Selecting the right kind of mattress

Selecting the right kind of mattress or bed has never been easier and harder.

Easier, because the variety and options of choice make it far easier to get exactly the right kind of mattress for any individual.

Harder, because the choice is so wide with so many differing alternatives that you are literally spoilt for choice.

This poses the question, “which type of mattress is best?”

The answer of course is different for everyone. Some people like firm beds whilst others like soft cushiony ones. Some like natural materials and others are happy with synthetic.

So how do you decide on the right mattress for you and your body, your sleeping positions and the inclusion or exclusion of a partner.

The best solution is to start by researching what is available. You can start by going into bed retailer and acquainting yourself with what is available and what the various options are.

Nest you need to narrow things down a little. There are a lot of choices and you need to exclude or dismiss some of them.

Once you are down to some real possibilities you can go to a store and check them out. The way to do this is by laying down on a bed in the same position that you would at home. Stay there for as long as you can. 5 minutes will tell you nothing, but 30 or more minutes should indicate if the bed is genuinely to your liking. If it is not, try something else.

This is very much a trial and error process that is all about eliminating some mattress types and favouring others.

If there are two of you this needs to be a joint process and you may need to make a compromise if you both have different favourites.

Other than that, do not get influenced by a sales person, or the technology that goes into a bed. Ultimately all you want to do is sleep on it. If it feel right then buy it, if it does not then move on.

Revitalising a mattress with a topper

This heading may be slightly misleading because you cannot turn an old and lumpy mattress into a new and bouncy one. However, mattress toppers can improve mattresses and change the way that they feel. Here is what a topper “is” and “can do”.

Firstly, a topper is placed over the top of a mattress – hence its name. It can be held in place by straps or elastic corner bands and its position is secured when the cover sheet is placed over it.

Toppers can be made of all kinds of fillers and this is where their advantages come to the fore.

Most people buy fairly cheap beds that use springs, normally open coil springs where each spring reacts with its adjacent counterparts.

Adding a topper to a mattress like this can add an additional bedding performance material to the bed.

Many toppers use one of the memory foam materials as a filler, with their slow recovery springyness and unique trait of shaping around whoever is sleeping on them.

The outcome of this is that a spring based bed can be transformed into something more like a multi material bed composed of both springs and memory foam. Beds like this cost a lot of money and the use of a topper can make this transformation very cheap indeed.

The reason why you would do this is not to make your mattress last longer, but to give it the qualities of a superior bed, but at a fraction of the price.

Toppers are not only filled with memory foam. They may have fillers of feathers and down, regular foam or organic materials like wool. This opens up a lot of choice and it means that you can really customise the way that your mattress feels.

Back support chair

In the UK at least, the reverse side of the rear page of many magazines like TV guides are covered with advertisements for what are described as “back care” chairs.

Like the term “orthopedic chair”, “back care chair” can mean a number of diverse and vague things, but what it is really suggesting is a seating system that offers the best type of support to the back. For this reason these back-care chairs are often straight backed with a high seat, good supportive arms and bolster either side of the backrest.

This kind of design is comfortable, it reduces stresses and strains on the back and the higher height of the seat makes them easy to sit into or stand up from.

Most back care chairs have visible legs. This is primarily because of the slightly higher seat height. By having open legs (and not a completely solid base) the chair looks lighter and its extra height is disguised.

Variations on back supportive seating

Most of these chairs look pretty similar, but some will have recliner features. These may see a padded leg rest project out from beneath the seat, or a “full recline” where the backrest tilts too. When this is the case there as subtle levers hidden in the arms or on the outside of the chair’s main body.



The riser recliner chair is the other popular option. This type of seat is motorized and tilts the padded seat forward in an angled way that helps someone stand up or sit down. This kind of chair is great for those who find standing and sitting hard, but they are comfortable into the bargain. Chairs of this design can be called lift and tilt chairs and this page http://www.riseandrecline.co.uk will tell you more about them. This site has pictures and descriptions of how these aids work and may be useful to the elderly or those who have trouble getting around.

The final type of back chair is the high backed model which is normally an aspect of all back-care chairs. The high back gives superior support to the upper back, neck and head and can help avoid a stiff neck if someone falls asleep whilst in a seated position. If offers greater purchase when getting up or sitting down and, in reality, is a good feature of any and all chairs, be they designed for health or comfort.

Healthy Shoes - what to look for

There are many different takes on healthy shoes. Some people call them orthopedic shoes – although this description may be reserved for special needs shoes, whilst others call them “comfort” shoes.

Ultimately what these shoes are really about is having a design, build and fit that is aimed at doing a job rather than looking good. Shoes of this type will have a roomy fit, no internally projecting stitching or junctions of material, low heals, breathable fabrics and good adjustable fittings to guarantee that the shoes “do” fit comfortably.

Most healthy, comfort-fit, or orthopedic shoes will come in varying width fittings. This is important as it is not only the length, but the width of people’s feet that vary in size. Wearing shoes that are too tight or too loose can cause discomfort and abrasion injuries, so getting the right width of shoe is very important.

Other features of these shoes include good soles with plenty of padding to cushion the feet. Ultimately the soles of the feet, although small in area, take the entire weight of the body and this makes a resilient well padded shoe sole absolutely vital.

Removable and replaceable insoles are another good attribute of healthy shoes. A removable insole makes it possible to replace an older insole as its functionality starts to fail, or to obtain an insole with particular properties, for example being made of gel.

The variety of orthopedic type shoes that are now available has increased dramatically over recent years, as has the aesthetics of these shoes. This has been helped by the current fashions that regard a chunky, heavy looking shoe as being modern and stylish.

The down side to this is that there are now many “comfort” stylized shoes that look healthy, but are simply designed to look that way and lack the real traits of this kind of shoe.

Always look for what a health product actually does rather than being persuaded by its visual appeal, or its fashion credibility.

Full body pillows

These are special pillows that are intended for the whole body rather than just the head. This type of pillow is long and narrow, typically about one to one and a half feet wide by 4 feet to 6 feet in length, although bigger and smaller sizes may be found.

Most body pillows are rectangular in shape, although some are shaped like a snake in a figure “S”. Some people find this shape more comfortable to sleep on (or around).

Body pillows can slept on in a number of different ways and by different styles of sleeper. However, they are most popular with people who sleep on their side. For these people the pillow helps to support the side of their body and it acts like a bolster.

Exactly how this kind of pillow is used for a normal sleeper is really a matter of personal choice, however many people do find them beneficial to their sleep.

Body pillows can be a great asset for any woman who is pregnant because the pillow will help to support the body and relieve pressure whilst in a lying down posture.

Other users

Other people who may gain from using a body pillow are those who suffer from muscle or bone pain, those who are very overweight and anyone who has had surgery (or is recovering from an injury) and wishes to be propped/supported in a specific sleeping position.

Because a body pillow is more cushioned and softer than a mattress it can prove very comfortable for those who like very soft beds, or easily suffer pressure sores etc.

Wheelchairs and sport

Not too long ago the expression “disabled” started to become politically incorrect - for one thing many people who were pigeon holed under this title were not fond of it, and for another many felt that they were more than capable of doing anything that a “so called able bodied” person could do.

Superficially the last statement sounds somewhat optimistic, however, taking sport as an example, with adaptations, some simple changes in rules, and Hi-Tec equipment, someone in a wheelchair can play pretty much any and all sports.

Developments in wheelchair design

Some 30 to 35 years ago wheelchairs were generally all the same, the only real difference was that some were motorized and powered by battery, however times, and wheelchairs, have moved on.

In the 21st century you can buy not just a range of different sports wheelchairs, but wheelchairs designed for specific sports like badminton, tennis or track racing. Wheelchairs like this have strong lightweight designs with unbelievable dexterity, manoeuvrability and handling. In short, they have a range of features that make them perfect for playing all kinds of different sports.

There are many different wheelchair sports and they range for static sports like archery and shooting to high speed impact sports like basketball. You can even get wheelchairs for participation in dancing!

An example – basketball

The wheelchairs that are used for basketball are light, strong and protective with leg and lower body guards that wrap around the front section of the wheelchair. Their large rear wheels slant outwards (from top to bottom) and this gives them better stability and balance. They will usually have one (or a par of) additional castor wheels at the rear of the chair to prevent it from tipping during impacts and direction changes.

Interestingly, wheelchair basketball has become a popular sport in its own right and it is now played by able bodied teams who use wheelchairs only when participating in the sport.

Basketball is of course just one of the many sports that now have specially adapted wheelchairs designed for them and you can easily find out more about the different chair types and the sports that they allow someone to play at. This page has (now removed) links to sections covering track racing, static sports and even extreme wheelchair sports. It will also tell you abut standard and motorised wheelchairs and provide some information about obtaining a wheelchair through the British National Health Service.

Bathroom aids and utilities

Some of the more interesting, ergonomic and cleverly designed people-use products are those produced for mobility disabled people.

These may be individuals whose age, state of health, or injury due to an accident have either incapacitated them, or reduced their independence. Products designed for these people are aimed trying to ensure that everyday activities, challenges and pleasures can be enjoyed without the assistance of a carer, or a third party.

Some of the most innovative products of this type can be found in bathrooms as the bathroom is an essential part of everyday life. It is also a challenging and potentially dangerous room, and one which can benefit greatly from some of the many aids that are currently available.

Examples of special bathroom facilities include toilet lifters, or toilets that rise, descend, and even have a shower cleaning and warm air drying function.

Shower seating, which can be foldable, dismountable or mobile, can remove the need to stand up whilst in the shower and grab rails, located in strategic positions, can make this cubicle a safer place.

Steps, seats and plinths can be added to a bathroom to make sitting and standing less of an effort, or to reduce the height that needs to be ascended when, e.g. getting into a bath.

When it comes to bathing, walk in baths with their own water tight doors and fast filling and emptying tubs can make getting into and out of a bath easier. You can even get lift chairs or hoists that can lift someone in and out of a bath with ease.

There is a massive array of bathroom gadgets available and you can get a better idea of what some of them are by doing some online searches. Even for those with a limited budget, rails, bars, cushions and soft non-slip floor covers can make the bathroom an easier place for the less able person to negotiate.

Other possible aids include moveable toilets (commodes), transfer lifts and wash basins with ergonomic taps that can be operated without the need to grip or twist them.