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Julie A. Palm, editor in chief
How long have you had it? Have you gained or lost a significant amount of weight since you bought it? Do you have health problems? (Back pain? Hip or shoulder pain? Acid reflux? Sleep apnea?) Is your partner having sleeping troubles, too?
It’s simple: If your mattress isn’t offering the comfort and support you need, you won’t sleep well.
When I started having difficulty sleeping a few years ago, I knew my mattress wasn’t likely to be the culprit. It was only a few years old and still in good shape. I don’t wake up with major aches and pains (unless I’ve spent a long day in the garden) and I don’t sleep better in hotels than I do at home.
But for many people, a poor quality mattress is at least a contributing factor to their sleep problems, if not the main cause.
So, as part of my ongoing sleep experiment with Dr. Robert Oexman, director of Kingsdown’s Sleep to Live Institute, I recently had him walk me through Kingsdown’s bedMATCH system, which helps shoppers find the best mattress for them by using pressure-mapping technology, a questionnaire and other tools. Kingsdown is one of a small handful of mattress makers that provides such technologies to retailers and was among the first to do so. Its system is unusual in that it can recommend beds by several manufacturers, not just its own.
I started by answering a short questionnaire on a computer, aided by a friendly on-screen facilitator who offered a brief explanation of why I was being asked each question—name (initials or first name is fine), gender, age, if I sleep with a partner, which side of the bed I sleep on, height, if I have aches and pains. It took just a minute or two.
Then I moved into the sleep testing station, lying first on my back so the system could map my body type and then shifting into my typical sleeping position so the system could assess the best pillow type for me. All the while, a video playing on a TV positioned above the testing bed gave me tips for choosing the right mattress.
When I was done, I was given a printout showing where I fall on the bedMATCH “postural support spectrum”—a range of support and comfort levels from gold to green to blue to red. I fall into the blue category. The printout included a list of several specific bed models that I should try and also recommended what pillow I should use: In my case, one for side sleepers. Armed with the appropriate pillow, I could then look on the showroom floor for models marked with blue tags and begin testing mattresses right for me.
Walking into a mattress store and facing dozens and dozens of bed sets can be daunting for a consumer. And trying to help a shopper who says only that she wants a pillow-top or memory foam mattress can be difficult for retail sales associates.
Systems like bedMATCH give both consumers and retailers a good starting place for helping people pick the best mattress for them. And a good mattress truly is the foundation of a good night’s sleep.
