Mattress Testers
The job of “mattress tester” used to be a joke, meaning that if someone said that was what they did for a living, they were putting you on about what they actually did or were tongue-in-cheek “lazy.”
Well, meet two actual “mattress testers” — hubby and me; and we never WORKED so hard! Our broken down mattress had become unbearable, with us waking up every day with aches and pain, which is a sure sign we had waited too long.
We’d long tolerated sleeping on our hammock-dented mattress, and I had reached the point where I would not stand for it any more. Too bad it had to get to this point before hubby would give in. His neck and lower back hurt every day, too, but he’d been taught some exercises by his internist that would stretch the pain out, so he was willing to do them, and let it be. I, on the other hand, could plainly see that people aren’t supposed to wake up in pain and have to exercise to get over sleeping!
Money was a major factor in putting off buying a bed, but since the store allowed a year to pay the bill without interest, I knew I could save enough to pay it off before we got into trouble.
Oh, we researched mattresses like our lives depended upon it. And to tell the truth, buying a mattress that would serve properly, was paramount. Our quality of sleep depended upon it, our short and long range health depended upon it. People are supposed to change out their mattress sets within 8-10 years, max. I say, if you need to change sooner, do it!
We lay down on several types each of Thermapeutic, Sleep Number, Denver Mattress, Sealy, Serta, Sterns and Foster and Simmons mattresses to exhaustion! By the time we were finished with the last mattress set on the last day of testing, we knew each mattress INTIMATELY! Whew! You are supposed to lay down at least 15 minutes to get a real feel for a mattress. Of course, the mattress you are resting on may have had 100’s of people on it before you, so it’s probably going to be firmer when you get it for real. But that’s ok.
We’d tried mattresses from $4,000 (Thermapeutic) to $750.00, and then bought the best buy for us. It is NOT a pillow top, which type nearly killed us before because the depth of pillow on our Sterns and Foster turned out to be TOO soft. I was talking to someone at my physical therapy session…yes, my doctor sent me to physical therapy for my back…and she pointed out that the deep pillow tops will become lumpy in time, and you can’t take them off to redistribute their stuffing. Yep, don’t I know it! Better to buy a topper and put it over a less densely padded mattress and replace it when it gives up the ghost.
Coils, coils! It’s not so much the number as the way they are configured within the mattress for support, but there needs to be at least 375 of them. The density and the way they are linked or not are important, as well. Then there are the layers of cushioning over the spring system, and what those layers are comprised of.
The nice thing about the Sleep Number bed was that ostensibly, you can adjust the mattress under you to a firmness that suits you, which can indeed be different from your spouse’s comfort needs. They were a little over $1,000, but the company doesn’t have sales and any return is your financial responsibility to a tune of around $250.
Goldilocks should have kissed those bears for only having to try THREE beds before settling down. She was spared a lot. WE, on the other hand, conducted a marathon of bed testing over a couple of weeks that included 6 stores, asking questions about the differences between one model to another, warranties and qualifying factors, return policies and obligations, viewing the cutaways for mattresses and box springs, discounts and totals, after of course, lying down on everything!
I sure hope this mattress works.