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Buying a new mattress is a big investment. Research shows the average American spends 36 years in bed. So when it came time for Jonathan Puebla, an information technology project manager at Policygenius, and his girlfriend Kara Dudley to buy a mattress, he considered every detail.
The holidays are a popular time to buy a new mattress because many brands have sales spanning from Black Friday to New Years. A typical mattress can last up to 10 years and cost around $1,000. Puebla and Dudley moved in together in January 2020, but sharing Puebla’s 5-year-old mattresses didn’t work for Kara, who experiences chronic neck and partial back pain.
“She went on Instagram and started posting for mattress recommendations and that triggered me,” he said. “I thought about redeeming myself and started doing all this research and documenting the data and metrics so we could compare mattresses.”
Here’s how Puebla’s multi-week hunt resulted in the ultimate mattress spreadsheet and their dream bed.
Finding the perfect mattress
Puebla didn’t want to go with the most popular mattress.
“I like to take the road less traveled,” he said. “The first mattress that came to mind was a Casper, but I didn’t want the most popular one because it would likely be the most expensive,” Puebla said. His research confirmed this: The Casper costs $571 more than the least-expensive mattress he considered.
The couple aimed for a mattress that cost less than $1,000, had medium-firm support, painless shipping and delivery, and a reasonable return policy. Puebla started researching everything he could about bed brands. Because of the pandemic, the couple couldn’t test mattresses in person, so he relied on company websites and customer reviews.
The spreadsheet
Puebla creates spreadsheets for major purchases to help him visualize his choices, especially if it impacts someone else. “When there’s a lot of options on the table, it helps to break it down in one color-coded chart,” he said. Puebla created an Excel document to put his multi-week mattress research in one place. He compared beds from Tuft & Needle, Nectar, DreamCloud, Idle Hybrid, Layla, Casper, and Purple.
His criteria included:
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The base price
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Shipping and handling costs
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Warranty
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Trial periods
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Sale price and length of sale
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Firmness
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Mattress types, like standard vs. luxury models
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Additional features like pillows, sheets and a mattress protector.
If he could do the process over again, he would add ship time to his Excel sheet.
Check out Puebla’s mattress research spreadsheet here.
The winner
Puebla collected data for a few weeks and then compiled it in a spreadsheet, which made the winning mattress clear.
“I was able to see and compare all the features and specs in one view, rather than having to jump from site to site,” he said. “I formulated the data, looked at the spreadsheet and it was obvious what the right choice was.”
They ended up purchasing a standard queen Nectar mattress, which was on sale for $799, including pillows, a mattress protector, sheets and a lifetime warranty.
“When we looked at their website, we saw the sale price was ending in five hours and we had to act fast to get those items.”
Doing the research and having the spreadsheet in front of them gave the couple the confidence they needed to purchase the bed — especially under a time restraint. They caught the sale price and their total came to $870 with tax, shipping and handling. It takes seven to 10 business days to receive the mattress and they expect to get it after the holidays.
His No. 1 advice to anyone in the market for a new mattress is to consider all the factors — don’t always get the most popular one. Timing is important too. While many mattresses go on sale over the holidays, May is also a good time to get a deal, according to Sleep Advisor.
“Look at the sale prices and look at what’s included in the purchase. Reviews aren’t everything but they help,” he said. “Don’t go with the most popular one — see what other options are available and spec it out.
This article originally appeared on Policygenius.com and was
syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
More from MediaFeed:
5 common sleep myths you can stop believing right now
Where’d you get your information? If you haven’t looked into it, chances are good that much of what you think you know about sleep is based on old myths and not facts.
For a 2019 study published in the journal Sleep Health, researchers at New York University’s Langone Health School of Medicine examined 8,000 websites with sleep-related information to find out what Americans think they know about healthy sleep.
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The researchers identified 20 sleep myths, ranging from the statement that “during sleep the brain is not active” to “sleeping in during the weekends is a good way to ensure you get adequate sleep.”
After running their findings by a team of sleep medicine experts, the researchers determined that many of us operate with wrong, unhealthy assumptions about sleep.
Here, we’re breaking down some of the biggest sleep myths from the study and explaining how they affect your health.
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The researchers say this sleep myth is the most likely to harm someone’s long-term health. “We have extensive evidence to show that sleeping five hours a night or less, consistently, increases your risk greatly for adverse health consequences, including cardiovascular disease and early mortality,” Rebecca Robbins, PhD, lead study investigator, tells CNN.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society both recommend adults get seven or more hours of sleep per night regularly to promote optimal health.
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The researchers point out that this is usually a sign of sleep deprivation, which can lead to a host of issues including trouble concentrating, irritability, increased risk of diabetes, and a higher risk of car accidents due to drowsy driving.
They also note that sleep deprivation could be due to sleep apnea, which occurs when the muscles in your throat relax, blocking the airway and causing a momentary cessation of breathing. You then wake up, gasp for air, and go back to sleep.
The sleep apnea process can repeat hundreds of times a night, preventing your body from entering deep sleep and depriving it of much-needed oxygen. This can result in high blood pressure, leading to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
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While snoring by itself isn’t dangerous, it can be a sign of sleep apnea, a more serious sleep condition. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, an estimated 22 million Americans suffer from some form of sleep apnea—a serious sleep disorder that should be checked out by a health professional.
“Sleep apnea is extremely exhausting,” Robbins tells CNN. “These patients sleep and then they wake up over and over; then they are fighting sleep all day long because they’re so exhausted.” Robbins also notes that sleep apnea is under-diagnosed. “We believe it affects about 30% of the population, and around 10% are diagnosed,” she says.
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It’s well-established that although a cocktail may knock you out, alcohol also disrupts sleep by preventing you from achieving the important deep, restful phase of sleep. “It continues to pull you out of rapid eye movement and the deeper stages of sleep, causing you to wake up not feeling restored,” Robbins tells CNN.
Plus, if you already have a sleep problem, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, or a parasomnia (such as sleepwalking or sleep talking), alcohol can heighten those disorders and make getting a good night’s sleep even more difficult.
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Not so. We sleep better in cooler temperatures. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation states that the ideal temperature for sleep is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
Studies show people with insomnia have a warmer core body temperature immediately before initiating sleep—and the brain responds well to cooler temps, making sleep easier for those who tend to have difficulty.
A new bed can help improve your sleep—but it turns out plenty of mattress myths exist too. Here are the most common mattress myths and why you shouldn’t fall for them.
Read more:
- Want a good night’s sleep? Avoid these 10 foods before bed
- The secret to a good night’s sleep when camping
This article originally appeared on Saatva.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
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Featured Image Credit: Bear Mattress.
