New Home = New Mattress & Pillows!

You might not know that the quality of your sleep can be greatly affected by the quality of your mattress and pillows. If you can’t sleep well, or are waking up throughout the night, your sleep may be affected by the quality of your mattress or pillows and you might want to think about replacing them. Here’s a guide to help you with your search.

Mattresses

Your mattress slowly becomes less comfortable and less supportive over time. According to the National Sleep Foundation, a good mattress has a lifespan of about nine to 10 years, but a recent study at Oklahoma State University showed that the majority of people who purchase a new mattress every 5 years sleep better and have less back pain. If your mattress is over 5 years old, and you’re waking up tired or achy, or are alltoghether uncomfortable in bed, now might be the time for a new mattress. Here are some things to consider when shopping for a new mattress:

Materials and Costs

Mattresses come in all shapes, sizes and are made out of tons of different materials. Most people look for mattresses with coils because they are affordable, easy to find and they’re what most people are used to. Coil spring mattresses fit every budget with prices that range from $200 to $1,000. All but the cheapest coil spring mattresses are durable, and all coil mattress materials and coil counts with a count over 300 should offer sufficient support.

Luxury mattresses such as foam core mattresses like Tempur-Pedic will cost anywhere from $1,200 to $6,000; Select Comfort Sleep Number Beds cost as much as $4,700. I’m sure you’ve seen commercials for both mattresses, which claim to decrease how much you feel your partner move. One commercial that comes to mind features a kid jumping up and down on the mattress while a glass of wine sits steady a few feet away.

Support and Comfort

Specialists used to recommend firm mattresses for everyone, but now, many recommend slightly softer mattresses to ease aging joints and pressure points. Because of this, mattresses have become softer and thicker in recent years.

Pillows

Most of us don’t know enough about what we need when purchasing a pillow. Here are some things to consider when shopping for a new pillow:

Allergies

If you’re allergic to down feathers, don’t buy a down pillow. There are alternative types of pillows that have the same feel as down feather pillows such as: foam, polyester and buck wheat pillows.

Size

Consider your size and how you would like your bed to look. Often, people will buy pillows of varying sizes for their bed to create a layered look, but they usually only sleep with one.

Support

People who sleep on their back need a lower, softer pillow to keep their necks in a comfortable position. Those who sleep on their sides need a much higher, firmer pillow to keep their spine properly aligned.

Source:

A Buyer’s Guide to Pillows and Mattresses – April Fulton, The Washington Post

Healthy Sleep Tips – The National Sleep Foundation