Or, In Search of the Holy Coil
My husband and I are both like the Princess and the Pea – you know the story, the Prince is seeking a Princess and every Princess but one feels the pea at the bottom of a pile of mattresses while she sleeps. The one who doesn’t feel the Pea is the one who wins the Prince’s heart. Well, in our case, the mattress that doesn’t provoke pain and discomfort wins our hearts. In our short 12 year marriage we have had more beds, toppers, foamies, et al., then most people have in a lifetime, all in an effort to find the most comfort we can while sleeping. Some were too hard, some were too soft and few it seemed, in the words of Goldilocks were “just right”. Our quest has taken us from the sublime to the ridiculous. Our marriage years can be tracked by the beds we had. In the beginning it was a mattress on a platform from that Swedish store. You know the one. That sufficed for a couple years and then sufficed no more. I blame California for the next bed purchase. We made the mistake of sleeping in a king size bed whilst on vacation and decided that with 2 cats and 2 bodies, a king size bed would be the answer to our overcrowding. Thus years 3 thru 8, approximately, of our marriage were spent on a Serta Perfect Sleeper that became less than perfect. A “bed inspector” came out to the house and inspected it for defects and it turns out the box spring was warped. Even the replacement of the box spring didn’t help. It was then off to Sears where we purchased another sleep set which didn’t make it past the “comfort guarantee” [too hard] and was returned. Years 10 and 11 were spent on a Bowling Ball Mattress [a floor model] whose pillow top slowly eroded away into the mattress and became much, much too firm. Toppers and foamies and featherbeds [oh my] were applied to the mattresses faithfully to no avail and actually ended up making the mattresses lose what support they did have.. We were still waking up stiff and sore with little sleep to show for our night. Next up was a gel bed which again was too firm, even with the addition of foamies and toppers so back to the store it went (Thank God for the comfort guarantee). Then a friend told us about how he had done meticulous research on mattresses whilst he and his wife slept on a piece of plywood on their platform base until the perfect mattress (for them) was found. Intrigued, we inquired. After getting the 4-1-1, we began yet another quest in our search for the Holy Coil of Mattresses. This quest, unfortunately, not only took us out of our City, it took us out of province. It took us two provinces over. Bed #1 we ordered from them [unseen and untested] was delivered to us but was too firm. To take advantage of the comfort guarantee we traveled out of province to test their beds for our exchange. We picked up the plush euro top blah blah blah mattress and returned home. As to how this one will work ? Stay tuned.
The Better Sleep Council of Canada (who knew there was such a thing) suggests that we spend 1/3 of our life in bed. I suggest that I’ve spent half of that being a mattress tester.
Tips from the Better Sleep Council on selecting a mattress include using the E.A.S.E. method:
1. Evaluate your current mattress and box spring:
Signs you May Need a New Mattress and Box Spring:
· You wake up with stiffness, numbness, aches and pains
· You had a better night’s sleep somewhere other than your own bed (such as a hotel)
· Your mattress shows visible signs of overuse (it sags, has lumps, the interior is exposed, etc.)
· Your mattress is 5 – 7 years old
2. Arm yourself with education about the various types of sleep systems out there.
3. Shop to find the right mattress system to suit your individual needs. If you have a sleep partner, take him or her with you and test those mattresses right in the store.
4. And, finally, take proper care of your sleep system.
[For more information see www.bettersleep.org]
I’d like to add my own tips:
Don’t be swayed by glitzy advertising, pushy salespeople, or “testimonials” A sleep set is a totally personal choice in comfort, size and style. Buy what feels good to you.
Don’t buy a floor model. [What can I say, we were desperate]. Apart from the possible “ick” factor, studies have shown that the life span of the comfort level of your mattress and foundation is about 5 – 10 years (Better Sleep Council of Canada) After this time, the bed no long provides the same level of comfort and support as it did when it was new. It stands to reason, then, that a floor model would reduce that life span exponentially in relation to how long it has been “on the floor.”
Check into the store’s comfort guarantee and return policy. Some stores offer a 90 day comfort guarantee, some stores offer an exchange only policy, some stores may offer a straight refund.
One final note: Please, please, please get rid of your old sleep system. Don’t punt it to the guest room for your poor guests to sleep on (well, unless you don’t want them to stay very long!). Or pass them down to your children. If it’s not good enough for you to sleep on, why is it good enough for your friends or family?
