(NAPSA) – Here’s an eye-opening statistic: According to the National Institutes of Health, adults need seven to eight hours of sleep a night, but nearly 30 percent are getting six or less.
Five Steps to Better Sleep
If you’re ever among them, consider these five tips:
1. Try to go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each
morning.
2. Avoid large meals before bed.
3. Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime.
4. Avoid nicotine.
5. Get a mattress with the right degree of firmness for you.
For example, a soft mattress is for sleepers who prefer to feel it hug them in a
supportive embrace but not let them sink in too much.
Choose soft if you:
• Sleep on your side and sometimes your back
• Like to feel enveloped in your bed and linens
• Have trouble with your arms falling asleep before you do.
The standard comfort level used in the finest hotels is luxury firm. This balances cushioning and contouring support to ensure proper spinal alignment.
Choose luxury firm if you:
• Sleep on your side, back or stomach
• Switch sleeping positions often in the night.
Firm is for sleepers who prefer an initial plushness quickly followed by firm support.
Choose firm if you:
• Sleep on your back or stomach
• Prefer a mattress that you float on top of instead of sink into
• Have been told by your doctor to sleep on a firm mattress.
Finding A Quality Mattress
Whatever degree of firmness you like, you want your mattress to be top quality. Look for higher density of nontoxic foams and dual innerspring construction, which prevents sagging. In the case of memory foam mattresses, look for higher weight and density and nontoxic foams. Focus only on a memory foam mattress that allows for the most efficient air circulation within the mattress. Memory foam mattresses are a rising choice with consumers, as they offer the elimination of pressure points or discomfort that can contribute to the “tossing and turning at night” to find a comfortable sleep position. A well-handcrafted memory foam mattress also eliminates “motion transfer,” the annoying transfer of motion from one side of the bed to the other that can come from sleeping next to a restless sleeper.
Also look for coil-on-coil construction. The lower coil unit should offer a connected, hourglass-shaped, steel support base while the top coil unit features an individually wrapped, pocketed coil system that contours and responds to your body, eliminating most motion transfer.
As for where to get a good mattress, a study by the Research Triangle Institute may help. It found many people feel “rushed” by in-store salespeople. As a result, online mattress purchasing is on the rise.
If you go that route, look for a mattress that’s delivered and set up in your home. A boxed compressed mattress may not recover to full size and, while some manufacturers fold mattresses for home delivery, a high-quality mattress should not be able to be rolled up. Make sure the manufacturer uses top-quality foams and that the company is mandated to follow proper guidelines. Nonmandated foams from other countries can contain dangerous carcinogens, linked to a variety of health concerns.
Make sure the manufacturer offers no restocking fees and a true return policy where you can get a full and prompt refund of the purchase price.
The largest “online only” luxury mattress firm, Saatva (which means “truth”) develops, manufactures and distributes an impressive line of ultrapremium mattresses in America with what many consumers have called unparalleled price, performance and service-and it has a 15-year warranty.
The company’s unique online-only business model means it can offer highly reduced prices for luxury mattresses and help customers with true comparison shopping, providing easy-to-read, objective measures on a website designed for easy navigation: www.saatvamattress.com.
