what comes first? the chicken or the egg?

homealone_2

or should I say the bed frame or the mattress? I want the type of bed I sink into which I keep finding and loving on my many weekends away. I cant be sleeping on the same mattress everywhere I go so I have to admit its my bed that's the problem and what I need to change. so my question is what is the important bit? i want a chrome type bed frame and marshmallow mattress but do i need to get a particular kind of frame or is it that i can choose any frame (which range from 80 in argos to 300 in bensons) that needs to have certain slats or something or is it the mattress that i need to concentrate on getting the squidgy and more expensive?

Pinkypants

Pocket sprung mattress on a Sprung Edge divan base is what you want.

Then get a Chrome type headboard.

Either that or make sure the slats of the frame are of the "sprung" type not a solid piece of wood.

homealone_2

thanks that's really helpful, now off to do some mattress bouncing

Biggles

A soft mattress feels nice initially but firm mattresses are better for you in the long run, both in terms of how well you sleep and how well they treat your back over the years.

Most good hotels I go to have nice firm mattresses, too, I'm pleased to say.

Pinkypants

Biggles wrote: »

A soft mattress feels nice initially but firm mattresses are better for you in the long run, both in terms of how well you sleep and how well they treat your back over the years.

Most good hotels I go to have nice firm mattresses, too, I'm pleased to say.

Where does this information come from?

FIRM mattresses are NOT good for your back. This is a horrible idea passed down through the generations. When mattresses where like a hammock and didn't support your body, the only alternative back then was a firm mattress.

Your back needs SUPPORT which is totally different from firmness.

Lie on your back, on the hardest thing I know, the floor. Your shoulder blades and bum take all the body weight, your lower back gets NO support at all. You could slide you hand into your lower back.

No take a gentle but supportive mattress like pocket springs, Memory foam or even water, do the same thing. You body weight will be evenly supported, try and slide your hand into your lower back and you should be able to touch both the mattress and your back at the same time.

Mattresses only give you proper support when they mould around your body, not you mould around it.

Hospitals have used water beds for burns patients for a long time because it helps eliminate pressure sores.


The reason why most hotels use a firmer mattress is because they do not show signs of use as quickly as a gentler mattress. They want them to last as long as possible. But hotels usually put this firm mattress onto a sprung base, which acts as a shock absorber thus again longevity of the mattress.



Doctors years ago used to give the advice for bad backs sleep on the floor and rest as much as possible. But even that advice has now changed, doctors say gentle exercise for back is the best thing. Sleep on a supportive mattress.

Firmness is very subjective, what is firm to one is Ultra firm to another. A little 8 stone old lady crippled with arthritis will require a softer mattress then a 25 stone body builder!

Kernel_Sanders

That 's very interesting Pinkypants but don't most people sleep on their sides?

Biggles

Pinkypants wrote: »

Your back needs SUPPORT which is totally different from firmness.

Not very different.

But what support and firmness have in common is that they are both miles from what the OP was discussing, which was 'the type of bed I sink into'.

Pinkypants

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

That 's very interesting Pinkypants but don't most people sleep on their sides?

Some do, put same principle applies, ladies hips and shoulders normally are much wider then their hips. Therefore if the mattress gives around that body shape the waist can be supported too.

UK Womens sizes.

Size 12: 36-29-38
Size 14: 38-31-40
Size 16: 40-33-42
Size 18: 42-35-44