Mattresses

If you wake up in the morning and feel your body aged 10 years overnight you might not want to blame your aging body as the culprit as it could be your aging mattress that is causing the problem.

You could literally feel years younger if you give your body the support it requires while you rest and the only way to get this support is by sleeping on a good quality mattress.

A mattress provides needed support while we sleep by countering the effects that gravity has on the body. The type of mattress materials in your mattress determines the method of support. A normal bed mattress uses the age old innerspring coil design to provide the support needed by your body.

An aero inflatable bed uses air chambers to support the body while sleeping and waterbeds uses a mattress filled with water that must be heated for support. Now thanks to the NASA space program there is another mattress material to choose from. The tempurpedic mattress is made of visco elastic foam and responds to both body weight and heat to completely conform to the body for total support.

What are the different advantages of each mattress type you ask? Well the innerspring coil based mattress is a last a long time and is a proven and dependable source of sleep support. The comfort level of an innerspring can be adjusted by changing the amount of padding used and by the use of different fabrics for the mattress covering. The softness or firmness of an innerspring mattress does not really affect the support level you get because the same quality innerspring system is used in most bed models.

A soft bed can provide you with just as much support as a firmer mattress can with the only difference being how much plush pillow top material is placed on top of the inner springs. Some mattress manufacturers use a higher coil count which means there are more coils to support your body but this usually means a higher cost as well.

Don’t let the coil count be your only factor when deciding on a mattress. For instance, Stearns and Foster brand mattresses have the exact same low coil count in every mattress they make no matter what the price is but their coils are made with a heavier weight metal and so they are able to provide more support with fewer coils.

To make the mattress buying process easier just remember that most name brand bed manufacturers use innerspring mattresses that have high quality support systems and choose your new mattress based on the softness or firmness that you like.

Beds such as the Select Comfort provide comfort and support together through the use of air chambers throughout the mattress. The firmness is determined by using more or less air in the chamber and is controlled by using a remote that lets you set the firmness level on both sides of the bed so two people can have their own custom comfort level.

A waterbed uses a similar chamber system but uses water instead of air. The firmness of a waterbed mattress is controlled through the use of multiple baffles in the mattress to reduce the motion and sag which was a common problem with early waterbed mattresses. Most waterbed mattresses today are designed to look like a standard mattress and will even fit most standard bed frames.

The newest choice in mattress materials is the visco elastic foam mattress. Originally developed for use by astronauts this man made foam material uses the body’s heat and weight to provide the body with support without creating pressure points that can cause constant tossing and turning. Good quality memory foam beds can be expensive but you can find less expensive models but these will use a less dense foam so support will not be as good.

Whichever type of mattress you choose to buy the key point to remember is that increasing the support your body gets while sleeping allows you to get more peaceful, restful sleep. This fact lets your body wake up feeling fresh and rejuvenated and even years younger.

What’s in a made in the US mattress?