LET’S GET PERSONAL: CHOOSING A MATTRESS

The subject today is choosing a mattress!
It’s a mine field, right? How in the world do you choose the best mattress for YOU?

There are hundreds of brands at many different mattress and home furnishings stores. And then there is the on-line choice.

So, let me tell you my own story and maybe it will help you.

We had a foam mattress. It was the first of that kind we had bought and we bought it when they were fairly new and novel : read expensive and hard to find.

We paid a fortune for our queen size. Then we also bought a box spring to go with it which, when they arrived at our house, didn’t fit up the stairs so back it went to be redelivered as a “split box.” So we have two separate box units that equal a queen size. Are you with me?

We loved it! There was a slight issue with the warm feeling that many people feel: the foam somehow increases the body heat and sort of traps it underneath you. Well, luckily that problem disappeared for us with a week. We were totally sold on the foam concept versus a coil or spring mattress.

About five years later we began to notice that the foam simply was not springing back into place: there were permanent indentations from our bodies! Hmmm. ( Really…we are not big people!) We called the company but by then they had been bought by another, plus the warranty didn’t include anything like this. So we let it go.

Fast forward another ten years. Yep. By the time the mattress was fifteen years old we had become totally complacent and used to the by-now very very deep body indentations. And it felt kind of cozy to slip into our individual cocoons each night! Neither of us had/has sleeping problems, and we are both basically back sleepers and were not experiencing any kind of back problems at all…thus the complacency.

But it was time to deal with this problem.

Let me tell you about

Saatva! 

What do I like about Saatva?

• They have eliminated the middle man: you buy direct from the manufacturer.
• They have a generous return policy:  There is a 75-day no hassle return policy. If you don’t like the mattress they will come and pick it up:  “No penalty fees, pick-up fees or restocking fees.”
• Their website is easy to understand and follow.
• They use all eco-friendly materials. I had just read this article from CertiPUR explaining foam products. This company is a good example of going green in their use of raw materials.
• The three comfort levels they offer: Plush Soft, Luxury Firm and Firm seemed very reasonable to me. Yes, we had to choose sight (and feel) unseen. But I felt their explanations were sufficient and we knew we did not like soft and yet we didn’t want VERY firm or hard.  So we chose the level Firm.
• Maybe what really sold me is that they offer all mattresses in two depths: 14 1/2″ and 11 1/2″. This had been an ongoing problem with so many other brands: we definitely did NOT want a deep 14″ mattress. For one thing, none of our present sheets would fit. And I just don’t want that MUCH mattress. I don’t need it. It’s too bulky and heavy. But it was becoming very difficult to find a slimmer mattress. Thank you, Saatva, for offering this!
• And then we have the reviews. I scoured so many sites and forums and read numerous blogs and found that Saatva has such a good reputation and such great reviews.

So there you have it. This is NOT a real sampling of mattresses, but a very personal recommendation of this one brand. Finally, we have a nice flat mattress with no hill in the middle, nice firm edges, and no deep cocoons on either side. It’s wonderful!

And did I mention price? More than competitive: it’s great!

Of course, we would all love to hear your comments and any recommendations you have. Have you had a good, or bad, mattress experience?  Do tell….