About me

For some people, sleeping is only something they must do to get on with their lives. For others, it is almost life itself, it is an activity that brings them boundless joy and remains, throughout the entire span of their lives, the very center of their experiences. When all this is taken into consideration, the reader may imagine what a torture it must be to have had the terrible experience of sleeping on a mattress that was too hard, too soft, or full of bumps. The reasons why a mattress or a bed may result in an experience below what we consider satisfactory can be quite varied, and so many topics and discussions can be had thereof.

My wife and I have thus decided to share our experiences in trying different brands and products throughout years of commitment to search for the ideal sleeping material and equipment. Needless to say, the beds and mattresses under discussion have been used for more than sleeping. The reader may readily identify himself with a few of the situations in which we encountered on this particular front. A bed that is too soft or that bounces too much will certainly create problems for the couple looking for some night-time activity, for instance. While a too firm or hard, it may be of good use for that particular activity which we have just mentioned, but may be considered by some people to be too hard to sleep on. Doctors, however, recommend a firm surface on which to sleep.

This soft versus hard issue opens up a whole new area in which mattresses and beds themselves ought to be considered if one is to obtain any form of measurement of their success. The issue of cultural perceptions on what the ideal mattress for sleeping is becomes apparent once you realize that Japanese people literally sleep on hard surfaces that are closer to wooden planks than to actual mattresses. These are the famous —or infamous, tatamis, which my wife and I have had the regrettable experience of sleeping on. However, the experience itself was of great benefit for us when it comes to learning directly from going through an ordeal. The excruciating pain and unbearable back pain that I personally suffered after that night of crucifixion concentrated my mind upon the subject that many realizations were forced out of my tired mind through the martyrdom of my tortured body. Perhaps this is one the secrets to the wisdom of the East. But, who knows?

And if there was anything worse than trying to find a comfortable bed for our bedroom, it’s having to stay in beds other people have chosen for us. Being a guest can be a complete chore. You can’t complain, you’re a guest in someone’s house, but it can be a nightmare. So, my wife and I set out to make guests in our house more comfortable than we were in theirs. Having been made to sleep on futons that feel like a wooden torture rack with a lumpy cushion on top, we knew we weren’t going to try one of those. Fold out beds held the issue of being too short for anyone much over 5ft tall, about fine for my wife maybe, but my feet were on the cold floor all night. Not one of those either then. Now then, air mattresses were more comfortable, maybe not as much as a normal bed, but certainly enough for a night or two. So, I suppose if you don’t have a spare bedroom to put an actual bed in, air mattresses would be my recommendation, it excludes the lumpy or thin mattress issues.

At this point the readers may be asking themselves why so much fuss about something so simple as a bed and a mattress. Why not just go out there and get something satisfactory and be done with it? Why keep complaining about it? Our answer to those who have that kind of question or objection in mind is that each person has something he holds dear and for us that is sleep and bed activities in themselves, for they open up a whole world of possibilities to us human beings. You might as well ask a wine or coffee fan why he cares so much about the taste of coffee or wine. Some things are just a matter of taste.