Check Out Some Mattress Reviews Before You Commit

One of the most important steps that you can take in your preparation for buying a mattress that I actually mistakenly skipped in the Keeping it Simple post is to read through some of the helpful mattress reviews that are online corresponding to the mattress type that you are considering. This can go a long way in helping you to choose a mattress that fits your needs. We are social animals, and as humans we benefit greatly from the experiences of others. I bet each and every one of you are grateful to have steered clear of a mess of some type by having listened to the advice of someone else. The same holds true with mattress advice.

What You can Glean From Reviews

Reading through mattress reviews online is a must in order to get a feel for how the mattress you are shopping for will perform. Some of the reviews that you read through will not only give you an idea whether a particular mattress is overall a good or bad investment, but they can also provide great breadth and depth into the experience an individual has had with a mattress type and brand. What you will pleasantly find as you sift through the various mattress reviews is people who think a lot like you do. Maybe they were looking for a mattress for a very specific reason, and that reflects the very same reason that you are looking for a mattress. For example, perhaps you have decided upon latex as your mattress of choice, and you are perusing some latex mattress reviews, happening upon an experience from an individual that was looking for a mattress that could offer them help with an old sports injury or hip pain, or what have you. This person mentions that a denser Dunlop core from with a Talalay comfort layer of a certain ILD rating from X company has been a Godsend for them, and totally changed their sleep and waking life. This is quite useful information to you if you are in the same boat. And, to have other customers leave good reviews for other related reasons is also a very good indication that this particular mattress would serve you well.

Reading Between the Lines

You should also read between the lines as you are looking through the reviews. Are there any red flags that pop up, or is there a common theme that would cause you to think twice about a mattress type or brand? If there are actually never any unfavorable reviews that could mean that the mattress company goes out of its way to please it’s customer, but it could also mean that something isn’t quite right. A word to the wise: no company is ever perfect.

Try to Get Unbiased Reviews

In all, reading and studying carefully mattress reviews can help you learn more about the features and benefits than any explanation or literature would coming from the company or one of its representatives. Unbiased mattress reviews are one of your best sources for learning the good, the bad, and the ugly for whatever mattress you may be researching.

Sometimes we as people make things a little (or a lot) more difficult than they need to be. Choosing a mattress doesn’t have to be a difficult and troublesome event in your life, even though it’s an important choice (You’ll be sleeping on it for 1/3 of your life, at least until you get a new one).

There are really only a few things that you need to pay particular attention to. I’m going to list below what I think is important when shopping for a mattress, and I’m going to gear it more towards shopping for a mattress online because that’s where I believe you can get a better deal. [Some folks might shy away from online purchases, but what they should know is that online dealers of mattresses or anything else have a reputation to uphold, and that online merchants statistically speaking aren't that much more likely to do a dirty deed because if they do they can suffer all kinds of grief -- remember it doesn't take much to spread purchase experiences online (good or bad)]

So here goes –

• Be sure that the company you buy a mattress from has registered with the BBB and has a “clean bill of health” (translated: they don’t have any unresolved complaints, and no or hardly any complaints to begin with)
•  Check their return policy carefully
• Talk to them (see if you like them, if they’ll patiently answer your questions, if they seem helpful, and if they treat you like a number or a real person)
• Do they have what you want, and is it in your price range?

That’s about it! You may think that is an oversimplification, and you can get more in depth than that if you want. But, really, these are the most important considerations. Here’s why: first, you want to make sure that you are dealing with a reputable company. Generally you can find that out if they have been in business long enough to prove that. If they are registered with the BBB that is a good initial sign, but it’s even better if they don’t have any complaints (or if they have a couple, they have been resolved. Just because they have a couple of complaints doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad. Remember, some customers can be unreasonable.). If they have what you consider to be a reasonable and fair return policy (tipped in your favor as the consumer is even better), they are probably pretty trustworthy, and if you don’t see return conflicts as part of the BBB report that’s a good indication as well that the return policy is on the up and up. If you like the folks you are talking with and they care about answering your questions forthrightly and patiently and are quite helpful, that’s also a pretty good hint that they aren’t just in the business for the money, but that they are good at what they do and represent a good product. And finally, if they have what you want and they don’t try to sell you something that you have no interest in, as well as it being in your price range, that is also quite a good indication that you have found a company you’d like to do business with.

Is there more to buying a mattress than this? There can be if you want there to be! But there really doesn’t have to be. For those that would like a little bit more guidance, here’s a pretty decent video as an example of shopping for a latex mattress:

Are You Tossing and Turning Due to the Wrong Mattress Firmness?

Those who have had a mattress in the past that has just not met their expectations of comfort may have met up with the problem of not choosing the right firmness for their body type. Not having the right mattress firmness can hinder your ability to get deep, sound sleep, and thus cause you to not be rested and invigorated enough to function during the daylight hours like you need and want to be. Having a mattress that is too firm and puts to much pressure on pressure points is not good, and may cause you to toss and turn all night, never quite finding the “sweet spot”.

Various Mattress Firmness Ratings

There are various ways to rate a mattress firmness (manufacturers may have their own rating systems), but there are some general guidelines as far as firmness goes in relation to your sleeping positions. ILD (Impression Load Deflection) is a pretty standard way to measure the firmness of foam mattresses, such as latex foam mattresses and memory foam mattresses, and since this is a more standard measurement, we’ll use this in our examples of how to choose a mattress firmness. By the way, the ILD is had by pressing a 12-inch round disk into a 4-inch piece of foam until it presses 25% or one inch into the mattress surface.

ILD as a Mattress Firmness Yardstick

ILD is generally partitioned into categories of soft, medium, medium-firm, and firm. Manufacturers of other types of mattresses such as innerspring mattresses may have their own rating system (according to coil count and the like), but in terms of using ILD as our yardstick, soft is between 19-21 ILD, medium is 24-26, medium-firm is 29-31, with firm being 34-36. The in-betweens numbers are those that border soft and medium (for example).

Generally Choose a Mattress Firmness Based Upon Your Favored Sleep Position

So, the way one would choose a mattress firmness is usually based upon your favored sleep position. It has been said that the best mattress firmness is a firm one, but that is not necessarily so. I could be argued, however, that the best mattress firmness is the firmest mattress that is comfortable to you. In terms of firmness levels and ILD, the mattress that will be most comfortable for a back or stomach sleeper is generally a 29-31 ILD, which is a pretty common firmness and suits probably the greatest number of sleepers. This firmness level provides a good amount of support, while also still being soft enough to have a little bit of give.

For those that are side sleepers, the most popular firmness (in terms of foam mattress ILD measurements) is a medium (between 24 and 26). Your weight coming into contact with your mattress is concentrated into a smaller space, and thus most side sleepers prefer this ILD to be soft enough for them to keep comfortable.

Soft and Firm Are the Outliers

Most people when they choose a mattress don’t choose either extreme end of the spectrum (soft or firm) as being the most comfortable for them, but don’t feel you have to be pigeon-holed into choosing a mattress firmness based upon what everybody else is choosing. Even if your firmness preference doesn’t fall in line with the masses — who cares, as long as you are comfortable?

Keep in mind that I used ILD as a firmness measurement, but the firmness examples (soft, medium, medium-firm, firm) are pretty standard with or without ILD, and that is what is important when making your selection for a mattress firmness. Remember, testing the firmnesses to see for yourself if they fit your needs is important. The suggested firmnesses that are based upon sleep position are just basically a starting point, not set in stone by any means.