8 Guidelines to Buying a Bed

Click on the links below to take you directly to any Guideline.

Guideline # 1: Know yourself and your needs.
Guideline # 2: Don’t buy a fiber pillow top mattress.
Guideline # 3: Know your budget.
Guideline # 4: What size do we need?
Guideline # 5: Toppers
Guideline # 6: Take your time when you try out a bed.
Guideline # 7: What’s a reasonable price to pay?
Guideline # 8: Consider an adjustable bed if it will not cause financial stress.

Guideline # 1: Know yourself and your needs.
Do you like a soft bed? A firm bed? What about your pillow? Are you a side sleeper? A back sleeper? How is your breathing best? Are you a light sleeper? Do you wake up when your partner rolls? Are there children or pets in bed with you? Do you like a high bed or a low bed? Would an adjustable bed work best for you and your partner? The better you know yourself and your personal sleep needs, the better chance you will have of buying a bed suited to you.

Guideline # 2: Don’t buy a fiber pillow top mattress.

Reason # 1: A fiber is a strand of material (cotton, wool, poly, whatever). Air is between the strands of fiber, and gravity is working on it. When you lie down, when you roll, you are compressing the fibers together. What force is there that is going to put air back between the fibers when you get up? After a few months, you’ll find that the fiber will not return to its original shape.

Reason # 2: We put this question to a manufacturer’s representative? “What good is a fiber pillowtop? Won’t they just compress?” His response: “Perceived value.” To us that means there is no real value in it; it’s just a perception, or a misperception.

Reason # 3: We have had many customers over the years who told us that their bed had compacted in 1 – 2 years (sometimes sooner), and the manufacturer won’t help. These beds normally cost $1000 and up, and customers are frustrated at having no choice but to purchase a new bed. If a bed compresses that fast, it usually has to do with fiber compressing.
Foam pillowtops are fine because foam will return to its original shape. Our natural latex and TEMPUR pillowtops have real value if the bed suits you.

Guideline # 3: Know your budget.
Salespeople often try to upsell because there is more profit in a higher priced item. Sometimes you need the higher priced item; sometimes you don’t. If you don’t need it, why buy it?

Guideline # 4: What size do we need?
Below is a list of standard American sizes. (Each part of the world has its own standards.) Tempur-Pedic is available as a custom mattress in any shape or size or thickness.

Twin or Single 38” x 75”
Twin Long 38” x 80”
Full or Double 53” x 75”
Queen 60” x 80”
King 76” x 80”
California King 72” x 84”

• A regular twin size mattress is big enough for the average adult shorter than 5’10”.
• Someone taller than 5’10” feet will need a bed that is 80” long, meaning a twin long or larger.
• In our opinion a full size bed is too small for most couples. That’s because there is only 26” per person, less room than there is on a cot. For all couples we recommend a queen or larger. You can still cuddle on a queen size bed, AND your sleep will be disturbed less often. (Some sleep professionals recommend a king for couples because it is the size of two twin longs; and if one person needs a twin, two people need two twins.)

Guideline # 5: Toppers
Sometimes folks try to save money by purchasing a topper and putting it on their old mattress. Sometimes that helps; sometimes it’s a waste of money. If you have an old mattress that is hard and flat, it might help. However, if your mattress is compressed in some areas more than others, the topper will conform to the contours of your old mattress. Bite the bullet. Throw it out. Get a new one.

Guideline # 6: Take your time when you try out a bed.
Sometimes in mattress stores there is so much commotion it’s hard to focus. Spouse is talking. Kids are running around. Music is too loud. Salesperson is pitching you. Relax. Take a deep breath. Scan your body and ask yourself how different parts of your body feel:
Head
Neck
Arms
Hips
Knees
How is your breathing?
How is it to roll over?

Guideline # 7: What’s a reasonable price to pay?
What’s reasonable is what you need and what you can reasonably afford. Sometimes middle income people spend $5000 on a bed; sometimes millionaires feel that they can’t afford a box of nails.
We like to compare it to a car purchase. How much time do you spend in your car compared to your mattress? How does a car contribute to your quality of life compared to your mattress? How long will a car last compared to your mattress?
If you get a great night’s sleep on a $100 futon, and you need a $40,000 SUV, do it. If you aren’t sleeping well, consider your priorities.

Guideline # 8: Consider an adjustable bed if it will not cause financial stress.
• If you are on your feet a lot, you can get on the bed and raise your feet above the level of your heart. This provides great relief.
• If you have a cold or sinus problems, you can raise the head and breathe a little better.
• If you snore, raising the head will help.
• If your mind is too active, you can turn on the massage unit and lull yourself to sleep.
• As you go through life and develop one symptom or another, the adjustable bed can move with you. Most of the time you may not need it; but when you do need it, it’s there for you.