Investing in a Comfortable Bed

You spend up to one-third of your life in bed, so it's important to have a comfortable one. Today there are a wide variety of beds available-everything from foam mattresses to those formed by adjustable air chambers. Your most comfortable mattress, however, is likely to be an individual matter.

The old saw that the best mattress is the firmest one is really a myth, most sleep experts say. Even the softest new mattresses today provide sufficient firmness and support. Whether or not you sleep best on a firm or soft mattress will depend on your personal tastes. People react to beds in different ways. Just as there's no running shoe that's best for everybody, there's no one type of bed that fits every consumer.

Bedding manufacturers are constantly working to improve their beds and appeal to consumers. One of the most popular technologies today is high quality foam used for the top layers of a bed. It conforms to the shape of the body and fills in all the nooks and crannies-providing support.

Increasingly soft layers of silk, cashmere, wool and cotton fibers are also used to provide softness and comfort on the top of a mattress. One of the most popular types of beds available today is the pillowtop-a mattress with a soft, fat pad stitched to the top, making it extremely comfortable.

The inner workings of a mattress are usually formed from springs (steel coils or continuous wire) solid foam, or air chambers. Each of these types has a different look and feel. Prices of queen-size mattresses with a platform or box spring tend to run from $400 to $800 for more economical versions and $900 to over $4,000 for top-of-the line beds.

Beds like those made by Tempur-Pedic are made of a material called viscoelastic foam throughout, or dense foam that retains its shape when pressure is applied. The material in Tempur-Pedic's mattresses was originally used on the seats of the space shuttle to reduce the pressure of G forces on the astronauts. These beds, made in Sweden, conform to the body when you lie down on them, and are pressure and heat sensitive. The warmer your body is, the softer the mattress will be. Unlike American beds, Tempur-Pedic's mattresses are made to be placed on platforms.

Duxiana, a Swedish manufacturer of top-of-the-line beds, also sells their beds in one unit-with a mattress and box spring included. The Duxiana has a core that is made with continuous wire, using up to 3,600 springs, which gives it a soft feel, and helps to disperse the sleeper's weight.

By contrast, American manufacturers like Sealy use coiled inner springs. Their Posturpedic beds have coils that are tempered twice, making them more durable. Higher-end Posturpedic beds and those sold by Sealy's Stearns and Foster division have better quality, thicker coils and fatter, softer padding with more foam and fiber than their lower-end beds. The "crown jewel" coil, found on most Stearns and Foster beds, has an extra coil at the end that produces a softer, but more durable feel. You sink into the bed, but as you sink deeper into the bed, it becomes stiffer.

Beds made with air chamber cores, such as those produced by Select Comfort, however, take the concept of the adjustable mattress to new heights. Select Comfort makes the "Sleep Number" bed, which can be adjusted with remote control to the sleeper's ideal firmness-a number from 0 to 100 with 100 being the firmest setting. In a queen bed, sleepers on both sides can adjust the bed individually.

The more air the sleeper directs into the bed, the firmer it will be. The top layers of the bed are made up of varying materials, such as cashmere, rayon and foam.

No matter what manufacturer you choose, it's important not to make snap decisions when selecting a bed, sleep experts say. Wear your most comfortable clothes and lie down on different beds in the position you sleep in for at least 10 to 15 minutes for each bed. Make sure the salesperson can show you a cutaway of his brand of bed-a model that displays the internal construction-and can talk intelligently about its benefits.

Always put a new mattress on top of a new box spring. A mattress and a box spring are made to function as a set, with the box spring providing shock absorption. A new mattress placed on top of an old box spring will wear out more quickly.

What are the signs that you need a new bed? If you wake up in the morning feeling tired or sore, when anxiety isn't the problem, you probably should buy a new bed. Another signal is visible wear and tear on a mattress or box spring. Always buy the biggest mattress you can fit in your bedroom, because sleeping space is important for comfort.