
owner of three Mattress Gallery stores located in
West Lebanon, Claremont, and Tilton, NH. “But what
they need is a comfort level.”
Take Off Your Shoes
There are around 40 brands of mattresses. According
to Consumer Reports, Sealy, Serta and Simmons
account for nearly three out of every four
mattresses sold. Innerspring mattresses — coiled
steel springs sandwiched between layers of padding —
are the most widely purchased type. Although you
could shop by name brand only, the best way to
choose a mattress is to test a variety of beds.
Side sleepers should look for a softer mattress —
supportive but with enough give to conform to the
bumps and curves of the body.
Be prepared to lie on the bed as you would at home.
(Many retail stores have a plastic sheet on the
bottom third of the mattress, so you don’t even have
to take your shoes off anymore.) You may feel
self-conscious, but try out a variety of positions:
side, back, curled into a ball. Stretch, toss, turn.
One sign that you’ve got the right mattress is that
your body is able to relax, with your spine
supported in its natural curve. “If the customer is
lying on their side, we go right behind them and
look at the hip, back and shoulder,” says Shawn
Marsh from the Mattress Giant in West Lebanon. “They
should all be the same height. If the shoulder is
too high, they might need a softer mattress to take
in some of that shoulder. If the hip is too high, a
firmer bed might be in order.”
According to Abed.com, back sleepers should look for
a firmer mattress. A mattress that gives too much or
bends inwardly will not be supportive enough for the
spine. Side sleepers should look for a softer
mattress — supportive but with enough give to
conform to the bumps and curves of the body.
Sleeping on your stomach is irritating to the neck
and back but, if you must, pick a mattress that is
soft enough on the surface to substitute for the
lack of a pillow.
Coils and Padding
What’s in a mattress? There are a few components to
consider. Coils, for example, are the springs that
support you. A basic mattress has 300 coils; bigger
units run 500 to 700 coils. More coils will provide
better support for your back. This is not to say
that a 300-coil bed is a bad bed; you may like that
level of support or it may be perfect for a guest
room used a few weekends a year. But if you are
looking for a firm mattress, go with more coils.
Coils also have different thicknesses; heavy gauge
coils will provide more support. According to
whatsthebest.net, a Web site that helps people make
better buying decisions, don’t get low coil count
with heavy gauge — the mattress will become lumpy
quickly because it does not have enough coils.
Fontaine, who has been in the mattress business for
more than eight years, says that you can find a
proper support system at any coil count. “You can
compare coil counts within a company to get an idea
of comfort level, but comparing coil counts from
company to company doesn’t make sense,” he says.
“Each company has a different mattress-building
philosophy. Within a brand name, however, coils mean
everything.”
A mattress also has middle padding (foam starting
below the quilted layer) and insulation padding
(lying directly on the springs). The mattress’s
outermost layers — the ticking or upholstery —
provide surface comfort. Furnituresmart.com notes
that toppings on today’s beds range anywhere from
man-made polyfoams and fibers to latex and even
natural fibers such as wool or silk in some of the
better beds. Although natural fibers tend to hold
their resiliency longer than traditional stuffings,
they do cost more.
Keep in mind that the upholstery always breaks down
first. “The steel springs aren’t going to break
down, but the padding in between them will,” says
Fontaine. A good test, he says, is to punch your old
mattress and see how much dust flies. “That dust is
the foam inside breaking down.”
Buy Big
“Research into sleep habits shows that a healthy
sleeper turns between 40 and 60 times a night,
including around a dozen full-body turns,” says
Arthur Grehan, executive director of the American
Innerspring Manufacturers (AIM), a non-profit trade
group that provides free information on restful
sleep and sleep surfaces.
That’s a lot of motion for one person in a standard
38-inch-wide twin bed, Grehan says, and it’s often
even more noticeable for two people in a standard
53-inch-wide double bed. AIM says that one adult in
a bed should shoot for at least 40 inches of width,
and two people sharing a bed should try to get at
least 30 inches each.
The queen-sized innerspring mattress is fast
replacing the double bed as the standard for two
people. According to the International Sleep
Products Association, queen (60-by-80) and king
(76-by-80) mattresses together top 42 percent of
overall shipments of mattresses.
Get a Set
The mattress and the foundation, a hard platform
that rests beneath the mattress, are designed to
work together. The Better Sleep Council describes a
foundation as a “giant shock absorber, taking the
normal wear and tear of nightly use.” It lends added
support and durability, absorbing half of the total
weight of the sleep set.
“Each company has a different mattress-building
philosophy. Within a brand name, however, coils mean
everything.”
Whether you prefer a box spring (a coil unit that
provides more resiliency) or European-style wooden
slats, it is a good idea to replace your foundation
whenever you replace your mattress. Putting a new
mattress on an old box spring could void your
warranty. In fact, by using an old box spring the
mattress will last one-third as long as one on a new
box spring, according to whatsthebest.net.
What to Expect from Retailers
All retailers have different services, but there are
some standard questions you should ask. Is delivery
free? Do you remove the old mattress and box spring?
Is set up of the new mattress free? Can I sleep on
the mattress for 30 days to determine if it is the
right mattress for me? (This is called a comfort
guarantee.) What’s the warranty?
A good mattress retailer shouldn’t put any pressure
on you. A “comfort test” is what’s important. “We’ll
start you at two or three beds at the top of the
line,” says Fontaine. “Then you should go up and
down the line to find the right feel. Wherever you
land is where you feel comfortable.”
Fontaine suggests spending at least 45 minutes
testing mattresses. “It’s expected that people may
take up to two hours,” he says. “If you’re going to
have a bed for 10 to 15 years, spending a couple
hours testing mattresses is not a bad idea.” |
