Disrupted sleep

Having spent a night away sleeping in a different bed I have become all too aware of firstly, the value of a good mattress and secondly, the difficulties of adapting to a less supportive mattress than the one that I am accustomed to.

The mattress that I slept on on Saturday is one that I have used a number of times and it is fairly new, hardly ever used, and a super king in size. Even so the change from the multi material body shaping mattress that I sleep on every day to this spring-only mattress was enough to make sleeping a difficult activity.

This highlights two factors. The first is that I had clearly adapted to a less than ideal bed support and the second is that it would appear that once you are “spoilt” with a good mattress it becomes difficult to get a decent night’s sleep on anything less. This is a minor problem in itself.

Also interesting was a conversation that I had with my in-laws (whose home we were visiting) and who both believed that a firm to hard bed was the best for the back and who both genuinely do sleep their best on a very firm mattress.

What this highlights is not the fact that some people are misinformed about beds and mattresses, but rather that we all like and adapt to different types of bedding and that what works for one, or is even recommended by “experts”, may not be right for someone else.

For my part I would certainly recommend a bed with some kind of memory foam, Latex foam or Gel structure as a top level comfort and support level, but this is not to say that it would work for everyone.

It is also interesting to note how many people are dissatisfied with very expensive beds by Tempur, Kaymed etc when so many other owners (like me) will extol the virtues of these beds and argue that their higher cost is money well spent.

Mattress topper - foam variety

I have mentioned mattress toppers on a number of occasions, but previously without first hand experience of sleeping on one. I can now correct that and give some direct feedback.

About 3 months ago we bought a foam mattress (firmness rating 9) to cover a stop gap between getting rid of an old mattress and buying a new bed.

Needles to say this “concrete like” mattress was firm beyond belief and we both found it impossible to sleep on. With a new bed on the way it was pointless replacing this mattress, so we opted to buy a foam topper to cover the new bed delivery period and soften up our sleeping surface during the interim.

We paid about £25 for the topper (very cheap) and it took the form of a series of quilted sections with a soft foam like filling. The topper was (is) about 1 inch in thickness when not compressed.

Our overall view was that the topper did soften the sleeping surface, however with the mattress in question it was still close to intolerable and we were elated when the new bed arrived.

You can get some additional detail about toppers on this - http://www.foammattresstopper.org informative site about bedding.

So what is the verdict?

I would make a strong assumption that, with a rock like mattress (such as the one we suffered with), a good quality mattress topper of a fair thickness (i.e. at least 1.5 inches) would enhance the sleeping characteristics. Indeed, I would guess that a memory foam topper would probably convert such a mattress into a very good sleeping surface. Our “minimal spend” was not however enough to do this, although it should be added that anyone who likes a firm mattress/topper may well love it.

Electrically operated chairs

We have been checking out some cars recently as we intend to buy a sports car for weekend use asap.

The model that we are interested comes with almost everything as standard and this, amongst other features, includes electric seats.

I bring this up because it is amazing how many cars now include power seat options. The vehicle that we are considering has 8 way electric adjustment of both seats and the seats are even heated.

Why then are such adjustments not included in home furniture.

Some living room suites have recline actions and extendable leg rests, but normally only to fixed positions and with no power assistance.

Dining chairs and have no movable parts and only ergonomic office chairs and chairs for the elderly that “rise and recline” have any motorisation. See http://www.orthopedicchair.net/ for examples of these.

It seems that in the home furnishing market an appreciation of orthopedic chairs and chairs with some level of angle, height and tilt adjustment is rare, if not unheard of!

This also becomes confusing as the cost of motors and remote control operation is now so low and affordable. Indeed, when you combine this with the increased awareness of spinal problems, care for the back, and generally looking after our posture, it would seem that there is a potential market out there.

I would guess that many people would happily pay for an electrically adjustable arm chair and that many would feel the same way about a “high use” office chair. So why are these products not widely available, particularly in the USA where “motorised everything” seems the norm.

Toppers and Kaymed bed

I will not reproduce the article here, but the information contained within it can be found at http://www.foammattresstopper.org and some advice on selecting the right mattress topper can also be found at http://www.foammattresstopper.org/choosing-topper.html. This second link summarises the different filler materials and the sleeping properties that they are claimed to offer. It will act as a guide to anyone considering buying a new topper.

It is important to remember that a mattress topper, which may cost almost as much as a new cheap mattress, will not revitalise an old, damaged or “past its best” mattress.

Never buy a mattress topper in the hope that it will save the cost of replacing an existing mattress that no longer functions as it should.

The Kaymend Gel Nest Ultra 1800

I have added a new post to the mini blog that I set up to offer feedback on the Kaymed bed that we purchased a short time ago. The first “proper” review of this bed can now be found at http://gel-beds.blogspot.com.

New entry to the Gel bed sub-blog

I completed the collection of orthopedic products purchases at the weekend when the Kaymed gel nest ultra 1800 bed was delivered about 5 weeks after the initial sale. (This was in accordance with the delivery information that we were given.)

I now have the multi adjustable ergonomic chair, the gel insoles, the gel mouse mat and finally the gel/memory foam/pocket spring bed which makes the “health” based buying spree complete.

As of now it is too early to evaluate the bed on comfort, “sleepability” etc, but the bed blog has a new entry at http://gel-beds.blogspot.com which covers the basics in terms of appearance, size etc.

The mouse mat too has seen little use over the last few days as I have been out of online (and indeed all IT) action since Wednesday last week.

The chair continues to function well and I will add an entry to the blog that I set up for that purpose in another few days or so.

Gel mouse mat

I have now purchased the third of my gel based products, namely a mouse mat.

I had looked at the many dozens available online through the likes of Amazon, but I saw a plain black one in a UK trade-only store called Makro at £4.99 plus Vat (currently 15%), so I bought it there and then.

Price wise this was around half of what I have previously seen these mats go for and, although plain in appearance, it is a circular mat in keeping with most of my previous mats.

The gel bit forms a protruding soft rest that the wrist sits on and one of the ideas behind it is that it is not only soft and spongy, but also cool to the touch. Having not used this kind of “support” style mouse mat before I can already sense that it may take some getting used to, however I suspect that it is a good idea, so I will persevere.

Given the fact that I have already set up 3 new blogs for the other orthopedic products that I have purchased (and that I am currently reviewing), I will confine my ongoing reviews of the mouse mat to this “main” blog. This means that I will periodically mention the gel mat and its suitability (or otherwise) to my mouse and PC use in this orthopedic blog.

My ergonomic task chair

I have added another review (after a couple of weeks of use) of my task chair. It can be found in the separate blog that I set up for this purpose at the url that is mentioned in previous posts concerning the chair, bed and gel insoles that I have bought.

I will add some further thoughts on the insoles later this week, but I still await a delivery date for the biggest and most expensive item – the Gel bed.

Frankly, this bed cannot arrive soon enough as the foam mattress that we are using at present is as hard as concrete and I am finding all aspects of its performance disappointing to say the least. I have long had concerns about foam-only beds and this (budget) one has so far confirmed all of my misgivings about these spring-less materials.

More to come soon.