Bed 'Sale' and Other Bed Industry Myths

The bed industry is full of myths and mis-information

While making such an important decision, it is very easy to be influenced by dubious and in some cases, misleading claims. Here are a few to look out for.

**SALE** 50% off Beds and Mattresses - HURRY! Last 24 hours

Many bed and mattress retailers seem to be always on Sale. But aren't Sales for clearing out last season's or old stock to make space for new? In the world of made-to-order furniture, where there is no such thing as a season, Sales are not, in our view, real Sales. A £1,000 bed cut in price to £699 ("30% Off"!!) is not a £1,000 quality bed, it was made to be sold as a £699 bed. So, the honest approach is to sell it as a £699 bed, every day of the year - which is what we do.

"A firm mattress is good for your back", or any mattress labelled as "orthopaedic"

One of the biggest bed myths is that firm mattresses are better for your back. A firm mattress may provide the right level of support for some people, but may be completely wrong for others.

The right mattress firm-ness or tension depends largely (but not exclusively) on your weight and your sleeping position. A light person, who sleeps on their side, requires a softer and more yielding mattress, and would be ill-advised to sleep on a firm mattress. To get the correct support, your body weight needs to engage the springs. Then you get the support in the correct areas of your neck, shoulders, lower back, bottom and hips. A light person on a firm mattress is not heavy enough to engage the springs: because the springs are not being engaged, they offer no support. A heavier person on a soft mattress engages the springs too much, so the springs stop working and give no support.

"One size fits all" (otherwise known as "the perfect mattress")

The support a mattress provides will change from person to person. Depending on different factors such as your weight, sleeping position or personal preference, mattresses will offer a different level of support. Therefore it is important that you choose a mattress that feels right for you, and supports you properly. There is not such thing as the perfect mattress to suit everyone.

"You must buy your bed and mattress from the same place"

Sure, some mattresses may feel different on one bed base versus another but that does not mean that you are tied to buying your bed and mattress from the same retailer. It is an age old sales technique that ignores the fact that mattresses just need a supportive base, usually a flat surface, to function. The key to getting the right support is finding the right mattress.

"You must replace your mattress every 7 or 8 years"

The truth is that the life of a mattress varies wildly, depending on the quality of the mattress, how well you take care of it, how often you rotate it, the vigorousness of use and so on. You’ll know when it’s time to get a new mattress based on how you feel when you wake up. We would regard it is as failure if any of our mattresses did not provide blissful sleep for less than 10 years.

"A sprung base is best for your mattress"

Box spring bases (with large coils dropped into a deep base) were first invented to help soften the feeling of mattresses, which used to be much thinner than they are today, with fewer, larger springs. With good quality, deeper mattresses (in excess of 20cm), box spring bases have a negligible effect on feel and are often used as an opportunity to persuade you to spend more money.

"A slatted base promotes air circulation within the mattress"

Don't get us started on this! Unless you have a unique micro climate promoting air flow under your bed, there is no benefit in terms of air flow of putting your mattress on a slatted base. Your mattress should be engineered to vent moisture and heat through the top and sides, and if it has natural fibre fillings and cover, will absorb moisture and control temperature well enough as it is. The truth is that slatted beds are cheaper to produce and transport, and can fail over time.

"Our most advanced mattress…..with the latest breakthrough technology"

Call us old-fashioned but we are skeptical whenever we see a registered ® or patent mark alongside the latest "breakthrough mattress technology". Firstly there are very few genuine breakthroughs in mattress manufacturing (memory foam was one, but that, in our view, does not make it a good mattress material, not to mention the environmental damage - more of that elsewhere). Secondly, most are re-hashes of old ideas, dressed up to make a poor or average mattress more attractive.

"Award-Winning mattress"…..

We're probably shooting ourselves in the foot here but.... *Best* 'something-or-other' awards from well-known associations or brands that purport to champion consumers, are in our opinion very misleading. Companies pay to use these labels, and the testing methodologies are limited to say the least - a tester's view of a mattress is one person's opinion. Thinking about it, why are the lists of 'Best' mattresses always dominated by foam filled mattresses, backed by millions of pounds of marketing money, that are shocking for the environment)? Mmmm.