By Guest Blogger Frank A.

 

5 Tips For Choosing A Mattress

Getting a restful night’s sleep starts with a good mattress. If you’re sleeping on a lumpy, hard mattress, it’s going to be nearly impossible for you to feel rested in the morning. You may wake up sore, stiff, and plain ol’ grumpy, I know I would.  If you’re overheating while sleeping, feeling your partner move around, thus disrupting your slumber, or if you’re sinking in on an uncomfortable level, you need a new bed.  Although a mattress is a start for getting better sleep, you first need to familiarize yourself with what makes a good mattress, good.

The Right Firmness

The firmness level of a mattress is how hard or soft it is. Most of the population prefer medium-firm firmness, which is ideal for both comfort and pain relief. If you’re on a mattress that’s too firm, it may cause some body aches and pains. Depending on the type of person you are, and by that I mean the type of sleeper.

 

Firm mattresses are ideal for stomach and back sleepers. It gives you the proper support needed for keeping your spine aligned throughout the night. It’s also the best way to keep your body in a natural alignment while sleeping on your stomach. If your mattress is too soft, stomach sleeping can twist your spine, causing pain. Firm mattresses are an acquired taste, however, so make sure you can handle it before you decide.

 

Medium-firm mattresses are best for comfort and support. As long as there is a high density base support foam on the bottom, you’ll be fine. The medium mattresses are ideal for all types of sleepers, moreso those who enjoy side sleeping. It’ll give you the proper balance of comfort and support for your spine, hips, back, shoulders, and neck.

 

Soft mattresses are tricky. You have to find one that’s soft, but also supportive, so they need a good support base. If it doesn’t have that thick support base, you’re going to sink and it’s going to cause you even more pain.

Pick The Right Material

The materials a mattress is made from is important when it comes to your comfort and also, your budget. Innerspring mattresses are the more traditional choice, but they aren’t meant to last forever. They are more affordable than other kinds, but after a while, they begin to deteriorate and you may begin to feel the springs. On the bright side, they do offer an optimal amount of support because of those springs.

 

Memory foam and gel foam mattresses are ideal for contouring and support. Depending on the firmness level, they can be very relieving for pain and pressure point relief. The gel mattresses come with cooling properties that help keep your body temperature regulated throughout the night. So, if you’re someone who tends to overheat at night or you suffer from a condition that makes you sweat, such as multiple sclerosis or fibromyalgia, it can help relieve that.

 

Hybrid mattresses are usually some kind of combination between memory foam and innerspring. It gives you the comfort of memory foam while conforming to each part of your body like an innerspring does. These are usually much more expensive than memory foam alone.

Check For Trials

Since there are so many mattresses on the market today, a lot of these companies are offering trials. These trials give you a period of time to test the bed to ensure that it’s right for you. Some offer a few nights all the way up to 120 nights or even more. At any time during the trial period you decide it isn’t right for you, you’ll get your money back and they’ll come get the mattress. This is the perfect way to test a mattress out before you make the commitment, especially if it’s a little out of your budget.

 

Even if the mattress company doesn’t offer a trial, you should look for some kind of comfort guarantee. These are usually a little less in time, usually 30 days, but it still guarantees your money back if you decide it isn’t right for you. Trials and guarantees are the easy way to test out your mattress for more than 15 minutes on a showroom floor with tons of people watching you.

Watch Out For False Advertising

Since mattresses can be manufactured with so many different kinds of materials, it can be hard to tell what’s really in them. If a mattress company claims that their beds are 100% organic, don’t trust it unless it’s made from 100% latex. These are the only mattresses guaranteed to be all natural. Sure, they have the Certipur-US label, but that only means that they are made with safe materials that aren’t going to harm you. This does not mean that they are organic and it’s a very common misconception.

 

You should also be aware of gimmicks that involve labels that state the mattress is medically-approved or orthopedic certified. No mattress is medically certified by any organization. Mattresses may have orthopedic-friendly or pain relieving features, but they aren’t supposed to be labeled as medical or orthopedic.

Check The Warranty

Any good mattress worth the amount of money you spent on it will have a decently long warranty. A 10-year, full replacement or non-prorated warranty is what you want to look for. If a mattress company only offers a 5 year limited warranty, it probably means that their mattress isn’t going to last as long as others would. The prorated warranties are difficult to manage because after a certain time frame, the coverage declines. So after a few years, you may not even be able to take advantage of that warranty at all even though you’re still “covered” under it.

Conclusion

Finding the perfect mattress may seem like a longshot, since nothing is ever “perfect”, but finding something that’s going to suit you needs is just as good. Make sure you follow the tips above, read up on some reviews, and you’ll be waking up refreshed and maybe even with reduced pain. We all need a good start to our day, and falling asleep & waking up on a comfortable mattress is a good way to do it.

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.