In this fast-paced world, getting a good night’s sleep has become more of a luxury than a necessity. While the National Sleep Foundation states that individual sleep needs vary across ages and lifestyles, an average person getting between six and eight hours every night will have slept for 20 to 25 years, or about one third of their entire life, over the course of a 75 year life span! Numbers like these should make everyone obsess over their bed but ironically, the mattress is one of the most understated and ignored pieces of furniture despite being one of the most used.
Today, there is a variety of mattresses available on the market to accommodate different needs and wants, and with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, the mattress industry continues to be a multibillion dollar industry. According to the International Sleep Products Association, the mattress industry grossed a whopping $231.6 million in September 2007 alone and that was lower than expected! Although the number of mattresses sold annually continues to drop, the mattress industry hopes that the steady rise in prices will sustain the market as more and more people opt for luxury mattresses.
Mattress History
Mattresses have been around for thousands of years. Humans originally slept on makeshift mattresses stuffed with leaves and animal hair in order to stay warm and dry. According to the Discovery Channel show ‘How it’s made,’ the wealthy often had their mattresses raised above the ground by placing them onto wooden frames or bedsteads; and the concept of a raised bed didn’t become common among the middle class until the 1600s. Encyclopedia.com states that the innerspring mattress was developed in the mid 1800s but wasn’t popularized until after World War I when it was mass produced by the Zalmon Simmons, Jr., bedstead company.
While there have been several improvements on the innerspring mattress and other types of mattresses introduced to the market, several centuries later we still rely on virtually the same product. The fact that the mattress has survived through time is a testament to the importance human beings have placed on getting a good night’s sleep.
Mattress Types and Sizes
Mattresses are built in many different sizes but the most commonly purchased are twin, full, queen, and king. Twin mattresses are 39 inches wide by 75 inches long; full (also known as double) mattresses are 53 inches wide by 75 inches long; queen mattresses are 60 inches wide by 80 inches long; and king mattresses are 76 inches wide by 80 inches long. Mattress thickness varies from brand to brand due to differences in building materials.
Popular mattress types include innerspring, foam, water, air, synthetic fill and animal hair fill.
Innerspring or coil mattresses start out as a series of metal coils attached to a metal mattress frame. This metal frame is then covered with several layers of fabric to prevent any coils from poking through and to provide enough cushioning for comfort. This type of mattress can have open coils that are hourglass shaped or pocket coils that are barrel-shaped and provide more support.
Foam mattresses were introduced in the 1970s and gained popularity because they were hypoallergenic, mold resistant and easy to maintain; they are still popular today for the same reasons. Memory foam is a gel-like material that adjusts to pressure and bounces back once the pressure is released. It is an improved version of NASA memory foam technology and a Swedish company introduced it to the general public in the early 1990s.
Surprisingly, waterbeds have been around for thousands of years and were originally made from animal skins filled with water. The informational site, about.com, states that these beds were sold in the United States during the late 1800s as therapeutic devices but boomed in popularity during the 1960s as vinyl became popular. Air beds are also commonly crafted from vinyl but unlike waterbeds they are rarely used as permanent mattresses due to the inevitable air leakage.
There are also mattresses that are filled with synthetic fibers, such as futon mattresses; and animal hair mattresses that use wool and horse hair. One luxury mattress filled with horse hair, cotton and wool currently retails for around $50,000.
More on key features of mattresses.
Some people prefer futons.
Negative Aspects
Since mattresses cannot be washed, they accumulate body oils, body fluids and dead skin cells over time; and most mattresses are also home to dust mites. Dust mites are barely visible to the naked eye but they feed on dead skin cells and deposit their feces all over the mattresses they live on; that fecal matter is irritating to the human respiratory tract and generally causes allergies and asthma attacks.
The Better Sleep Council recommends that mattresses be replaced every five to seven years; this is probably the healthiest thing to do. Unfortunately, this also creates an environmental problem since mattresses are generally not biodegradable and end up taking up space in landfills. According to Furniture Today, a weekly furniture industry reporter, there are a few companies that are producing “green mattresses” made with recycled and eco friendly materials such as sustainable wood, natural rubber and cotton but until these become mainstream, the disposal of mattresses will continue to be a problem.
It would be ideal if mattresses were kept out of landfills and reused as other products often are but there are problems associated with used mattresses as well. Many mattresses sold in second hand stores are full of body oils and body fluid stains, and there’s always a chance that those mattresses have been picked up from the trash, dusted off and put up for sale; all of those factors leave the buyer with a filthy mattress and a possible bed bug problem, which undetected can spread through an entire house through carpets and clothing. Also, if there happens to be mold growing inside the mattress, it could be extremely toxic and hazardous to a person’s health.
Mattress Care
Each new mattress has a tag on one side describing what the mattress is made of and how to care for it; these guidelines should be followed whenever possible because the manufacturer knows what is best for their product.
The best way to keep a mattress clean is by regularly vacuuming it and airing it out for a few minutes every month. It’s a good idea to cover the mattress with a latex or vinyl mattress cover to prevent any moisture from reaching the mattress; this is particularly useful if you have children who wet the bed. A cotton mattress pad is also very useful because it will prevent body oils and sweat from reaching the mattress and it can be removed and washed periodically. If for whatever reason the mattress does get wet, the best thing to do is to blot the stain dry with a towel. Once dry, the stain can be cleaned with a small amount of cleaning solution and sprinkled with an absorbent like cornstarch or baking soda. After leaving the mattress to dry for at least a day, any residue can be vacuumed. Unmaintained mattresses can grow some nasty stuff ; one study links mattress bacteria to sudden infant death syndrome.
It is very easy to forget about the mattresses in our lives because they
are normally hidden under sheets and blankets. We should remember that
a mattress is an investment that needs regular maintenance to ensure that
it provides maximum comfort and quality sleep for many years. The mattress
industry says they last 8 to 10 years, but you need to take that recommendation
with a very large grain of salt.