Recently, my husband and I decided we were finished with
waking up each morning feeling like our backs had been run over by a series of
tiny trucks, courtesy of our old mattress. We headed to the nearest furniture
store to search for a suitable and affordable replacement, thinking, how hard
can it be to select a comfortable mattress? The answer may surprise you,
especially if you haven’t shopped for a new mattress in recent years. The
selection of various types of filler material, firmness, and even technology
level has exploded in the past decade, to the point where you may become so
overwhelmed with the abundance of choices that you decide to just go back home
and sleep on your lumpy bed of torture. Before you get in over your head, take
a look at the following tips we’ve picked out to help keep your head on
straight and choose the best mattress for you and your partner.
Expect to buy a new
mattress every 8-10 years. Even the best mattresses aren’t designed to last
forever; after all, you spend a third of your life sleeping. Any home
furnishing that gets that amount of use needs to be replaced periodically, and
a mattress is no exception. You should be able to expect a life span of 8 to 10
years from your new mattress, so keep that in mind when selecting your level of
firmness. A bed that starts out very soft and plushy may be uncomfortably so a
few years down the road.
If it feels too hard,
don’t buy it. On the other hand, selecting an extra-firm mattress just to
ensure that it won’t be saggy in a couple of years isn’t a great idea either.
Select a firmness level that feels right for you now, or you will be stuck with
a too-hard mattress while waiting for time to work its magic.
Know your mattress
types. When it comes to your personal level of comfort, it is important to
know which type you prefer. There is a vast difference between the feel of a
traditional coil mattress and memory foam. Some mattresses, like the one we
ended up getting, are hybrid models, with a memory foam pillow top over coils.
People who get too hot in their sleep may prefer to stay away from memory foam,
which can retain body heat, though some models now feature
foam that is designed to stay cool. If you feel that you can use an education
in the different types of mattresses, have a sales rep thoroughly explain the
pros and cons of each.
Try the floor models
(and don’t be embarrassed.) OK, it is plain awkward to lie down on a floor
model at the mattress store in front of everybody, turning this way and that in
an approximation of how you sleep, in order to select the best mattress for
your needs. But just remember, you are at a mattress store, surrounded by other
people who are buying mattresses and going through the same process, so try to
lose the embarrassment and really get into testing them out for at least 15
minutes each.
Remember your
partner. If you and your partner can’t agree on the level of firmness for
your mattress, consider an option with adjustable firmness on each side of the
bed. Also, going for a king-size bed, while initially more expensive, can give
you the kind of space you and your partner need to achieve a restful night’s
sleep, especially if one of you kicks, snores, or tosses. Just remember, happy
wife (or husband)= happy life!
Be aware of the
return policy. OK, true story: my husband and I selected a mattress that
seemed very comfortable in the store, only to have it delivered and find out
that it was considerably more firm than the floor model. (Translation: we spent
four nights feeling like we had slept on a wooden pallet.) Needless to say, we
were dismayed that we had just spent a large amount of money on a bed that made
us feel even worse than the old one! Luckily, the store where we purchased our
mattress had a 30-day return policy and we were able to switch it out for the
next softest one, and now we are in heaven every night. Before committing to
any mattress purchase, make sure to scope out the return policy.
What type of mattress do you like best? Let us know in the
comments section below.
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