Sleep On It

"Re–Discover the Value of Incredibly Good Sleep"

Whether it’s a one off, or a regular issue - we can all relate to the feeling of waking up from a bad night’s sleep. Sure - there are many possible reasons for this, but have you ever considered your mattress could be one of them?

Served quizzes mattress expert Clayton Borg from Mattress Collection, and we discover how different sleeping positions should affect your mattress choice, what to look out for when picking your supplier, and that even if couples require different mattress types - there’s a solution that won’t mean kicking your significant other out of bed!

How important is a good night’s sleep?

Well, it helps if you think of your body as a well-oiled machine. During the day, we work and we play, we put our bodies through tremendous amounts of strain and if your body doesn’t get a chance to recharge properly in the evening, you're starting your next day at a disadvantage and using a maximum of maybe 50% capacity. You'll be cranky, tired and not your best self.

How does your bedding affect that?

Our bedroom is our sleep sanctuary, the place where we re-charge, so it is imperative that we take our time to ensure that it is the ultimate environment for rest. Everything counts; our sheets, mattress, bed, even the curtains we use to drown out the light.

For sheets and quilts, always opt for light bedding. Heavy bedding tends to restrict our movement and trap too much heat - cotton is your friend.

Your mattress should be made for you, it should contour to your body's shape and it should always provide consistent support and never sag. The bed is your foundation and should be very supportive.

Sadly whilst a lot of thought is put into the aesthetic of the bed; the colour, the fabric or the look, the actual support structure is generally overlooked and is one of the most important parts of the bed.

When buying a bed, ask about the slats that will support you and your mattress. What is the guarantee on them? Will they support the weight of me and my partner? Can I choose different slats that are stronger and more supportive? Slats must be strong and arched upwards and never downwards. The last thing you want is to have a beautiful bed but a terrible night's sleep due to the cheap, basic slats no one warned you about.

Tips for choosing the right mattress?

My one piece of advice is - do your homework and always budget a little bit more. Sadly the mattress is generally overlooked when planning our bedroom. We spend thousands on a beautiful sofa or a gorgeous bed and yet the one thing that actually assists our body for a good portion of our day (if you're lucky), is overlooked.

Like everything in life, there are countless different types, qualities and budgets for mattresses. I would recommend buying from a reputable company that has good reviews, one that will actually guide you to the right mattress for you. Especially look for companies that have good after sales as the last thing anyone wants is to have spent a good amount of money on a mattress only to find its sagged or softened after a short period.

Mattress Collection chooses to only sell foam and rubber mattresses – basically mattresses that are solid inside - for a number of reasons which I will try to explain. Spring mattresses have a lot of empty space inside, space that provides an ideal nesting ground for bed mites. Foam or rubber mattresses on the other hand are solid inside. Spring mattresses tend to also have a shorter lifespan plus they also tend to loose heat faster than foam mattresses, thus making it harder to keep a steady temperature which is ideal during sleep.

Hard or soft mattress - what are the different benefits?

As such, it really depends on the person. What position do you sleep in? How heavy are you? Do you have any medical issues?

All these contribute to you needing the right mattress for you and why I have always advocated to buying in store rather than online. The staff at Mattress Collection are trained to guide people to the right mattress for them depending on all these circumstances, which is hard to do online.

Some good points to keep in mind - if you are a side sleeper, opt for a medium feel mattress, one that will curve around the contours of your body while still providing the right amount of support. Do not go too soft as you will not get the required support over time and your lower back will start to hurt.

If you're a stomach sleeper, go for a firmer mattress. Since the heaviest part of our body is in the mid section, opting for a softer mattress will create an arch in your lower back leading to back pain every morning.

Back sleepers should opt for a middle ground - medium firm is the ideal. Basically a mattress that provides a bit of softness at the top to fill in the contours of your back and hip area and a firm foundation to support your entire body's weight.

And weight does play a part. If you are heavier, you will sink in more, so opt for a degree firmer. We're all different at the end of the day, which is why we even offer split mattresses for couples, where on the outside it looks like one mattress but internally it will be 2 different types to cater for each persons body. I don't wear my wife's shoes for example so why would I sleep on a mattress that is good for her but not me.

How to care for a mattress?

1. Rotate head to toe as often as possible. Remember that any surface that gets repeated usage will soften over time. This goes for sofas, chairs, car seats, anything really.

2. Vent your mattress. Every few months or so, more often if you can. Lift your mattress up so that it can air out. Put a box for example underneath it. If you have a storage bed, open it before you go to work and leave it open for the day.

3. Mattresses nowadays also come with zip removable cover, so do remove your mattress cover every few months or so and give it a good wash in the washing machine.

4. Lastly and I would say one of the most important things - buy a mattress protector. It’s easier to wash than a mattress cover and more importantly, it ensures your mattress remains stain-free so you can still claim your guarantee if needs be.

How often should one change a mattress?

Well it really depends on the usage. For example, a mattress in a guest room that’s only used a few times a month should last a lifetime. For one that’s used daily, we tend to go on the advice of the UK National Bed Foundation that recommends replacing it every 7-8 years mostly due to hygienic reasons. My personal opinion is that generally your body will know when it’s time for a new mattress.

Mattress Collection offer a sleep trial - how does this work?

We are quite proud to have been the first (and still the only company I believe) to offer the ‘Sleep Trial' and after 8 years of successfully helping our clients, I can say that we definitely did the right decision.

The worst thing that can happen to person is that they spend a good amount of money on a mattress only to find out after a week or 2 that they chose the wrong mattress and cant get a good night sleep. It's horrible and we've seen firsthand the frustration and panic this causes people.

The 30 Day Sleep Trial works like this - you visit one of our shops, you try the mattresses and you pick one. We deliver it and install it in your bed and from that day you have up to 30 days to either ask for a different model, maybe a firmer or a softer one, or you can ask for a full refund. Its as simple as that. We work with the client to try to find out what the problem is, are they waking up with shoulder pain (order a softer model), lower back pain? (opt for a firmer model), we ask a lot of questions to ensure our clients can get a great nights sleep.

What a lot of people do ask us, is, what happens to the returned mattress? We have an agreement with our factory in Florence where every few months, we send back the mattresses that weren't liked. Our factory first checks them outside its premises (if they are stained or marked, they are not allowed in), it then sanitises them, shreds them, and then resells the shredded foams to Italian companies that use shredded foam products such as shredded foam pillows or bean bags. We then get a credit note from the factory so no money is really lost and everyone is happy.

I will add that our mattresses are Certified Class 1 Medical Devices and so we can never re-sell a used mattress. They are always brand new.