Myths About Buying a Mattress

Buying a new mattress can be a confusing and difficult experience. Firstly, it is not something that you do very often, like the weekly food shop. On average most people only buy 3 or 4 mattresses in their lifetime. Mattress shopping can be difficult for most people, as it’s not something people consider until they need a new one. Then, when purchasing one you need to rely on advice from a salesperson or look at reviews online, some of which could be fake. To help you through this process, our director of sales and bed expert Aaron Trehan is going to dispel some common myths people face.

Turning my mattress over will double its lifespan.

In the past, most mattresses were made double sided and users where encouraged to turn them over and rotate them from head to toe. Whilst regular rotation was needed in order to allow the mattress fillings to settle correctly and even out wear and tear. Whilst this does improve the mattress life it probably won’t have doubled it. Due to recent technological advancements in mattress production and fillings most modern mattresses are designed to only be slept on one side. Furthermore, due to these technological developments in spring manufacturing and mattress fillings mean you no longer need to struggle to turn your mattress, whilst rotating is still a good idea. Our advice is to always follow the manufacturer’s guide on how to care for your mattress.

A firm mattress is best for a bad back.

This used to be common advice given by many GPs to help those with a bad back. The truth is that there’s so many reasons for a bad back and many different types of back, shoulder and hip pain. The key however is to find a mattress that offers correct support for your spine, one that keeps your spine straight when you lie on your side or back. You need 4 key points of contact, these are neck, back, hips and lower anatomy. A mattress that is too firm will cause pinching of nerves, reduced blood flow and cause your back to arch causing pain. If your mattress is starting to get old and sink this could also contribute to back pain. Buying a new mattress that provides the right level of comfort and support may well help or even cure back pain.

The more springs in a mattress, the more comfortable it is and the better its support.

There is a degree of truth in this but only up to a point. In the UK, there appears to be an obsession with spring count with some mattresses now boasting spring counts of 10,000 or more for a king size. Using standard size pocket springs in a single layer, a basic king size mattress would contain around 800 and the maximum would be around 2,000. To achieve any more than this, the manufacturer will have to create layers of micro springs on top of a regular spring unit. The micro springs are used to replace foam, fibre or natural fillings. This creates a softer feel to the mattress. Thus, meaning those who want a firm mattress may prefer to have one with a lower spring count.