Beds, aching backs - and getting what you pay for

By Doris Bavister - 18/07/2008

Why is it that so many people opt for cheap beds and mattresses when such a large part of their life is spent in bed - and even more so if they are taken ill?

 

Sadly, although common sense would suggest our bed should be the most expensive item we purchase, thousands buy the cheapest bed they can find, either because friends and neighbours do not need to see it (so it doesn't matter) - or because they don't realise just how important a good bed is.

 

In many cases, people are sold the wrong bed because they are too shy to shop for it correctly. The fact is that the only way to select a proper bed is to lie on it, spend some time on it, turn from side to side and bounce on it - if that's your want! Any good sales assistant should practically beg you so to do in order that you may form a correct opinion about the most important purchase in your life.

 

Yet I have seen people rush into a shop at near closing time during a sale, find the cheapest bed and say that “that will do, when can you deliver?” I have tried to point out that this is not the right way to select such an important article, but of course, the customer is always right.  Or are they?

 

Here are a few facts may be helpful when choosing a bed:

1. Firstly, if you value your spine and do not want back ache, I beg of you, do not buy a slatted bed.  If you have to have one because the style is right for your décor, then please do the sensible thing and measure the surface on which the mattress will sit and go to a reputable DIY merchant and have a correct fitting piece of MDF cut to fit on the slats so that the mattress has a firm base on which to sit. Otherwise, in a very short time the mattress will start to slip between the slats and you will be most uncomfortable.

 

2. I have often heard of people buying a pocket sprung mattress to go on a slatted bed - which is completely useless. If you must have a slatted bed then you need the correct springing mattress to go on it. Personally I would ban all these beds. 
(Here's for why: one year my husband and I stayed in a little house in France and the bed was a very old fashioned French bed with slats - which were wooden but they were too far apart and the bed was agony.  We had plenty of floor space and so lifted the mattress onto the floor and spent our holiday on the floor. Good job we did, because the owner of the house followed us out there and had to be brought back to the UK on a stretcher with a severe back problem!).

 

3. If you have had your mattress and bed frame more than 8 to 10 years, even if you have turned the mattress regularly, you probably need a replacement.

 

4. There are different types of springs for different types of mattresses - and one will be right for you. There is an old adage that you get what you pay for and nowhere is that truer than when purchasing a bed.

 

5. If you buy a good sprung base and a good pocket sprung mattress, then many years of comfortable sleep should be possible.  Put it this way: if a good king size bed costs £1200 and one spent 10 years using it (and a good one would probably give better service than this) then the cost per night would be less than 33p - and that's probably for two people.  A daily newspaper costs more than this!

 

6. The instructions on the mattress should be strictly followed, and I personally ensure my mattress is turned top to tail and then over and top to tail. I can be a good idea to get an indelible pen and write on the mattress 1 and 2 on the top and tail of it and 3 and 4 on the reverse side, and then keep a record of which way you turn it. Believe me, it will double the life of it and thereby save you money and give you better rest.

 

Lastly may I say that a bed should be a good base for the spine from a very early age, and I really cringe when I see children lying on beds that would not be considered fit for a dog bed because they have been 'handed down'. I have seen young people sleeping on beds with a big dip in the middle. Do they not realise that the spine develops during childhood and a good bed is a good foundation for a back pain free adult life? 

 

So Grandparents -  please influence your children to purchase good beds for their young. After all, they are much more important than X boxes and Nintendos ...