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When buying your mattress or bed it is important to remember that it is for sleeping on. The bed has a job to do besides looking good.
The job of the bed set is to support your back and body whilst asleep. When asleep it is the skeleton that holds the body together. Therefore we need understand the shape of the back.
When lying flat on your back on a hard surface you will notice that your shoulders and hips touch the surface and the spine arches inbetween to form a bridge which carries the weight above. When you add the neck and legs the shape can be described as the letter W.
When lying on your side, again the hips and shoulders touch the surface but this time the spine forms a straight bridge parallel to the surface. This position can be described as the letter H. The spine forming the bar of the H.
The bed that you require, regardless of it's construction, or cost is the one that allows the hips and shoulders to sink into the mattress to the extent where the whole of the back is supported.
Remembering the above letter shapes. A useful test to select the correct mattress is as follows.
When lying on your back slide your hand into the arch of your spine. If your hand runs through too easily then the bed is too firm for you, your hips and shoulders have not sunk into the mattress and your spine is unsupported and forms a bridge for your hand to go under. If this is the case then prolonged use can lead to harm.
If, when you push your hand through and it is fairly difficult where you have to push the mattress down or your body up to make progress the mattress has the right support. You will find that your hand is being squeezed between the weight of your body and the resistance of the mattress. You should be aware of continuous support along the spine.
If, when you push your hand through and it is difficult to do so, but you do not feel the hand being squashed and the mattress also seems to dives down away from the body then the mattress is too soft.
This is another useful test. If you stand in a relaxed but correct posture the position and angles of the spine and pelvis are as they should be when supported by the correct mattress for you.
When you test a mattresses and are laying on your back and it feels like your bottom is being pushed up out of the mattress, then your pelvis has been rotated to reduce the natural and relaxed curvature of your spine. This indicates that the mattress is too firm.
Repeat the exercise when on your side. When you do this your weight is concentrated this will mean your body should sink more deeply into the mattress. If your hips do not sink in then the pelvis and spine again will be forced to adopt an incorrect posture, which can lead to poor sleep and physical ailments.
The above tests are crucial. The price and quality of the mattress does not matter. If the support is wrong it will be wrong at a low price and a high price.
The weight of a mattress is important. The heavier the better. Mattresses with a high foam or polyester content will be lighter. Mattresses with foam or polyester upholstery alone will not be as durable as one with mixed or natural fillings.
Buttoned Mattresses are better than quilted top mattresses. The purpose of both these techniques is to keep the fillings in place. Quilted tops are sown by machine and there is a limit to the depth a machine can sow. Buttons have to be used on mattresses with more layers of filling. The Buttons also place the spring unit under tension strengthening the mattress and helping the spring last longer.
If the mattress comes with instructions to turn the mattress many times in the first month ie. 'turn once a day for a month' or similar then this is an indictation that the filling on the mattress is insubstantial and will collapse rapidly. By turning the mattress the collapse of the filling is made more even so that it will not be noticed so readily. Avoid.
No Turn Mattresses
In laymans terms in place of this statement read 'can't afford filling on both sides'. This is fine to bring the price of a memory foam mattress down to an affordable level but if the mattress is not of this visco elastic type then it is a way to cheapen a mattress, bear this in mind when comparing prices.
For more in depth or specialist information please select from the menu bar or contact us directly or request a call back at a time of your convenience.
Consult the experts.
01227 375618
32 - 34 High Street
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 5LH
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mattress [matress] n. from arabic via french, matelas: a place where something is thrown.
