Your mattress contains all the component parts that will assist you in getting a good night’s sleep. The springing, the foams and stuffings, plus the type of cover all go towards making your nightly sleep the relaxing, rejuvenating process it needs to be.
In an average lifetime, we will spend 27 years in bed, 25 of them actually asleep. In addition, a third of our childhood & adolescent growth takes place in bed and 95% of the population is conceived in bed and 80% die in bed, so it is really important you take some time to get it right.
Springing
Open Coil
Open coil is normally the least expensive type of springing, but this doesn’t mean it makes an inferior mattress. Silentnight’s Miracoil Spring System is one of the most successful open coil springing systems ever designed and patented. Its unique design allows partners of differing weight to sleep quite comfortably together. Click here for FAQS where there is more information relating to Silentnight’s Springing Systems.
Pocketed Springing
Pocket Springing is made from individually precision-made coils each wrapped in its own individual soft cloth sleeve, holding the spring at exactly the right tension and allowing it to move independently. This means each spring is poised to adjust and respond to your every movement for a deeply supportive sleep, all night long.
Fillings and stuffings
There are many types of fillings and stuffings. Click here for more information.
Match your mattress to the base.
General speaking, it is better to buy a complete divan. Manufacturers make every effort to ensure the base correctly supports the mattress and of course, the covers all match. A fully sprung base will give the mattress a softer feel. It will also help the mattress to last a little longer as the base assists the mattress take the compression that occurs when you lay down. The solid base gives the mattress a firmer feel. Bedsteads are the equivalent of a solid base and many manufacturers make their mattresses suitable for bedstead use.
When do I need to replace my mattress?
Generally speaking, 10 years is the life of a decent mattress, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worn out. Try removing the mattress and look at the base. If it is a sprung base you may find indentations where you have lain and this will certainly indicate a base at the end of its useful life. Lay the mattress on the floor; if you find a central ridge or any distortion then the mattress too has reached the end.
Width. Purchase the widest bed you can accommodate.
- A single bed is 3’0 wide and yet a standard double is only half a big again at 4’6 wide.
- The best body width indicator of a prostrate human is the elbow to elbow width in relaxed standing. This averages between 23/24” for adults giving only 8” for both partners when arms and legs stray during natural sleep movement.
- 5’0 beds are, generally speaking, 3 to 4 inches longer than the narrower widths, an important issue for the taller person.
- Try adding the height of each person and dividing by two. This will give you the ideal width of the bed you should aim to buy.
The Sleep Council have an excellent website which is worth a visit.
Taken with permission from a paper prepared by Robert Wood MCSP (Chartered Physiotherapist) with help from the Loughborough Sleep Research Centre.
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From choosing the right bed for you, to caring for your mattress.
It's all in our buyer's guide.
It's all in our buyer's guide.
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