|
Mattress Comparison:
Inner
Spring Mattress
Inner spring
mattresses are the most commonly used mattresses. Unfortunately these
mattresses do not provide adequate support. When you sleep on your side, there's more
pressure on shoulders and hips, cutting off circulation at key pressure
points on your body. Typical innerspring mattresses resist the weight
of these pressure points; they "push up" when they should be letting
you sink in. Or else they just sag all over, still not providing the
right support at these points. These pressure points and sags can put
the body into positions where musco-skeletal stresses can undo the
benefits of sleep.
Water
Beds
Water beds
exert less pressures on the body than traditional inner spring
mattresses. Waterbeds were actually the originally coveted
for pressure reduced sleep as it has significantly less pressure points
than inner spring mattresses. Unfortunately the less pressure
is merely a side effect of water displacement. This
displacement creates what is known as a hammock effect. This
creates unsafe stress on the spine and causes chronic back pain if used
for a long period of time.
Air
Mattress
Air mattresses are available in multiple firmness settings based on
your choice. Each side of the mattress can be adjusted from very
soft to very firm. The Sleep Number bed is the first of this kind; they
are very expensive. In
lieu of springs, the Sleep Number uses inflatable air chambers to
adjust firmness with a remote control. A mattress
review done by Consumer Reports found that there
are complaints in owner reviews that this bed is not as comfortable as
expected, and that it is too expensive. Reviews say an in-store test is
essential before you buy one of these.
Some airbed manufacturers claim that since they baffle (separate) the
air into multiple chambers that these mattresses have a great ability
to conform to the shape of the human body. However, it is
obvious that manufacturing an air mattress with many chambers will only
create more pressure points. The only benefit of baffling an
air mattress is that it reduces the hammock effect.
The latest trend with premium airbeds is to incorporate a top layer of
memory foam which just proves that an airbed is not a smart way to
sleep.
The other apparent benefit of an airbed would be the ability to adjust
one's side of the bed differently than a partner's side. Although this
would be a nice feature, it allows one to adjust to one's perceived
comfort, which in our experience is often not consistent with proper
support. This is similar to the common finding that a lot of folks will
take comfort in the thought of falling into a big overstuffed easy
chair, although most of us now know that this type of chair is not
supportive and can be destructive to our spine.
Additionally, we have found that adjusting the pressure an airbed to
mid or lower values allows the hammock effect to be applied to the
spine. This makes any appeal in having an adjustable air bed completely
useless in terms of overall back support and benefit.
Latex Mattresses
Latex mattresses conform to pressure in a level almost as good as
memory foam. The main concern with purchasing a latex mattress is
longevity. They typically last a few years, and consequently
become expensive if replacement is necessary several times within a
decade. Talalay and Dunlop are the most common forms of a
latex mattress. Talalay is the more involved process and provides the
best resilience. It is also washed to remove any impurities. Latex
gives you a bouncy feel, after all it is rubber. All latex is not alike
and quality levels vary greatly between the different latex options. Be
careful and ensure that you purchase the best possible quality latex
available.
Memory Foam
Pillows:
You have a few
options when it comes to pillows: The ubiquitous contour pillow,
comfort pillow (shaped like a regular pillow) and various luxury
pillows. The contour pillow is a favorite among back sleepers
and some side sleepers. Luxury pillows come in a couple
different types. Some have a satin side for cool sleeping and
others are ornate which make a handsome addition to any bed.
Consumers
beware! You will find
“memory foam” pillows everywhere; from wal-mart and
other big retailers to online retailers, specialty magazines and
etc. The pillows these companies sell are actually more foam
than memory foam, so support and comfort are greatly
compromised.
Memory
Foam Toppers:
Only purchase
when the underlying mattress is in good condition, as memory foam will
contour to the shape of the mattress. Generally 4 pound density memory
foam will be sufficient, although with very heavy people or those
looking for a product that is going to last longer than five years 5.3
pound memory foam is be better.
We also recommend going with a mattress that has at least 3" of memory
foam. A memory foam mattress is made up of layers of different
material. On the bottom is some sort of base layer. This can be
anything from inner spring to latex foam. Usually memory foam
mattresses have a 5 - 6" base of a fairly dense polyurethane foam as
the base layer. On top of the bed you find the memory foam layer. And
we recommend 3" of memory foam on the top since this gives you a real
luxurious feel on top of the bed.
These basic recommendations should help you narrow the field of memory
foam mattresses a bit, but there are plenty out there that still fit
these general criteria. So how do you choose? Well, unfortunately one
of the problems with memory foam mattresses is that they are
temperature sensitive - which means the memory foam layer softens up
over time with your body's heat. And different memory foams react
differently to body heat; that is, they take different amounts of time
to soften and they soften to different degrees. So unlike standard
mattresses, you may not get a very good idea of the comfort of a
particular memory foam mattress by trying it out in a store. You just
don't have the time in a store test to see what the mattress will feel
like over a whole night's sleep of having the foam interact with your
body's particular body temperature (some people sleep warm, others
don't, etc.).
When will I need to replace my mattress?
Many years of use will undoubtedly compromise the
original shape of the mattress.
Indentations become permanent and reduce the quality of
support. The focus then, becomes on how much use a mattress can undergo
before deteriorating
Consider this: Lower density memory foams break down within
several years because there are less visco elastic cells.
Each mattress is consists of billions of cells however since lower
density has less visco elastic cells there is relatively more stress on
each cell thus greatly reducing the life of the mattress. With more air
than substance, wear in low density visco elastic foam may become
visible in as early as 3 years.
Medical Articles
We found
informative and convincing articles at WebMD.com and Chicago's Daily
Southtown, both of which feature interviews with medical experts and
chiropractors. A November 23, 2004 article published in The
New York Times by Mary Duenwald cites interviews with experts such as
Dr. David N. Neubauer, associate director of the Johns Hopkins Sleep
Disorders Center in Baltimore, and neurologist Dr. Clete Kushida,
director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research.
Also helpful are the results of a Spanish scientific study
published in The Lancet in November 2003. Reports on their research
offer helpful lessons and insights.
Synopsis
The article by Leanna Skarnulis and reviewed by Charlotte Mathis, M.D.
discusses the health merits of Sleep Number beds versus other
technologies which claim health benefits. The article is
primarily focused on helping consumers find a mattress that will
alleviate and relieve symptoms of
“…arthritis, back pain, hiatal hernia, varicose
veins, asthma, heartburn, or insomnia.”
An interesting point of the article chastises Sleep Number for claiming
to have health benefits. Charles Cefalu, M.D. states that the
only beds that can claim to be therapeutic are either prescribed by
physicians for home or have the same technology as the beds (i.e.
memory foam beds) used in burn units.
Jeffrey K.
Bergin, DC, dean at the National University of Health Sciences in
Lombard, Ill says “the memory foam mattress is best for
anyone with back pain or osteoarthritis.” He also
adds that "It supports the entire body at all the pressure points as
though you're floating. It really is a remarkable discovery.”
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/76/90337.htm
Synopsis
The article by
Sid Kirchheimer and reviewed by Michael Smith, M.D. addresses the issue
of mattress firmness for alleviating back pain. A study
published in the medical journal Lancet tested the
maxim that firmer mattresses are better for addressing back pain and
concluded that this popular notion is in fact quite flawed.
Chiropractor
George McClelland spokesman for the American Chiropractic Association
states that ""The spine is not a straight line, and padding or a
moderately firm mattress 'gives' better to the concavities and
convexities of the spine," he says. "…as we get middle years
any beyond, when back pain is more prevalent, we find that more
equalized support seems to be better." Equalized support is
done by creating a pressure-less sleep environment, as accomplished
with memory foam.
|
