Mattress Forum

I have been in the mattress industry about 5 years and like some of my colleagues (definitely not all) I find much more joy in having fewer exchanges and a greater number of phone calls from my clients 2-3 months after purchase saying, "I really am sleeping so much better! Thank-you!" To get to this point in my Sleep Consultant career, here is my method (which you should expect to take you 45 - 90 minutes depending on your needs, issues, differences of opinion between you and your partner, finances, etc.

• Triple Choice - Most mainstream stores set up beds in three's. A Firm, a Soft or Medium and a Pillow-Top. Finding which of these three you like best will help you eliminate 2/3 of the beds on the store's floor! (You like the firm? You have already eliminated all-- or most, of the medium, soft and pillow-top beds!)
• Support Choice - Once you determine which of the three you like best, have your consultant show you beds in the various support systems with a similar feel. This is where professional consultants separate themselves from professional salespeople. One knows that this "feel" is similar in various beds based on experience and not just by the name or description on the tag... they will use experience to help you, not just words. Once you find your support choice, we want to focus on Comfort Levels. 
  • Examples of support systems would be:
  • Traditional coils (Sealy, Serta, Englander, etc.)
  • Pocketed/Wrapped Coils (Simmons, Stearns & Foster, etc.)
  • Visco-Elastic (Tempurpedic, iComfort, NovaFoam, etc.)
  • Latex (too many variations to mention)
  • Air (Select Comfort, ComfortAire, etc.)
  • Water (can you still find a waterbed store in your area?) 
• Price Choice - Once you find your favorite type (firm, soft, etc.) and your favorite type of support (traditional, latex, visco, etc.) you want to find your favorite price. Most types of support systems have multiple lines within their brand as well. Simmons Beautyrest, for example, has been utilizing the pocketed coil for quite a while and doing very well. They have the Studio, Classic, Anniversary, Exceptionale, World Class and Black... guess what, they have a firm in every single line-up and you will pay more (or less) depending on which line you choose. The jump from a World Class to a classic drops down about $1000. You give up some luxury items (including memory foam and latex) but maybe the Classic feels the best to you and you can save $1000! (Every major manufacturer does the same thing, don't feel like I am pushing Simmons.)

There are 4 levels of Comfort I try to find for every customer:

• Comfort Level #1 - Immediate.   When you first test a bed in your sleeping position, most people can feel whether they like it or not-- if you don't like it, get off of it. If you do like, keep it as your favorite. Things that are common to be aware of are movement, bounciness, too soft/hard, sinking feeling, etc. Try to never have more than 2 "favorites" at any one time.
• Comfort Level #2 - Long Term. Most people think you can't tell if you will like it based on trying it in the store for a few minutes and they are absolutely RIGHT! However, the back muscles are involuntary and WILL release if they can sense that the spine is being held in position without the muscles doing any work. Once you have chosen your two favorites as mentioned above, tell the consultant to leave you alone for about 20-30 minutes so you can do your own evaluation.
  • Sleeping positions? Check!
  • Your side of the bed? Check!
  • Being honest with your partner about whether you really like it or not? Check!
  • Noticing the things that have bothered you in your current sleep set vs. the one you are testing now? Check!
  • Spending 12-15 minutes (or longer) in the FIRST FAVORITE before getting out of it? Check!
  • Noticing how long it takes for your back to "melt" or relax (this is the releasing I was talking about)? Check!
  • Any temperature issues during this 12-15 minutes? Check!
  • You should be fairly aware of your body by this point... now get out of this bed, walk around (ask for a restroom or water fountain or something) and get yourself moving again... go to your second favorite bed and repeat!
  • After repeating this test with your second bed, ask yourself (discuss with your partner) which one you felt allowed you the opportunity to relax the best (quickest, most comfortable AFTER being in it, etc.)
• Comfort Level #3 - Psychological. This is something that can only be determined during conversation between client and consultant. Do you have (or feel you have) a latex allergy? Maybe we should avoid latex or go into more detail about why this may or may not be an issue... or (again) just avoid it. Hate the feel memory foam? Don't try it! (I would always suggest that you dismiss every single one of your friends' and on-line posting buddies' opinions here and try things for yourself first... if you agree with what they have told you then you have similar opinions, if you disagree with what they have said, you may have found your favorite bed... which they would hate for themselves!) Bear in mind that if, for example, you think you hate latex beds, you could still absolutely love a bed with a layer of latex in it! 
• Comfort Level #4 - Price. You have spent almost an hour testing, discussing your feelings, eliminating options, etc... now you find that your favorite bed is out of your price range... maybe finding a similar bed with less of the expensive features will help you get into your price range. Maybe financing is an option (sorry, even $500 can be a huge amount that could be spread out for 6 months if necessary to help you sleep better). There is usually some play in pricing (and the less reputable places play a lot of games) but no one really discounts beds 50% if they are working in any kind of integrity. You can go on-line first to check certain models (with same brand, line-up, coil count,edge support and warranty) to see if some places just start higher or which places just price them in an "everyday low price" format. Find the right price, the right mattress and the right consultant to work with and you can find the best sleep system for you, right now.

Hints to help this process for the customer: Accessories.

1. Have a favorite pillow? Bring it with you. 20% of your spine will almost never touch the mattress... how can you effectively test only 80% of your back for up to 90 minutes? If you forget your pillow, ask the consultant it they offer any pillow options. Your spine should be level with your back while on your side and your chin should NOT be on your chest if you sleep on your back. this is very important to spinal alignment as well as breathing.
2. #1 cause for body impressions is not you specifically, it is the sweat, minerals, salts and oils coming off your body (which contain bacteria too!) and compacting the layers of foams and fibers which will make even the softest of materials begin to feel firm. Water proof protection is very important and based on the number of threads I have read on this forum, there are many ways and items to help you deal with moisture... do your research to see which will be the best for your needs.
3. Are you hot-natured? The mattress choice you have just made should not be able to make you sleep cooler (necessarily), but it should not make you sleep warmer than you usually do. Knowing that manufacturers promises to make you sleep cooler are subjective... pay attention to these issues while you test. As difficult as it is to believe, the right sheets for you can make all the difference in regulating temperature. Since there are so many body types and materials used to make sheets, I will encourage you to do your research here again. My clients get educated on basics of cotton staple length and breeding to see if I have anything that will help them specifically. (Remember that the deeper you sink into a mattress, the less air circulation around your body is occurring which will result in being warmer than you might expect.)
4. Allergies or stuffy head only in the morning? That bacteria I mentioned earlier is what dust mites feed off of... at the risk of getting to graphic (for the queasy of stomach) know that the ENTIRE life cycle of a dust mite, and its millions of colonizing buddies, living in your mattress can create allergic reactions while sleeping, double the weight of your mattress in 10 years and give you the creepy crawlies when you think about... there are materials that are too acidic for dust mites to live in (latex, visco) and there are barriers you can use on your mattress (waterproof protectors and some microfiber sheets) can help keep these to a minimum thus reducing the allergic reactions in many people.

All in all, my job is to make it a complete sleep system... to get everything you need; or at least let you know what you might need so you can look for it somewhere. When you buy a printer for your computer at home, did the guy tell you it did not come with full ink cartridges? The proper cable? Did the guy who sold you an HD flat panel TV tell you that you needed HDMI cables, HD format cable, BluRay (vs. DVD), etc. in order to get the best picture on that particular TV you chose? Getting everything at once... or at least knowing what you might need going forward helps you plan for the complete system and hopefully the complete solution to your sleeping needs. Yes, some of this is sales oriented, but it is much more customer oriented!