Few things make me as happy as a good night of sleep. I was one of few babies who went down for naps and bedtime without a fuss, and while I put up more of a fight during my early childhood for fear of missing out on something, my aunt nicknamed me the ‘Horizontal Champion’ when I was a teenager since I very rarely woke up before noon on weekends.
Of course, time has a way of changing people, and my life as a work-at-home mom doesn’t really lend itself to a sleep-filled existence. I have been known to survive on less than 5 hours of sleep a night when life gets busy, and although coffee and chocolate helps me cope in the short-term, I have learned time and again that I am a useless human being when I don’t make sleep a priority.
I become irritable and anxious, I’m less productive, and basic tasks start to feel overwhelming.
The good news is that I have lots of great natural sleep tips up my sleeve to help ensure I don’t spend my evenings tossing and turning on the nights I’m not burning the midnight oil at this desk, but if I’ve learned anything about sleep in my adult years, it’s the importance of investing in the right mattress.
It used to be that I could sleep anywhere – on a 100-year-old bed, an over-stuff couch, or even the floor – but now that I’m approaching my 40s, I find my body and mind only truly feel rested after sleeping on the right mattress.
And since my husband suffers from back problems, mattresses are one item he is willing to splurge on, and he’s pretty particular when it comes to mattress shopping.
The good news is that I’ve picked up lots of great mattress-buying tips in the 9 years we’ve been together, and since I know there are heaps of people out there who are on the market for a new mattress in an effort to help find their way back to a good night of sleep, today I’m teaming up with Yogabed™ to share 7 things to look for when you buy a mattress.
Because everyone deserves a good night of sleep!
1. SUPPORT
While comfort is an important consideration when it comes to buying a mattress, I would argue that support is more important when choosing a new bed. You want to find a mattress that disperses your weight properly. Why? Because if your mattress is simply absorbing your weight rather than dispersing it, your muscles will need to compensate to maintain proper spinal alignment, which can result in back pain.
2. COMFORT
Comfort is the second thing we look at when buying a mattress. The more padding the better, in our opinion. Of course, a mattress with an advanced layered system will inevitably cost more than the one you slept on in your college dorm room, but since the average (decent) mattress lasts 8-10 years, and sleep plays such an important role in our overall health, it’s a worthwhile investment.
3. TEMPERATURE
When my husband and I were first married and started the process of amalgamating our belongings, we decided to ditch my ridiculously old bed in favor of his top-of-the-line memory foam mattress. Memory foam was a pretty new thing back then, and while it was the most comfortable thing I had ever slept on up until that point in my life, it was also the hottest. I cannot tell you how many nights I woke up drenched in sweat when we were sleeping in that bed, and I was so happy when we traded it in for something better. I now make it a point to research every mattress we buy to ensure we are investing in something with a built-in cooling system that won’t keep me up all night!
4. MOTION TRANSFER ISOLATION
Unlike my husband, who rarely moves at night, I am a pretty active sleeper. My husband says I sometimes look like a competitive gymnast in my sleep, which makes motion transfer isolation an important consideration whenever we’re buying a mattress. We want to make sure we’re investing in something that will absorb each of our movements in such a way that we’re not disturbing the other person’s sleep.
5. SIZE
The first time my husband and I bought a mattress together, we decided to go the extra mile and upgrade to a king-sized bed. So many factors when into this decision – the amount I move around in my sleep, the fact that my body is like a furnace between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am, and my vision of having family movie nights in bed once we became parents – and we’ve never looked back. Having our own personal space at night makes such a difference in ensuring we both feel rested in the morning, and we always opt for a king-sized bed when making hotel bookings…even if it means paying a little extra for our room!
6. EASE OF TRANSPORT
Buying a mattress was never an issue when we were condo dwellers, but we recently purchased an old Victorian home with virtually no swing room in the staircase connecting the first and second floors, and we were forced to buy a new bed. As it turns out, finding a king-sized mattress that we could get upstairs was no easy feat, and many stores informed us we would have to wait over 6 weeks for delivery, so you better believe this will be big consideration for us the next time we buy a mattress!
7. PRICE
I’ve already touched on price, but since it’s such an important part of the decision-making process when it comes to buying a new mattress, it’s worth mentioning again. Remember that a good mattress has an average lifespan of 8 to 10 years, and since sleep plays such an important role in our overall health – both physically and mentally – it’s one of the few household items I feel you should really splurge on. With that said, you need to find something that fits within your budget, and I speak from experience when I say that there are HEAPS of options that will not require you to refinance the mortgage on your home for the sake of a good night of sleep.
Now, I know what you’re thinking…
Is there a mattress out there that offers all of these things?
The answer is yes!
I recently had the privilege of testing out a Yogabed™ mattress, and every single thing I’ve outlined in this post was covered, all at an affordable price. Each Yogabed™ mattress is comprised of the Yoga Comfort System™, which is an advance layered system specifically designed to optimally support the body by dispersing weight evenly and reducing pressure points that cause tossing and turning. It comes with 2 free Yogabed™ Pillows, has a Zip-n-Wash removable cover featuring THERMOCOOL™ high performance fabric, offers free delivery, and with a 101-night no-risk trial and a 10-year warranty, you really can’t go wrong.
And did I mention it came packaged in this box, and that we had ample swing room to get it up into our master bedroom?!
I admit I was a bit concerned when I initially saw the box – I wasn’t sure the bed would be up to par with what we’re used to if it could fold up into something so small – but after cutting open the box and removing the air-tight plastic wrapping, we were left with a luxury foam mattress that is out-of-this-world comfortable.
In fact, my husband had to sleep in our old condo the other night in preparation for the movers bringing over all of our belongings the following morning, and when we crawled into bed the following night, he told me our Yogabed™ is far more comfortable than the mattress we’ve been sleeping on for the last 6+ years.
And if that isn’t a true testament to how comfortable the Yogabed™ is, I don’t know what is!
If you want more information about the Yogabed™, simply visit the Yogabed™ website and use coupon code ‘Meraki75′ during the checkout process and enjoy $75 off!
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yogabed. The opinions and text are all mine.
