This post is by staff writer April Dykman. I’ve dropped a rather obscene amount of money on bodywork in the last few years. I’ve had an evolving team of chiropractors, massage therapists, and acupuncturists. I’ve bought books on physical therapy exercises. Some things have worked, others have not. In the end, the pain always comes back. I have chronic shoulder pain. My arms also frequently go numb in the middle of the night. I don’t mean they tingle, I mean sometimes I literally cannot move my arm. I have to use my functioning hand to reposition it and get blood flowing back into the limb. When my shoulder bothers me enough, I usually get a massage to alleviate the pain. It’s a temporary fix — I know a 60-minute massage can’t cure a chronic problem that’s probably caused by structure and daily habits. But recently a new (to me) massage therapist asked me two questions that no one else had asked.
First, she asked if I grind my teeth at night. Yes, I have in the past, and I have a TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder. She firmly suggested that I started wearing my night guard consistently, and in the past five days the pain has gone from a constant ache to a mild annoyance. The second question she asked: “How old is your mattress?” So old, I didn’t want to tell her. The mattress my husband and I sleep on for (ideally) eight hours every night is 11 years old. I know it’s not in good shape. I just never thought it would make that much of a difference, but then, I never would have guessed that a night guard would, either. “You should think about replacing it,” she said. “Even a cheap new mattress is better than a worn-out one. One of my clients bought a $600 mattress from Costco and her back pain went away.” I know you’re probably thinking that a new mattress should have been an obvious solution. But after so many years of varying diagnoses, x-rays showing scoliosis (one chiropractor called it “severe,” another disagreed) and other spinal issues, I thought the pain was a given, something I’d have to learn to manage.
I also didn’t realize just how old our mattress was. I started my mattress search in my usual way, by reading mattress-buying guides like the one J.D. wrote a few years ago. (Interesting tip: According to Consumer Reports, you’ll know in 15 minutes if a mattress will be comfortable: “Panelists who took beds home for a month-long trial rarely changed the opinion they formed after the first night. On the whole, their opinions were the same as those of our in-store testers.”) But I also had some other concerns, such as off-gassing. Most mattresses and box springs are coated in a mixture of fire-retardant chemicals, formaldehyde, glues, stains, and coatings, all of which release gasses into the air. There are a lot of parenting sites that recommend organic mattresses for baby’s crib, but the hard, scientific data is nonexistent or vague in most of those articles. Here’s what I was able to find: For a more in-depth look at PBDEs, this Slate article outlines the studies and recent developments.
I’m still not sure how much of a difference a mattress makes — is the amount of toxic gas negligible compared to, say, your laptop or carpeting? If that study exists, I couldn’t find it. In the end, you have to weigh the studies with the unknowns and decide if paying extra for an organic mattress is right for you. (Also note that if your mattress is a few years old, it’s possible that it’s finished off-gassing.) My husband and I decided to go with organic, and we made some adjustments to the budget to cover it. After all, I’d spent much more during the past few years on chiropractic appointments — even an organic mattress looked downright cheap in comparison! Shopping for a mattress We’ve covered mattress shopping at GRS here and here, and those two articles have great advice for getting a good deal on a comfortable mattress. But if you’re interested in an organic mattress, the following are a few extra pointers to keep in mind: We opted to buy our mattress from a Texas manufacturer.
I found some great deals for organic mattresses online, but I liked that this was a local, 20-year-old business that had great reviews from customers. If we aren’t happy with our mattress, they’ll take it back and customize it based on our feedback, at no additional cost. “We’re in it together,” said the owner, who sold us the mattress. Additionally, if I get a note from a doctor about my back issues, the mattress store will refund us the sales tax we paid. Next Thursday our new mattress will be delivered, and the old one will go to that big mattress store in the sky. I won’t be able to tell you with any certainty whether organic was worth the extra expense or not, but I have a feeling I’m going to owe that massage therapist a fruit basket or something. GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve their financial goals. Savings interest rates may be low, but that is all the more reason to shop for the best rate. Find the highest savings interest rates and CD rates from Synchrony Bank, Ally Bank, and more.
This article is about House & Home Health & Fitness House and HomeSerta, Sleep Number top Consumer Reports mattress ratings , February 11, 2014 YONKERS, N.Y. — Mattresses by Serta and Sleep Number top the latest list of mattress ratings issued by Consumer Reports. Meanwhile, the top-rated mattress retailer is once again Cleveland-based Original Mattress Factory, a factory-direct operator. Consumer Reports, the influential consumer products evaluation company, published its latest lists of mattress and retail ratings in its March issue. A Serta Perfect Day iSeries mattress tops the innerspring list, while a Sleep Number pillowtop mattress tops the memory foam list.Other recommended innerspring mattresses include models by Beautyrest, Charles P. Rogers, Sealy, and two by Stearns & Foster. Other recommended memory foam mattresses include a Novaform model at Costco, a Bob's Discount Furniture Bob-O-Pedic model, and the Tempur-Pedic Simplicity.The company also has ratings for 15 mattress retailers, rating Sleepy's, one of the industry's largest retailers, last on the list.
The retail ratings, based on 6,105 shopping experiences at walk-in mattress stores between 2011 and June 2013, "reflect subscribers' experience but not necessarily those of the general population," the publication said. It rated the retailers on reader scores, which reflect overall satisfaction with a retailer, according to Consumer Reports.Costco was No. 2 on the retail ratings list, followed by No. 3 Ikea, No. 4 Denver Mattress Co., No. 5 Tempur-Pedic Store, No. 6 Select Comfort Store, No. 7 Sleep Train, No. 8 Macy's, No. 9 Mattress Firm and No. 10 Ashley Furniture.Rounding out the retail list were No. 11 Sears, No. 12 Mattress Warehouse, No. 13 Sam's Club, No. 14 Mattress Discounter, and No. 15 Sleepy's.The latest retail ratings are similar to those published by Consumer Reports in its August 2012 issue, which rated Original Mattress Factory No. 1, Costco No. 2 and Denver Mattress No. 3. The 2012 list also had Sleepy's in the No. 15 spot, last on the list.The mattress ratings are based on tests conducted by Consumer Reports in which dozens of electronic sensors are used "to precisely and repeatedly measure how well each mattress supports the spine by maintaining its natural curve when you're on your back and keeping it horizontal when you're on your side," the publication said.
It said the overall scores for mattresses mainly reflect side and back support, durability and stability.The six recommended innerspring mattresses are the No. 1 Serta Perfect Day iSeries Applause, the No. 2 Beautyrest Recharge Palisades Court Luxury Firm Pillowtop, the No. 3 Charles P. Rogers St. Regis Pillowtop, the No. 4 Sealy West Glens Falls Cushion Firm Euro Pillowtop, the No. 5 Stearns & Foster Lois Luxury Firm (Sears), and the No. 6 Stearns & Foster Lux Estate Delana Ultra Firm.The Consumer Reports Best Buy recommendation in innerspring mattresses, reflecting a blend of performance and value, is the Serta iSeries model, with a retail listed at $1,075, the publication said.The four recommended memory foam mattresses are the No. 1 Sleep Number Innovation Series i8 bed Pillowtop, the No. 2 Novaform Memory Foam Collection Serafina 14-inch (Costco), the No. 3 Bob's Discount Furniture Bob-O-Pedic 11-inch Firm, and the No. 4 Tempur-Pedic Tempur Simplicity.The Novaform memory foam mattress is a CR Best Buy recommendation.