How often should I get a new mattress? This is a question that everyone has at one time or another. In their study, “Subjective Rating of Perceived Back Pain, Stiffness and Sleep Quality Following Introduction of Medium-Firm Bedding Systems” researchers Bert Jacobson, EdD, Tia Wallace, MS, and Hugh Gemmell, DC, EdD of Oklahoma State University published in the Winter 2006 issue of the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine took a group of 59 healthy participants (30 women and 29 men) and compared selected sleep variables in participants’ sleep on their own innerspring mattresses (at least five years or older) to sleep on new innerspring mattresses. The sample of participants was selected independent of age, height, weight or BMI. The results were compared between subjects with reported high and low baseline sleep quality. The mean age of the participant’s current mattresses was 9.73 years. For the purposes of this study, “subjects also controlled their own thermal environment and no attempt was made by the investigators to suggest altering their room temperature.”
Improvement Found Between Baseline and Last Observation Point
Variable
High Group (%)
Low Group (%)
Low Back Pain
63.3%
47.3%
Spine Stiffness
63.3%
38.0%
Sleep Quality
65.8%
58.1%
Sleep Comfort
77.3%
64.2%
Sleep Efficiency
4.4%
30.8%
The results of this study were quite astounding. The introduction of a new mattress yielded immediate and lasting increases in sleep quality. Moving from an older (5+ years) mattress to a new one can give significant increase in both the amount of sleep you get and the quality of that sleep. Is your current mattress still providing you with a comfortable and supportive night’s sleep? I can’t answer that question for you, but here are some indicators that it may be time to replace your current mattress:
• You wake up with a sore back or neck or with body aches.
• You find yourself sleeping more comfortably at someone else’s house or in a hotel.
• Your current mattress is saggy or lumpy in places
• Your innerspring mattress is over 10 years old
None of these are hard and fast rules. It is entirely possible that your bed is 10 years old and is still able to provide excellent support. It is up to you to decide when and if you need a new mattress. The amount and the quality of your sleep directly affect your energy level and attentiveness throughout the rest of your day. Runners generally replace their shoes every 6 months or 300-400 miles in order to prevent injuries and to reduce the stress on their joints. Shouldn’t you do the same for your back and neck with your mattress?
“Do I really need a new box spring?” This is a question that we receive relatively often. After all, of the two pieces of your sleep set, your mattress is the one that you are in contact with 8 hours a night. If you are having a problem sleeping, your mattress is probably the first thing that you blame. Failure in support from your box spring is something that may have never crossed your mind. However, your box springs wear out over time, just like your mattress does.
Think of your box springs like the shock absorbers on your car. You know that they are there, and you know what they do, but unless they completely fail you usually need a mechanic to tell you when they need to be replaced. A good, quality box spring is designed to have about the same lifetime as your mattress, around 10 years. So if you are replacing a new mattress, you may be able to keep your old box springs, but if you are replacing your 10-15 year old mattress that has just worn out, it is probably time for a new one. When making this determination, keep in mind that not all box springs are designed equally. Some mattresses, such as a Simmons are designed to use a non-yielding, rigid box spring (foundation). Others are designed to use a box spring that will give work in tandem with your mattress to provide extra flex and support. Putting a new mattress on the wrong or a worn out box spring can significantly lower its lifetime.
There are other advantages as well to purchasing your mattress and box spring as a set. Purchasing as a set keeps your warranty valid on your mattress. It also ensures that your mattress is going to be properly supported. When purchasing from Mattress Direct Online, it also ensures that you are able to keep your comfort warranty intact. If you have a platform bed, we understand the lessened need for a box spring. In that instance, you will be well served to purchase a low profile box spring (5 ¼” instead of 9”) and use it to keep your warranty intact, however we realize that there is a lessened necessity for the box spring in that situation. If you have a question about your mattress or box spring, please contact us at 888-814-2337 and we would be happy to help you through anything that may be troubling you.
This is way beyond absurd. Mattress Mack has way more fans than he should, or maybe his fans have way more spare time than they should. Either way, the man has a serious local following. They must love his mattresses.
So apparently this guy is a small-time cultural icon in Houston, where he appears to have branched out from mattresses to all sorts of furniture. His fans (?) remixed all of the Mattress Mack commercials, and it’s pretty good.
This commercial, from Punch Drunk Love, featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, is spot-on with the real thing. I can see the guy flopping on that huge stack of mattresses, then talking about his Sertas and Stearns and Foster deals.
From the YouTube posting: “Before spending a year in Korea, I decided that sleeping on the floor just wouldn’t be the same without my Tempurpedic memory foam mattress. Here’s what I did”
That is some serious dedication, and actually pretty clever.
Mattress James is not my favorite TV personality, but I bet he sells a lot of Tempurpedic Mattresses with that schtick. He could probably use one himself after that last spill.
