How well you sleep affects everything from your mood and productivity to your long-term health and overall wellness. Yet according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, every year more than 40 million people in the United States alone suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders.
Many of these chronic sleep conditions can easily be fixed with simple changes in your lifestyle, and choosing the right mattress is an easy – but often overlooked – correction. However, most people do not realize the role their bed plays in their daily health, and they look at a mattress purchase as an inconvenience rather than an investment.
The right mattress can improve your memory, increase your lifespan and lower your blood pressure. It has also been proven that your mattress plays a role in the amount of inflammation you have, how healthy your metabolism is, and how well you learn and pay attention. People who sleep well tend to be happier and have less stress than those who stay up tossing and turning, possibly due to an overdue need for a new mattress, or a conflict between their body and the mattress they currently have.
For those looking to invest in a quality mattress and improve their overall wellness, mattress reviews can help you understand what to look for as you consider your next purchase. It’s easy to find mattress reviews, but there are five things that you need to watch out for in them to make sure that the information they provide is accurate. Your review should contain these five main factors so you know you are getting the right mattress for your needs.
- Make sure the mattress review is from a qualified, impartial source. The wonderful open forum of the neural network that is the internet is great in many ways, but it also can make it difficult to find a reputable review when you need one. Look for reviews that come from organizations that offer unbiased opinions.
Reviews on blog sites by individual users are not as accurate as those performed by companies who have composed large studies. This is because each person is unique and what works for one may not work for another. The more people who are polled and studied in a survey, the more accurate those result will be.
Some individual reviewers may add a disclosure if they receive the products they are reviewing at a discount or for free. One example you may see is something like: “I sleep test all of the mattresses I review. Some of these mattresses have been purchased at full price or at a discount. Others have been provided to me for free. My ratings are based on my sleep experience with these products. I am 100% independent & use referral links as my sole source of income from this site.”
Consumer Reports explains how to find an unbiased review and details how the review ratings system works in this article. A general rule of thumb: Avoid reviews with the “ad” symbol immediately to the left.
- The review should focus on scientific evidence of how the mattress is good for your back. Instead of focusing primarily on the size of the mattress or the price, it should explain the features that help to make the bed comfortable for you to sleep on. One of the biggest reasons for chronic sleep conditions is being uncomfortable, and this is almost always traced back to the mattress you are sleeping on.
Chronic back pain is almost always at least partially traced back to the mattress you use, so the better the evidence that the manufacturer shows to prove why their mattress is good for your back, the more likely it is that it will help your back aches and overall health.
Features that stand out are the firmness of the mattress, good springs and coils, more padding and memory foam. High prices do not always equal high quality, so do your research.
- Check out consumer reviews as well. You do want to take comments and complaints by consumers with a grain of salt. It is easy to make a false report, or have a disgruntled consumer write a scathing exaggerated review. However, you do want to see if there are consistent concerns with the mattress you are contemplating buying.
If you find a consumer review site for a specific mattress and there are multiple positive reviews, you probably are on the right track. If there are continual complaints by multiple buyers all relating the same issues, you might want to move on to your next possible choice.
- Verify the links to other sources to be sure they are reputable. If a link takes you to the mattress that they are reviewing, you should be able to confirm what the review was saying. A mattress company’s site should give you full transparency into their products. You should know exactly what the material is made out of, as well as the technology that is used to make that mattress supportive and comfortable.
Many companies use new technology to control the temperature of their mattresses, and you should be able to see that as well. Most brand names will also have multiple options for varying sleeping styles. All of this should be explained in the review and then verified when you click on the link to the corresponding website.
- The review should cover all types of mattresses. Not everyone wants a fluffy, soft king bed. In fact, there are many other options than simply soft, medium and hard firmnesses.
A good review will discuss the benefits of other mattresses like those made out of air, latex, memory foam, innersprings, hybrid and water. If your current mattress is not cutting it, you may want to try one of these different types.
Quality Mattress Reviews Are Out There
When you are ready to invest in your next mattress, take some time to research and review the options that are available. Consider your health concerns and find a mattress that will help you resolve some of your symptoms, reduce your stress and get a good night’s sleep for a change.