One may expect that a quality mattress is vital for good quality sleep, but it does much more than just that! It decreases our stress and anxiety levels, benefits our mind and body, and improves our overall life quality and sleep quality
The way sleep is essential for the human body so is the sleeping surface. In order to protect our backs, a perfect sleeping surface promises a good posture when we sleep. The muscles and ligaments of our back relax and heal themselves while we sleep. A good sleeping surface ensures that the natural curve of the spine is secured, and our ears, shoulders, and hips are aligned, even as we turn while sleeping.
The right mattress can make all the difference between a sound sleep and a sleepless night. A good quality mattress offers a perfect balance of required comfort and support, keeping the natural spinal alignment and body posture in place, thus significantly enhancing the quality Sleep.
A National Sleep Foundation survey finds that 92 percent of people say a comfortable and quality mattress is important to a good night’s sleep. But still people feel that buying a mattress is an expensive affair. Considering health benefits that it can offer like help you lose weight, improve your memory and live longer, can you really put a price tag on a mattress?
Human beings are accustomed to sleeping on a firm surface driven by the dogma that a firm surface ensures perfect back support. However, the truth is that an ideal sleeping surface should be a perfect blend of comfort and support unique to every individual’s body type and sleeping preferences. Often consumers buy a mattress based on word of mouth. However, word of assurance can offer peace of mind, but not the peace to spine. An improper sleeping surface affects body posture and sleep quality.
When we asked Dr Manveer Bhatia, Senior Neurologist and Sleep Specialist about the sleeping surface, she says the surface should be comfortable for a person to sleep. Every person’s body is unique and thus, they require a quality mattress that is comfortable for their body. Although there are new kinds of mattresses available in the market that will help in better support for the back. However, it primarily depends upon what kind of surface people prefer in a mattress for sleeping on. In the West people choose soft mattresses and in India, people usually choose firm mattresses. One out of many important causes of back pain and other spinal-related issues could be sleeping posture, trauma, and obesity. Hence any mattress that is comfortable to the consumer’s unique body, can be considered.”
Which mattress to buy?
If the mattress is essential for good quality sleep, which mattress should consumers choose to buy? As everyone knows innerspring mattresses are the most common type sold, but the trend is moving toward other types of beds like memory foam and other advanced materials. In India, coir mattresses and PU foam are also popular.
According to the Director of Sleep, Robert Oexman D.C., the phrase “good quality mattress” is subjective. According to him, the best mattress for you is the one that feels right for you. He advises that to truly judge what feels right, you might want to take a 20-minute mattress test at the bedding store—replicating as much as possible how you usually sleep at your own nest.
What do retailers have to say?
Meanwhile, mattress retailer Tadrez Tasha from Sleep Logic shares that sleeping surface impacts sleep quality hugely. “Most of the consumers who visit us are already aware of sleep and know which mattress quality they need to buy. However, there are a set of consumers who neither give importance to quality sleep nor have any specific preference. We ensure that we explain to them the significance of sleep for a healthy lifestyle and the ideal quality mattress that they must choose. With such consumers, word of mouth and our recommendations works.”
“ Sleep and sleeping surface go hand-in-hand. A comfortable quality mattress is needed for a good night’s sleep. Since I travel a lot, I give more importance to the mattress quality which comforts my back after a hectic daily routine”, says Naveen M S, resident of Coimbatore.
Prachi Balyan from WAKEFIT says, “Sleep recharges and energizes you to deal with daily challenges, hence a minimum of 7-9 hours of sleep is essential, depending upon the age group. A mattress with a perfect balance of comfort and support ensures that you catch on your quality sleep. The consumers who visit our website, do value the role of a mattress for a night of deep sleep. In my experience of the past four years, I have seen the transformation where consumers have now evolved and are aware of their sleep and sleeping surface requirements. Initially, only money was their parameter for the mattress purchase. However in the last year, with a minimum online footfall of 50 consumers, 90% of them are aware of which mattress and bedding accessories they want. Our online Google Analytics reveals that the consumers already know the type and the size of the mattress they want. In case any consumer is not aware of it, they call us and we give them a complete digital presentation and explain the product benefits. Product Demonstration videos work beyond expectations. And their repeat purchases and word-of-mouth references are proof that our consumers are satisfied with our products and customer service.”
Consumer’s Point of View
“Sleep and sleeping surface go hand-in-hand. A comfortable quality mattress is needed for a good night’s sleep. Since I travel a lot, I give more importance to the mattress which comforts my back after a hectic daily routine”, says Naveen M S, a resident of Coimbatore.
Gayatri Venugopal, a resident of Bangalore says that she gets comfort when she sleeps on a mattress which was recently purchased. “I am diagnosed with viral ortho condition. I need a comfortable surface to sleep. I tried with a cotton bed which I was using at home. It was not useful. Now I recently purchased a memory foam mattress and it gives me complete comfort. Also, I get a good night’s sleep that is accelerating recovery.”
The way Sleep is important for us, and the mattress also plays an important role in better health. Since there is a lot of advancement in mattresses, consumers can buy from a wide spectrum of customised products available in the market. However, they first need to understand their unique body type and their personal preference for a sleeping surface in terms of firmness, touch and feel, colour, size, etc. Unless consumers have a special condition or recommendation from the doctor for a certain type of mattress, they should choose a quality mattress that offers them their personalised cocoon of desired comfort and support.
I tried with cotton bed which I was using at home. It was not useful. Now I recently purchased a memory foam mattress and it gives me complete comfort. Also, I get good night sleep that is acclerating recovery.”says Gayatri Venugopal, a resident of Bangalore.