How To Choose The Right Mattress

Checking if a mattress is right for you is a really simple process, but it's something that the mattress and bed industry don’t often speak about as they focus on the one fits all mattress in a box approach. When checking if a mattress is right for you the first thing you should do is lie on the floor in the foetal position, with your arms and legs gently folded. You will discover that there is a large gap between your cheek and the floor, this is what a mattress aims to correct. You can now adopt this position on the mattress to see how close your face is to the surface of the mattress. If your face isn’t touching the mattress and you feel the need to add a pillow, the mattress is too firm. If your head is being raised out of alignment by the mattress then it is too soft. The right mattress will allow you to sleep comfortably, without a pillow, but with your head, neck and spine staying nicely aligned. It’s important to sleep in the foetal position, on your non-dominant side, as this is a key position in aiding the brain to enter a sleep state. The opposite side to your dominant side is less sensitive and enables your dominant side to protect you whilst you sleep. You can see a visual demonstration of a mattress check at the end of this blog.

So, now you know how to judge if a mattress is right for you, what do you do if you discover your mattress isn’t? Your first thought may be you need to run out and purchase a new mattress, however a lot of issues can be corrected by adding other layers to your sleep set up. If your mattress is slightly too soft, adding a topper can correct this. If your mattress is too firm, the R90 Mattress Topper and R90 Comforter would be a good option. You can keep adding layers until your sleeping surface is releasing correctly to your body profile. Just ensure that your mattress is not collapsed as adding layers cannot correct this.

If you are wanting to purchase a new mattress, it can be difficult to tell what would be right for you if you are purchasing online. Without going into a retailer and trying every mattress how will you know? The R90 Mattress is the world’s first mattress available in the 3 medical body profiles. It makes clear sense that people with different heights and weights are going to have different requirements in a mattress. Yet there is no acknowledgment of body profiles in the mattress industry and most mattresses are sold as a one fits all. Each R90 Mattress has been designed to release to the right amount, for your specific body profile, to allow comfortable sleep in the recommended foetal position.

The 3 medical body profiles are Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph. Ecto’s have narrow shoulders and hips and thin long limbs. Meso’s tend to have shoulders wider than their hips and Endo’s are broader with shorter arms and legs. Use the below image to decide which body profile best suits you.

It’s important to remember that products alone can’t produce major changes to your sleep, unless it is your products specifically causing you problems, a combination of good sleeping products with a correct sleeping approach and routine are key to better sleep. Elite sleep coach, Nick Littlehales, has over 20 years experience in the sleep industry and can provide coaching to anyone wanting to redefine their sleep approach for improvements in sleep quality, performance and overall wellbeing.

How to complete a mattress check

1. Lie on the floor in a foetal position and observe the gap between your head and the floor.

2. Repeat this on your current mattress and observe the gap. As you can see on the image below, there is a considerable gap meaning the surface is too firm.

3. An extra layer R90 Mattress Topper has been added, which reduces the gap.

4. A final layer R90 Comforter is added, removing the gap and aligning the head and neck correctly.