Good Night Sleep

[Dr. Shane]

Perhaps this is more fitting for the healthful living forum but I thought it would get more feedback here.

How important is your bed and pillow to your sleep?

[Dr. Shane]

My wife and I are looking to purchase a new bed soon. So we have been looking into the various kinds that are out there. We are much more concerned about quality than price. We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed, I think a lot of our health depends on how well we sleep.

The three that we are looking at most are the Tempur-Pedic foam, traditional coil spring and Select Comfort adjustable air. Any comments?

[Fran]

Air!

I've had all of the others including a water bed with baffles for firmness. I have slept on the same air bed for 8-10 years. If I were to purchase one again it would be air.

[Nicodema]

I have a pillowtop mattress. It's fairly comfortable, but a newer/better model would have better support (got it gently used).

I have to have a feather pillow -- to conform to the contours I want to squish into it.

[LynnDel]

With Tempur-pedic, I hear you either love them or hate them. A neighbor had a pair of them. In one year she wanted to get rid of them. I was interested, so looked them over. The mattresses already looked old, and there was a hollow in the middle where they had slept. I hear they don't breathe well, so think of that if you're in a hot place. If there's any way to test them for 30 days, try them out first. If that isn't possible, I'd buy something else.

[Bravus]

We prefer a waterbed, but on the 13th floor the potential consequences if it burst are just not to be contemplated. And the airbed works pretty well, although we've just got a new mattress that is really thick and are just adjusting to that.

[Fran]

I have a connective tissue disease. My skin pain is different everyday. I can't have tucked in covers on top of me. So some nights my "Sleep Number" is low and at other times it is high. it is the only bed I can change for comfort for my skin. If I am in a regular bed, I am in ever so much pain! It does have a nice pillow top and has dual air controls. It has 2 twins joined. So my husband has a different sleep number. His never changes!

I also use a round pillow that has some sort of tiny beads (rocks?) I can not hold my neck up, so the pillow does that for me. It works great.

I have gone through 5 or 6 "Memory" pillows. They are a waste of money. My last one cost $60. Waste! I am purchasing some duck/down feather pillows to see how those work. I had one once and it became flat as a board.. Hopefully the new kind is better. The price is surely greater.

I have a pillow under my knees, one under my left shoulder, then a very light weight pillow on top of my left shoulder. I sleep under a throw that is loose. When I get all of that arranged, then I will know what my number for the night should be.

[LifeHiscost]

Shane,

Since the only part of your body that benefits from the mattress is that part the mattress supports, the memory foam

has been found by this person, who can sleep comfortably on a hard board, to be without peer for restful, comfortable,

no pressure point sleep. Below a 2" memory foam is a firm

coil mattress, unfelt.

Having googled for 'memory foam', it was found that all sizes could be acquired for $99 (King, queen, double, twin). Some people might prefer 4" that would boost the price significantly but might be preferable for other foundations.

Having spent the last 5 years +/- , while lying next to a spouse who suffers much body pain from various physical ailments, it has proved to be the only mattress not eliciting any complaints. Not to mention that I fall asleep

within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow, with hardly any variation in that time. Some of that attribute (if not all) comes from contentment under the Lord's care.

[:"red"] "My son, do not despise or shrink from the chastening of the Lord [His correction by punishment or by subjection to suffering or trial]; neither be weary of or impatient about or loathe or abhor His reproof,

For whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

When you lie down, you shall not be afraid; yes, you shall lie down, and your sleep shall be sweet." [/]

Prov 3:11,12,24

Lift Jesus up!!

[Bravus]

Perhaps a related question would be "how much do you move around in the night?" I move a lot - and when I've been in hospital with a broken leg and unable to move around it's been torture. Definitely cuddling up to Suzie, then onlt my back, otehr side, around again... Unless the memory foam changes fairly quickly I don't think it'd work for me.

[Dr. Shane]

I forgot to even list waterbed <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I guess that shows we are not thinking about that. When I was a kid waterbeds were a big fad. My mother had one that she saved forever to buy. Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed.

I think the memory foam is just matress pad that can be placed on most any mattress.

I need to spread out to be comfoartable so we are going to buy a king size bed. A full size is good for me if I am sleeping alone. I too can sleep on just about anything if I sleep on my back. Problem is that I snoar when on my back so my wife makes me sleep on my side. On my side I need a softer mattress.

[Michelle]

A couple years ago (maybe 3, now) we bought a Select Comfort on discount (go try them out at the show room and sign your name and address--they will send you a flyer when they sell their "seconds" for a substantial savings). I have had back pain for many years and can get so stiff at night that I can't get up in the morning. The select comfort "was" a Godsend! (we've always had king-size--we're both tall, and both of us move around a lot--this way we don't get as many elbows in the face!) We could each sleep on whatever softness/hardness level we wanted/needed to, and I quit waking up stiff in the morning.

I do, however, say "was." When we moved to Hong Kong, we called the company to ask if we could use our system with a step-down converter and they didn't say we could or we couldn't--very noncommital. So, after talking to others, we assumed that if we got a very specific converter, we'd be able to do this. WRONG--we blew the motor on the pump! Then we called the company back and asked if they had any advice (for example, what kind of converter we could use, once we fixed the motor). The customer service rep was incredibly rude and would not answer my DH's questions. All she'd say is, the warranty is not valid if you take it outside the US. We weren't asking about the warranty, we were asking if it was something that would ever work here. She finally said, we have had a lot of complaints from people who have taken their beds outside the US. My dh said, if you've had lots of complaints, then why don't you tell your customer service people to answer people honestly when they ask about this? She backpedaled and said, no, I didn't say "many" complaints, I said "some."

So we've researched it and can buy a pump from Select Comfort's partner company in Europe (which the customer service person "couldn't give us the contact number for," and tried to act as though she didn't know anything about it, though it's listed on SC's website) which runs on 220, but will cost us almost as much as our original bed did! (my uncle, who researched this in the US, said the replacement cost there is just as much.) We are very frustrated, because if we had known this, we would have bought something like the memory foam and sold the bed in the US. As it is, we've had to buy a very uncomfortable Chinese mattress for the time being, and gone back to stiff backs.

So, while I have loved the bed, the company does not have good customer service, which is something to take into consideration should you have a power surge that blows your pump, for example! My neighbors have a memory foam mattress that they really like (got it in Canada, and I don't know what company). That would probably be my recommendation!

M

[Dr. Shane]

But Sister Michelle, I live in the US so I don't think I will have that problem. Even though I live on the Mexican border, their power system is the same as ours.

I think it is the amps that cause the problem over there and not the volts. Why can't everyone generate power the same anyway <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

[Jeannieb43]

My DH's rule was to buy the very best "house brand" mattress from the leading furniture store in town. The "house brand" is always manufactured by the same leading manufacturers as the expensive name brands, but it is sold for less. (The sales clerk will tell you who manufactures their private label mattresses, if you ask.) We bought the best of these mattresses, with a 20-year warranty. That doesn't mean they'll replace it if it wears out in 20 years; they'll only rebuild it. But it will be guaranteed to return to the original firmness and balance. (Of course, we tested the firmness we desired.)

The thing I noticed after we bought this latest mattress was that when hubby would get up early, and sit on the side of the bed to put on his shoes and socks, this new mattress never jiggled me at all! I'm very sensitive to movement when I'm trying to sleep or relax, and it's wonderful to know that each section of the mattress is independent from all the other sections.

Then another rule was that we did not buy a pillow-top. Because part of the method we use for preserving the mattress is to turn it regularly. The schedule for turning the mattress was provided by the store. If you have a pillow-top mattress you can never reverse it--only rotate it. So it doesn't last as long overall.

This is one purchase where it pays to buy the best. (But without paying more just for a name.)

[Dr. Shane]

The mattress we have now has a double pillowtop - one on each side. We have been flipping it for 7 years now.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

That doesn't mean they'll replace it if it wears out in 20 years; they'll only rebuild it.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

That makes me think. One of the areas where we do mission work at in Mexico is near a garbage dump. There are people that dig out all the discarded mattresses and rebuild them.

[darlene]

I have some disc problems in my back so about five years ago I invested in a Serta pillow top mattress and box spring. ("Sleep Country Canada. Why buy a mattess anywhere else!" That TV ad is engrained in my head! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ) Even the pillow top was not enough so I purchased a 2" foam to go on top. It is a 'guality' foam. One that does not disintigrate and show a body impression even after five years. That was the best thing I have ever done! My back thanks me for it over and over again. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

[Michelle]

Shane--my point is that if you have electrical problems at all, even in the US (as a friend in MI had) the warranty will not cover the cost of the pump. If there is any question that you might have to deal with customer service, forget it. Truly, after this experience, I'd recommend going with a memory foam mattress--I have never heard anything bad about them, and everyone I know raves about them.

And yes, it's the amps (we were as careful as we could be with the amperage in the converters, but it just didn't work out). We did the research we could, but should have just gotten rid of the thing before we moved (hindsight is always 20/20 ).

M

[Dottie]

We have a queen SC mattress because of my husband's back problems. It's great being able to have different firmnesses.

But, as you said, if y'all have electrical problems,such as electrical storms like we have in the summer, better rethink the solution. Our pump blew almost three years ago, and we haven't replaced it yet. And, a good thing about the system is that the hose connections are great! The air is still in the bed, and it is just now beginning to get a little lower.

Our pillows are varied. I have a wedge pillow of foam, on which I place a polyester-stuffed pillow (for my hiatus hernia). My husband has a polyester-stuffed pillow on which he places an orthopedic type he got from his chiropracter.

I still like a regular innerspring mattress on a box spring better than anything else.