Choosing a mattress is an important buying decision. This is an item you are going to use every day (and night!). There are a large range of options to choose from and they fit a wide variety of needs. There are quite a few brands out there that make claims. In this blog post I'll walk you through information that you could use to make those decisions.
Springiness/Firmness
This one is tricky to get right. When you actually sit on a mattress, a bouncy one might feel better. A softer one might also feel better. However, for comfort while sleeping you want something a bit harder. A mattress with loose springs (or something too soft) is bound to make you toss and turn in bed, or worse not give you the deep sleep you wanted after a tiring day. You could also develop back/neck problems as your back might bend in an uncomfortable U shape as you sleep. A good guide is to understand why you are buying a new one and how much you liked your old one. If you are used to something firm, go for an equally firm one. If in doubt, go for a firm one. Why? For the simple reason, you can always make a firm one soft by buy a soft layer on top. But you can't make a soft one firm. This could be a boon if you are pregnant and have back pains. You also want to make sure that the mattress does not transfer motion when someone else who shares that bed with you gets up at night. Memory foam mattresses are generally good with this. Yet another issue is vibration. All too often, you have a train run by in the middle of the night, a door shut hard next door, seismic activity etc. This vibrates the entire floor getting you to also shake in the middle of the night. Again memory foam mattresses are generally good with dealing with this kind of an issue because they are built to minimize motion transfer. There are also other ideas you could try. For example, cutting tennis balls into half and stacking enough of them under the legs of the bed so they dampen the vibration just right. Do not rush to buy industrial grade springs. Vibration dampening requires that you get these industrial springs just right so they can dampen vibrations based on your weight and the bed frames, combined. If they are too rigid, they will simply transfer the vibration, too feeble and you may end up making the problem worse.
Temperature
Yes, there is such a thing as how hot or cold you feel while you are on it. You want your mattress to feel just about cool enough so you can have a restful nights sleep. Some don't allow for air circulation as much, causing some heat to build up. If this happens, check for any kind of plastic layering or coverings that you may have forgotten to take out when you bought the mattress. If the problem persists, it could be a problem with the comforter you use too. A work around is to use a cool-gel layer on top.
Handling Spills
If its a bed, at some point in time you are bound to eat/drink on it and as a result spill something on top. Some mattresses come with a removable/washable cover. This is a very useful feature (especially if you have kids). Of course, a simpler workaround is to have some layer between the bed sheet and the mattress which would contain the spill to the sheet.
Size
This a very personal factor. If you like a large bed, go for it. A large bed is also well suited for families (board games with kids) or if you want that extra personal space. If you are looking for that fits in your college dorm, a twin sized one is the best to go with.
Odor
Most foam mattress come "compressed". It will air itself up and rise on its own when you open your package. They also tend to release an odor (rubbery type odor). This might take a few days to go away. It might take longer in the winter as you probably can't have your windows open. I would strongly recommend you let it air-out for a few days and you not inhale those odors.
Choosing a Pillow
We went over factors to consider while buying a mattress. A mattress isn't complete without a pillow ! So what factors do we consider before buying a pillow? Let's go over some important aspects and features.
Sleeping Type
It starts with knowing what type of a sleeper you are. A side sleeper, stomach sleeper or a back sleeper. Regardless, the type and number of pillow(s) you need varies based on this. Most people flip around in their sleep all night. The sleeping type is mostly your preferred position when you go to bed to fall asleep. You should try and pick a pillow size such that your neck doesn't bend down or up too much.
Keeping the above in mind, the following are a list mattress you could buy.
Amazon Basics 10 inch Memory Foam. Great pricing and generally well protected by Amazon's levels of service.
Classic Brands Cool Gel 1.0 Ultimate Gel Memory Foam 14-Inch Mattress. The cool gel technology offered could be well worth it. It is also very reasonably priced for a 14-Inch mattress.
Sweetnight 10 Inch Full Size Mattress-Infused Gel Memory Foam Mattress for Back Pain Relief & Cool Sleep, Medium Firm. A medium firm mattress, great to go with especially if you are starting to experience back pain of some kind. Also reasonably priced for the value delivered.
Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR ProForm Supreme 3-Inch Queen Mattress Topper, Medium Firm, White Tempur-Pedic is probably an old and trusted brand. If you like to follow brands and go with the tried and trusted this is a great choice. Watch out for coupons online and you could shave a small percentage off the price too. They occasionally send small free samples by mail too, just so you can see their brand of foam in action.
A must buy if you are looking for something for your college dorm or if you want to try how memory foam feels like. Note, this is a topper on your existing mattress which is still quite good for the price.
Comments
Post a Comment