How Sleepy Are You? Take the NSF test to measure your general level of daytime sleepiness.

Leading memory foam mattresses retailers claim that their bed will help improve your sleep, cure insomnia, and fight sleep deprivation. But according to The National Sleep Foundation (NSF), “there isn't much published research on mattresses, or how mattress quality may affect how sleep feels to the sleeper.”

While NSF does not promote any scientific studies that show how a sleep surface will improve your sleep, they acknowledge that, “discomfort can make falling asleep more difficult and lead to restless slumber.” They encourage finding a mattress that is comfortable to you and replacing your old, unsupportive mattress.

If foam bed retailers do not have studies to support their claims to better sleep, they can certainly show their mattresses provide maximum comfort. The key measure of comfort in a mattress is pressure relief. Even weight distribution and elimination of pressure points are the pinnacle achievement of a great mattress.

Even distribution of pressure is the basis of claims to health benefits. The logic goes that with greatly reduced pressure points, a bed is more comfortable, sleep comes easier, rest is more satisfying, and we awake with more energy.

To show comfort and pressure reduction in technical terms, companies like Tekscan and Xsensor have developed pressure mapping technology. A pad, with hundreds of pressure sensors, is laid down over the mattress. Then a person lies down on top of it and a computer generated map is displayed on a screen showing color coded areas of different pressure. The image demonstrates, in an intuitive way, exactly how comfortable a mattress is.

Pressure mapping shows in a technical way the same thing people know intuitively when they lay down on a memory foam mattress. They conform ideally to your body and are really comfortable. Memory foam has dramatically risen to popularity in the past few years because of its unsurpassed ability to reduce pressure points and provide maximum comfort.

While most people will agree that a more comfortable mattress will naturally lead to better sleep, there is not a lot of scientific data to support this claim. There is much that experts don’t understand about insomnia, sleep deprivation, sleep apnea, restless leg, or other sleep disorders. Nevertheless, sleep experts will all agree that a comfortable sleep surface is a major contributing factor to improved sleep.

There is a lot of information to be found online about memory foam mattresses, though the bulk of it has been written by people that actually sell the mattresses. When you type “memory foam mattress” into the top search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN, the top results are all companies selling memory foam mattresses. Yes, we’re in there : )

Much of this information is helpful and good, but what if you wanted at least some of your research information to come from an unbiased source? Well as it turns out, there is such a resource, but the information is hard to find.

The Polyurethane Foam Association (PFA) is a group whose mission is to educate customers and other groups about flexible polyurethane foam (FPF) and to promote its use in manufactured and industrial products. It is supported by its membership of US flexible polyurethane foam (FPF) manufacturers and companies that supply the raw materials for FPF.

So it’s not a 100% unbiased resource. After all, its goal is still to promote the use of FPF in bedding and furniture. But the group has a high degree of authority and trust within the industry. It’s a group of the top experts with a mission to help you get the facts about foam products.

Be warned, much of the information is written for industry insiders. It may be difficult to wade through the tech jargon / lingo and ferret out useful information. Some of the most useful information (like density, odor, firmness, viscoelastic foam) is in the Intouch articles section.

Europur is the European counterpart of the PFA. It has less information, but what is available, is less technical and perhaps more useful for the consumer preparing to make a large home purchase.

Hi, I was searching the web for some bed sheets, just plain white sheets, and I was blown away by the pricing and thread counts on eBay. They have 1000tc and 1200tc sheets for less than $50, but yours are twice that much. How is that possible? Are their sheet sets reasonable, or just cheap?

Wow. That raises a lot of issues. First, I want to say that I love eBay. I’ve bought and sold a lot of stuff there. But now that disclaimer is out of the way, here is the pseudo-dirt.

I’ve wondered the same thing as you. Our company manufactures and imports bedding, so how are resellers and stay-at-home-moms on eBay able to beat us on pricing? So I bought sheets from several different sellers on eBay and the mystery quickly “unraveled.”

Sellers there are re-labeling (if that’s not a term, it is a practice). They take the 200tc or 300tc label out of a package and insert a 600tc, 800tc, or 1000tc label. I actually sent 1 sheet set to a lab to have the thread count tested to confirm my assumption. At several $hundred$ per test, that’s as much confirmation as I felt like getting.

You can’t really tell the difference in the feel of a 300tc fabric and a 1200tc fabric, but the weight of the sheet set is a dead give away. We've handled a lot of bed sheets sets from different suppliers, and their weight is very similar. A queen 1200tc sheet set weighs about 8-9 pounds, while a queen 300tc sheet set weighs only 4-5 pounds, and a queen 600tc sheet set weighs about 6-7 pounds.

Re-labeling is just plain wrong, that’s for sure. But it’s more of a bad joke than an injustice. Prices for 1000tc sheets on eBay have plummeted from a fair price for an actual 1000 sheet set 2 years ago, then dropped to a fair price for a 600tc set, and now is a fair price for a 300tc set. So you pay for a 300tc sheet set and you get a 300tc sheet set. You just think you’ve got a 1000tc sheet set.

We've written a lot more about  bed sheets here.  In particular, we've written about the quality of multi ply threads in Egyptian cotton sheets. I think you will find this article interesting and helpful.

We’ve been shopping around for a memory foam mattress online, and there are a lot of reviews saying they are too hot. Are your mattresses hot? Is there a way to make a memory foam mattress cooler?

Memory foam is a good insulator, and that’s nice in the winter or for people who like to be cozy warm when they sleep. But what about keeping cool in the summer months, or people who have trouble sleeping because they get too warm at night?

All memory foam is composed of thousands of tiny cells with an open wall structure. Think of a sponge and the way they can soak up water. Sponges can soak up water because they have an open wall cell structure. Similarly, there are tiny holes in the cell walls of memory foam that allow air to flow between cells. This is what allows memory foam to conform so well to your body.

A lot of mattress sellers say that memory foam is cool because it has an open wall cell structure. And that’s true. Memory foam dissipates heat because it passes heat away from your body while you sleep. But still memory foam mattresses are warmer than traditional innerspring beds that everyone is used to sleeping on.

Some memory foam mattresses have “air flow” channels cut into the top surface or interior of the mattresses that allows air to move or “bellow” when you move about on the mattress. The idea is that this will allow heat to pass away from your body and keep you cooler. I agree with this concept, and I understand why it should work, but I’ve slept on a lot of beds in deciding which ones to sell in our store, and I’ve honestly not seen any difference in the warmth / coolness of mattresses with air flow channels.

The main thing that makes traditional innerspring mattresses cooler is a top layer of fiber fill. Fiber filling does a great job of preventing heat build up, promoting airflow, and whisking away heat from your body. Fiber fill is the polyester, Americore, or Dacron fiber batting which is quilted into the top of a mattress. It is super soft and comfortable, and does an excellent job keeping you cool, but is not as good as memory foam at reducing pressure points.

Memory foam is a superior pressure reduction material. For best performance, you want your body to be as close to the mattress as possible. A “tight top” memory foam mattress has a top layer of memory foam and then a mattress cover over it. The mattress cover is all that’s between you and the memory foam. Here is an example of a tight top foam bed.

For better heat reduction, you can get a tight top memory foam bed with a CoolMax Cover. The CoolMax material will wick heat and moisture away from your body.

But for the coolest memory foam mattress possible, you will want to go with a pillow top that has a layer of fiber quilted into the top cover. This type of memory foam mattress will keep you much cooler because it has a highly breathable airflow layer right next to your skin. Here is an example of a pillow top mattress with a 3" fiber fill top layer.

I just moved into my new house, but I’ve got to go back and get some things from my old house next week. Can I order the bed now? How fast do your memory foam mattresses ship? I want to be here when it delivers so it doesn’t sit out in the rain. What do I do if the bed arrives with damage from shipping?

Jim Stark - Ashland, Oregon

Hey Jim. Most of the beds we sell are made to order. So when you order on our site, we make the bed and ship it within a few days, with a tracking # so you can monitor its progress online and know the exact day that it will arrive. Your mattress will deliver in 1-3 business days; some western states, like Washington and Arizona may take 5 business days to deliver.

Most of our beds are vacuum packed and can ship with a ground service: DHL, FedEX, or UPS. But a few of our beds cannot be rolled, so they must ship with a freight company.

If your bed will be delivered by a ground service, they will leave it at your front door. We have the option of requiring a signature before delivery. That way you can be sure to be present when the bed delivers. Just let us know when you order the bed that you want a signature delivery.

If your mattress ships via freight, then you will need to be there to sign paperwork upon delivery. Be sure to inspect the packaging for any signs of damage. If there is a tear in the box, then make a note of it on the bill of lading (paperwork), something like this:

“Box torn in 2 places. Contents may be damaged. Needs to be opened for thorough inspection.”

Freight companies will only honor claims for damages when it’s noted on the bill of lading. If you sign the bill of lading without making a note of damages, that means that you are accepting the shipment in good condition.

Whether your mattress ships via a ground service or freight, notify us immediately if it arrives with damages. We rarely have experienced items arriving with damage. It’s a small problem, but good to know what to do if it happens.

If you don’t have a covered porch (or other) to receive the package, then you will need to know the day it is scheduled to arrive. Be sure to watch for the package and get it out of the weather as soon as possible. The mattress will be covered in plastic, but water is a very tricky thing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it found a way to seep in during a storm.

Feathers don't have fill power, down does, and there is very little down in a feather bed (<%5). This small amount is only left because it is not able to be sorted from the feathers. Since feather beds are only filled with feathers, they do not have a fill power rating. I've seen some retailers give their feather comforters a fill power rating, which is inaccurate.

Down is the small, soft clusters underneath a bird’s feathers that provide superior insulation. Fill power is the amount of cubic inches occupied by 1 ounce of down. Down id used in comforters because it is extremely light and offers superior insulation. But it's also very expensive and, if used in a feather bed, would only compress and do the same job as feathers, wasting its precious value.

Perhaps you’ve been mislead by a company advertising a feather bed with a fill power rating? I’ve not seen any companies doing this, but I’m sure it’s just a mistake if they are.

I have seen some feather beds with a small layer of down on top of the feather layer. Retailers could claim a fill power for this layer and that would be accurate, but not useful information. The fill power of down is only useful when the down is allowed to expand and insulate, as in a down comforter. When the down is underneath you, as in a feather bed, it is compressed, making the fill power rating irrelevant.

Having said that, it would make sense to have a thin down top layer on a feather bed. Down is softer than feathers, and would softer to the touch. The same thing could be achieved with a mattress pad that you would put on over the feather bed. The mattress pad has a thin layer of fiberfill that would also be softer to the touch than the surface of the feather bed.

Using a mattress pad over a featherbed is a good reason because it:

1. is less expensive than down
2. won’t shed little down clusters to float around the room
3. is easily removable for washing

Feather beds are large and need to be taken to a professional cleaner when dirty. If you have a penetrating spill, the entire feather bed has to go to a cleaner. But by using a mattress pad, you could prevent spills, dirt, body moisture / oils from penetrating the topper, greatly reducing the need and frequency of cleaning.

Conventional wisdom claims that goose down is better than duck down. And that is true. It’s possible to achieve a higher fill power with goose down than duck down. But when the fill power is the same, the quality is the same.

Fill power is the number of cubic inches occupied by 1 ounce of down. Down with higher fill power is of higher quality; down with lower fill power is of lower quality. Or to say it another, more simple way: high fill power down is puffier and better.

There are a couple main things that make down puffy. First, the ratio of down to feather in the mixture has a big impact on how high the down lofts. Feathers do not loft, and have no fill power. If there are a lot of feathers in the mix, then it prevents the down from lofting as fully as possible. Down / feather mixtures range from 50% down / 50% feather all the way up to 95% down / 5% feather. Less feathers in the mix, allow the down to loft higher.

The second factor, determining loft ability, is the size of the down cluster. Larger down clusters are generally stronger and able to loft more fully. This is where goose down has the advantage over duck down. Goose down has larger clusters, and is able to achieve a higher fill power rating. That means more warmth with less weight in your down comforter.

So goose down comforters are capable of a higher warmth to weight ratio, but in practice this is not always the case. For example the Williams Loft Classic Duck Down Comforter uses a duck down fill. It has a 690 fill power and uses a 92% down mixture. But there are many goose down comforters on the market with with only a 550 fill power and 75% down mixture. In this case the duck down comforter offers a superior warmth to weight ratio.

Simply put, the down comforter with the highest fill power is the best, regardless of whether it’s filled with goose or duck down. However comparing down comforter fill power from different companies may give an apples to oranges comparison. Quality varies widely and may not be as stated on the packaging.

Only companies with stringent quality control procedures in place are able to verify their claims on the product labeling. Good down bedding manufacturers verify their quality with 3rd party services like the Downmark Certification or testing by the International Down and Feather Laboratory.

Hi, I bought a 3” memory foam mattress topper 3 weeks ago…. from a national chain discount store. It feels ok, except for about 18” at the foot of the topper have not bounced back yet. It’s still compressed. Is there a way to make it inflate? Can it come back to full size?

Nancy, AK

Hello Nancy,

It’s probably not going to decompress. And what I mean by “probably not” is: it’s not going to. But I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, so I wish I didn’t have to tell you. Memory foam that has been rolled, and compressed, usually decompresses within minutes of being opened. It should come back to full height within 24 hours.

The big stores that carry memory foam toppers mainly import them from China. They stay compressed, sitting on the shelf sometimes for months. Memory foam is damaged in exactly the way you described by staying compressed too long.

My understanding, from talking with foam makers, suppliers, and people who work in this industry, is that it should be compressed for no longer than 2-3 months. After that, it loses its ability to bounce back. It also loses much of its functionality, its ability to conform to your body and reduce pressure points.

About a year and a half ago, I was at a trade show talking with a manager of a large furniture store. He told me a story about importing a container of mattresses from China that had the same problem as your topper, only worse. They were supposed to be 10” mattresses, but when they decompressed, they only came back to 7”, and they were quite a bit firmer than they were supposed to be.

The problem in this case was that the mattresses were made, and then compressed too soon after the foam was poured. Apparently the foam needs to sit for a while after being made and before being compressed. The manager ran a sale, selling them as “firm” memory foam mattresses for $99 a piece with no return policy or warranty.

I don’t think ALL memory foam toppers from big store discounters are damaged, probably most are not. But I’ve not heard of a quality control system in place to dispose of or mark down memory foam toppers after being compressed too long. So it could be a chance buying a compressed topper from a discount store. You never know how long it’s been on the shelf.

You definitely have a reason to return or exchange the topper. No reason to wait any longer. Next time, you can avoid damaged foam by purchasing from a foam company that uses US made foam and compresses the topper for shipment at the time you order.

In 1993, I had a cliff diving accident, a kind of dumb one my friends say, and I'll agree with that. It broke one of my vertebrae and messed up a few of my disks. I'd like to rewind those 2 seconds of my life, like they do on AFV : )That's not me in the video by the way, but it's a pretty close reenactment, uncanny really. I was canoing, the cliff was about the same size, and I came up kind of slow and worried my friends, just like in this video.

I recovered very well and lived about 10 years pain free and with no restrictions. Then, slowly, it began to bother me. It started to interfere with my sleep because I couldn't get comfortable on my old innerspring mattress.

Then I did some research and bought a memory foam mattress and it really worked. I could tell that the mattress actually did "contour to the shape of my body." It wasn't just marketing hype. I was able to sleep again, and my pain went away, although I still don't do any heavy lifting, and I hike / walk instead of jog now.

I liked the bed so much, I started an online store in 2004 so I could help others find a good memory foam mattress. I'm glad to say that we've been able to help others with similar problems, some have back injuries like mine from an accident. One woman had a horse kick her. One of our customers had an auto accident. But many other people didn't have any back problem other than their old mattress. Like a customer of mine said just the other day, "I just thought you were supposed to wake up stiff and achy."

In my experience, and the experience of my customers, memory foam mattresses can be a tremendous help in getting back pain relief.

Will Robertson
Owner
www.myluxurymattress.com

Memory foam pillows and down pillows offer excellent neck support, but which one is better?

They both contour to the shape of your head and neck, and help keep your spine in a neutral position. Your spine is in a neutral position, for example, when you are standing fully erect. Looking from the side, your spine forms a natural s curve, and looking from the front, your spine forms a straight line. As much as possible, you want your neck to be in the neutral position when you lie down in your bed.

I feel a memory foam pillow works best with a memory foam topper or mattress when sleeping on your side. The memory foam mattress or topper will allow your shoulder to sink into the bed the proper amount, keeping your neck straight. On mattresses that are firm, like some innerspring beds, your shoulder may not sink into the bed far enough, causing your neck to bend toward the bed (not in neutral position).

For sleeping on firm beds, on your side, a down or feather pillow is probably better. Unlike a memory foam pillow, you can shift the down around inside the pillow, making it thicker to raise your head up, or thinner to lower your head.

If you’ve never had neck or back pain, all this pillow talk may sound a bit tedious. But for those of you who are suffering with injury or illness, you know that finding just the right fit can mean the difference between another miserable night and a good night’s rest.

In summary, memory foam pillows are excellent for your neck if you mainly sleep on your back, or if you sleep on your back and side AND you also have a memory foam mattress or topper. Down pillows are adjustable in height, so they fit properly with more sleep surfaces and body positions. The bottom line, like all bedding choices, is to get and use what you think will be most comfortable for you.