Heated mattress pads don’t only keep you warm during the winter, they also offer several health benefits. Most people already know that putting a nice heating pad on any area of their body that’s sore can greatly reduce pain. People with chronic muscle pain can think of a heated mattress pad as a giant heating pad. Since they put their entire body weight on the pad, the heat can effectively penetrate sore muscles. Lying on a heated mattress pad also requires no effort from the user, unlike a heating pad, which may force the user to manually hold it in place or apply pressure. People who suffer from fibromyalgia have reported a drastic decrease in the severity of their symptoms after sleeping on a heated mattress pad. Their warmth can relax muscle tissues, and reduce the occurrence of painful spasms that people with fibromyalgia experience. Heat can also increase blood flow throughout the body, and circulation is very important for several reasons. One surprising reason is to manage one’s ability to handle stress.
In addition, heated mattress pads can help you save money in the long run on climate control in your home. It’s far more efficient to sleep on a heated mattress pad during the winter, than heat the whole house. Ideally, you’ll keep your heated mattress pad for years to come, but you may not always have the same bed, and you may want to bring the pad with you when you travel. To accommodate different sizes of beds or extra thick mattress, get a pad with an expandable skirt. For extra comfort, look for one with micro plush fabric that feels extremely soft on your skin. If your regular mattress has an ultra slick surface, get a heated mattress pad with a non-slip bottom so you don’t slide around at night. Many people worry about sleeping on anything electric. If this is a concern of yours, you can buy a pad with safe, low-voltage technology since these eliminate your chances of electric shock. For added safety, some heated mattress pads automatically shut off after ten hours of use, so you can’t accidentally leave one on for days at a time.
Since the weather doesn’t hold the same temperature all year round, you probably won’t want your mattress pad to either. Many have several personalized heat settings, so you can adjust them to your comfort. It's also important to know why you have certain sleeping habits and how to change them if needed. If you have a partner, there is research that shows that adjusting to common sleeping habit may lead to a happier relationship in the long term. If you sleep with another person and have completely different sleep requirements and habits, you may be able to use a combination of an adjustable bed and a mattress pad with dual controls to make you both happy. This way you can both tailor the angle and temperature of your side of the bed, without disturbing the other person. On the topic of things cohabitating couples argue about, laundry is a major one. Make it easier on yourself and your partner by getting a heated mattress pad that can go in the washing machine for simple cleaning.
If you know firsthand about the consequences of sleep deprivation, then you are probably constantly looking for ways to get a better night’s rest. The answer could be in how you decorate your room. First, to get the most out of your heated mattress pad, you need the right base mattress. You might wake up constantly because your partner's movement makes the entire mattress bounce, which disrupts your sleep. A memory foam mattress can eliminate any bouncing, so when your partner moves, you don’t even feel it. Darkness is key to a good night’s rest, too. But in an age where shelves are covered with the blinking lights of gaming systems and routers, it can be hard to make your room entirely dark. Consider housing entertainment systems inside of armoires, so you can close the cabinet doors at night and block out any lights. One reason people feel restless at night is because they don’t get enough sunlight during the day, throwing off their internal clock. Adding a light therapy lamp to your desk or nightstand can help reset your clock.
Temperature plays a big part in your comfort at night, too. In fact, sleep experts have found that there is even an ideal temperature to sleep at. For most, that is somewhere between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperature in the room varies just a few degrees, it can activate systems in your body that want to counteract the temperature change. These systems can keep you awake. Adding a heated mattress pad or small portable heater to your room can help you achieve the perfect sleeping temperature, especially on cold winter nights.UPDATED Sep 6, 2014 — See below. Buying a mattress is a terrible experience. A mattress is something we buy only rarely. So each time we head out shopping, we’re unfamiliar with the current trends in mattress technology, comfort and safety. Like many other manufacturers, mattress makers often try to save money by using low quality materials or construction methods, especially on the inside where it’s hard to see. A month ago, my wife and I bought a bigger bed and needed to replace our mattress.
Here is what I discovered. Mattresses are often made from materials that can be politely described only as unnatural. Over time, they can break down, wear out, give off potentially harmful gasses and quickly become uncomfortable. If you have allergies or are sensitive to smells, noises or motion transfer, buying the wrong mattress could lead to years of difficulty getting a good night’s rest. I spent way too much time reading, searching and researching on the Internet. I ruled out foam because of off-gassing, odor and durability. Innerspring mattresses are bad at preventing motion transfer, even the ones with separately wrapped coils (which is what we’ve been sleeping on for the last few years). While there are many mattress that use a combination of materials, a solid latex mattress seems like the best option. Latex is the tree sap from which rubber is made. A latex mattress is made from natural rubber foam molded into shape using one of two processes: dunlop or talalay.
Dunlop is older, while Talalay produces a slightly finer and more even foam. Synthetic latex is also used in mattresses. A “blended” latex mattress is a mix of natural and synthetic latex. If you have a latex allergy, you’ll want a synthetic mattress. If not, natural latex seems to last longer. Latex mattresses are most often composed of several layers of latex stacked on top of one other, encased in a cover. Latex layers (and toppers) are made by only a few large corporations. You can ask the manufacturer where they get their latex. Latex International seems to be highly regarded. Latex layers have different levels of firmness measured in ILD (Indentation Load Deflection). Soft latex typically has an ILD of 20-25, while firm latex might be 35-40. The most common arrangement seems to be 3″ of firm latex on the bottom, 3″ of medium latex in the middle and 3″ of soft latex on the top. Another common option is 6″ of firm on the bottom with 2″ of medium or soft on top.
Having several 3″ layers with differing firmness gives you the flexibility to rearrange them if desired. For example, moving the soft layer to the middle and putting the medium layer on top gives the mattress a firmer feel without requiring another purchase. Most covers (also called ticking) for a latex mattress will have a zipper so you can swap layers or stack them in a different order. The best covers are made from quilted cotton with wool padding. The quilting keeps the padding from bunching up over time. By law, mattress cover padding must be resistant to fire. Wool is naturally fire-resistant. Other materials, like polyester, must be chemically treated to provide resistance. If you’re going the latex route, especially for health or environmental reasons, it seems best to avoid chemically treated synthetic material in your mattress, all of which can off-gas. Getting a mattress pad is important to protect the mattress from spills because latex and most mattress covers are not machine washable.
Any pad labeled “waterproof” is going to have a layer of vinyl or plastic, or use a thin coating of polyethylene or polyurethane. Water-resistant pads are available in cotton, cotton-and-polyester and cotton-and-wool varieties. Pads range from 1/4″ to 1.5″ thick. Latex and other foam mattresses do not require box springs. Instead, if extra height is needed, use a mattress foundation. A foundation is basically a wooden box covered by fabric that does not have springs. They vary from 4″ to 10″ in height. Most foundations have wooden slats on top. The gap between slats ranges from 2″ (very good) to 5″ (less so). Too much space between slats allows the mattress to sag and decreases back support and the lifetime of the mattress. The covers for many self-assembled foundations use a drawstring and are open on the bottom. If you have a box spring that you’d like to continue using, you can put plywood (or something similar) on top to help improve support and stability.
Buying high-quality cotton sheets seems easy. The best sheets are woven from single-ply thread made from Supima™ or Egyptian cotton. Thread counts in the range 400-800 are great. Any higher and the sheets start to feel flimsy because of how thin the thread has to be. Sadly, there have been many cases of manufacturers lying about thread counts or using fabric incorrectly labeled as Egyptian. And make sure your sheets say “100%” or else they may not be. A good return policy is your best defense. If you are shopping online, there are many places to buy a latex mattress. You can even buy latex layers and a cover separately as a money-saving DIY project. What’s The Best Mattress is a good place to do research. There is a great list of places to start shopping. I looked at PlushBeds, Rocky Mountain Mattress, SleepEZ, Foam By Mail, Foam Sweet Foam, Tranquility Mattress and The Natural Bed Store. Be sure to check the return policies because shipping costs, restocking fees, return periods and warranties all vary.
Interestingly, nearly all of the foundations I found online were re-branded versions of this one. Look for that image as you’re shopping. Alternatives include one by U.S. Box Spring and another by Bed In A Box, which is manufactured by KD Frames. Any foundation from a local store will work too. If you buy locally, you can probably have your old mattress taken away for free. I decided on a DIY project. I ordered a cotton-and-wool cover and three latex layers from mattresses247 on eBay: one soft, one medium, one firm. Their latex layers are blended “factory seconds” which are new, but have cosmetic defects — like lumpy M&Ms that can’t be sold at retail. The defects are visible, but do not seem to affect the feel of the mattress at all. And saving $1,000 is pretty nice. They have great return policy (30 days, no restocking fees, only pay return shipping). Valerie was responsive and very helpful over email. I bought the American Hardwood Mattress Foundation from BedInABox.
It’s extremely well made and perfectly quiet. The cover is open on the bottom and made from polyester and cotton, which was a little disappointing at first. Polyester doesn’t off-gas much, and I can buy another cover later if I want. The slats have a 3.5″ gap, which seems a little wide considering the price. I nailed using some thin sheets of hard material on top of the slats to try to avoid sagging. But while looking underneath later on, it didn’t seem like the mattress was sinking into the remaining gaps much. UPDATE Oct 10, 2012: Scott Ravenhorst, owner of Foam Sweet Foam, reached out to me about my experience. I’ve updated my comments here to reflect that. I ordered my first mattress pad from Foam Sweet Foam. I really liked the quality and construction, but ended up returning it. Foam Sweet Foam has a great return policy and gladly took it back despite the fact I had washed it twice. The owner later read my article and called me about my experience. He confirmed I’d gotten a defective pad and that nearly all of their customers are very happy.
If I hadn’t already found an alternative, I would have given them another shot. Foam Sweet Foam takes good care of their customers, which isn’t something that is common on the Internet. My second pad is a Washable Wool-Filled Fitted Mattress Pad by Natura World from Amazon. I confirmed with Natura that the “Wash N Snuggle” fitted pad is the same product as the “Washable Wool-Filled” fitted pad. We’ve been sleeping on it for a week four months, and I really like it. We aired it out for a day, washed it once, and can’t smell anything. I ordered two sets of sheets from Costco. They have a great reputation and return policy. While I liked the Charisma Egyptian cotton sheets, I ended up keeping the Kirkland Supima sheets. They are really soft, seem durable and feel great. Overall, I’m very happy with my new mattress: latex, hardwood foundation, cotton-and-wool cover and pad, high-quality cotton sheets. It’s true that it takes a while to get used to a new mattress, and it’s only been a week.
But I find myself looking forward to laying down at night. It’s too soon to say if I’m sleeping better, but I definitely find myself smiling more. It’s been over two years since we purchased our mattress. I thought I’d add a quick footnote on how things are going. We are still sleeping on our mattress, and it’s held up pretty well. The mattress is sagging a little where we sleep, though not in the middle, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. It’s still really comfortable. My parents house-sat one night and told me later that they thought it was really comfortable. If I had it to do over again, I would probably not buy my latex on eBay. It wasn’t made by Latex International, and I wonder if that is why it’s not wearing as well as I’d hoped. And if there had been a problem, it would’ve been nearly impossible to return because the latex expands and no longer fits in the box. The sheets wore out a few months ago, and we’ve replaced them. We sit on our bed a lot at night, and they tore where I sit.