Whether it’s your first mattress or your better half has finally convinced you to replace that twenty year old spring and coil cloth box you’ve been sleeping on, buying a mattress should be a simple endeavor. Once upon a time, it was. There were simple choices. Then the mattress companies went out there and created so many different types of mattresses, you need study guides and a personal assistant just to make your way through the store. We are going to assume that you are interested in purchasing a new mattress. Buying used, which can mean saving money, is so full of pitfalls and scary places that it would require its own full length article. I actually read an ad offering their “like new” mattress with a “slight urine smell” for $40. I’m sure the ad is still running.
Back support is the number one concern of almost everyone who trots off to the mattress store to replace their bed. After all, we put our backs through a myriad of next to impossible, not designed for, tasks that by the end of the day people between the ages of 25 and 150 are suffering from back pain. Of course, there is not much hope for a really good day when you wake up over and over throughout the night because your hips and back feel as though they have been subjected to one of those medieval pressure torture devices. Crawling out of bed at about half your original height for the first hour of your day is definitely another indicator of a poor mattress.
So there should be a simple solution. There should be a mattress out there that is reasonably priced, offers incredible back support, and feels like Heaven when you flop your weary body onto it. And of course, there is. However, because people are designed mildly differently with varying comfort levels, there is no “one bed fits all backs” mattress design. Thus, you are definitely going to have to do a little “lay testing” in the process of buying a mattress.
Under most circumstances online shopping for a mattress is generally not recommended. While most companies will offer wonderful deal for delivery, getting those same companies to come and get the mattress that they advertised as feather soft but gives you all the comfort of a rock in the forest can be the taxing headache that drives you to sleeping on the couch. You’re going to need to go to the mattress store, lay around on their offerings, and come to a decision.
When you head off to the mattress store to sprawl out on all their different styles, try to go as late as humanly possible. Buying a mattress is typically done during the day, while your body is engaged in a state of being awake. It is experiencing different hormone levels than it does when you lay down at night to sleep. This can alter the comfort level of the mattress you are considering. While at 11:00 in the morning it felt great to be all cradled up in a mattress that nearly swallowed you out of sight, that same mattress is likely to feel like a droopy sleeping bag 12 hours later when your body is geared toward sleep. Even people who work third shift experience a varying range of hormones throughout their sleeping day versus when they get to sleep during the night. This applies insomniacs and night owls as well. Thus, by shopping late, and buying a mattress that is just a bit firmer than you appreciate during your shopping flopping, you are likely to be much happier with your mattress choice.
Mattress features are very tempting. And by all means if you can afford for your bed to give you a massage, warm you up when it’s cold, elevate you, nurse your fever when you are sick, and tie your shoe laces before you leave the house, by all means write the check for the mattress that makes you happy. However, financing a mattress usually means that by the time you have it paid off, you could have bought enough mattresses to furnish a six bedroom house. Your money is best laid out in full, for the mattress that makes you the most comfortable for sleeping. There are a wide variety of adjustable, water, water-tube, and heated mattresses available for barely more than you would lay out for a regular mattress. And with memory foam technology plus a few additional mattress enhancements, the average price tag can be handled by the average income without going into debt.
Regardless of how, when, or why you end up buying a mattress, read the warranty and exchange information very carefully, including that print at the bottom of the back of the last page that explains what the company is not willing to do if you find you are less than happy with your new bed. Protecting yourself against mattress faux pas isn’t difficult as long as you’re willing to slow down and make sure you are getting all of the information you need.
