In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale The Princess and the Pea, one of the morals is: the quality of what you sleep on matters just as much as the quality of your sleep. In fact, when sleeping, our body is compressed by gravity in a different way than when we’re standing. We need to be fully supported by the luxury mattress and its supporting structures. Therefore, the luxury mattress has been called an “anti-gravity machine” that makes it achievable to maintain the natural contour of the spine when sleeping.

We spend around one-third of our life lying on mattresses and about half of all Americans experience occasional sleep difficulties. Despite these known facts, there has been little scientific study about mattress design. A poor mattress design can produce insufficient body support, which could cause muscle discomfort and back pain. So what features indicate a good mattress? Does the firmness or softness matter? Is a mattress even that important?

Recent Mattress Study

In a recent study of mattress ergonomics, researchers had 12 female participants lie on an incompressible wooden surface and on various other mattresses to compare their comfort levels. All of the mattresses were judged as significantly more comfortable than the wooden surface, however there were no significant differences between mattress types. Measures of shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle body contact pressures showed few significant differences and no significant associations between measures and the comfort ratings.

A study on sleep quality and bed firmness indicated that 4 of 9 male subjects slept significantly better on a softer mattress, while 2 slept better on a firmer mattresses. The greatest distinction in sleep quality occurred when changing from the subject’s own mattress to one of the test mattresses. The researchers concluded that it may take several days to adapt to a new sleep surface.

Guidelines for Selecting a Mattress

What should you look for in a mattress? Brickell Mattress provides some guidelines for choosing your mattress.

Mattress Selection:

• • Designed to conform to the spine’s natural curves and to keep the spine in alignment when lying down.
  • Designed to allocate pressure evenly across the body to help circulation, decrease body movement and enhance sleep quality.
  • Designed to reduce the transfer of movement from one sleeping partner to the other.
  • Designed with perimeter edge support.

Keep in mind that you’ll spend around 24 years of your life sleeping, so take the time to choose the best sleep system (i.e., mattress, support structure, pillows, and sheets) to will improve your sleep and your quality of life.

At Brickell Mattress, we offer the finest selection of innerspring, water and latex mattresses available on the market today. After being in the bedding industry for over 8 years, we know what you’re looking for in a mattress. We are here to fill your need for quality sleep, contact us today for a sleep consultation.