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Mattress shopping is the most important shopping experience you will ever have. It is equally important as shopping for healthcare. After all, the right mattress can help improve your overall health, while the wrong mattress may decrease it.

How do you know if it is time to go mattress shopping? Does your mattress sag in the middle? Is it flat? Do you toss and turn all night long? Do you wake up feeling sore and achy? Has it been more than eight years since you bought a new mattress?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is time for a new mattress. There are many important decisions to make while mattress shopping. What size bed should you get? What type of foundation or box spring do you need? Do you have special needs that need to be met? You need to start at the basics…stay tuned to “Mattress Shopping 101.”

1. Where to Buy
Guess where the best place to buy a mattress is? Online. That may seem weird considering that you can’t feel the mattress through your computer screen. If you already know what type of mattress you want, or even if you don’t, it is often more beneficial to buy your new mattress online. Mattress price tags are much lower at online stores. These stores don’t have as much overhead costs as brick-and-mortar stores do. So, they can charge a lot less for their products. Many times, you don’t even have to pay sales tax when you buy the mattress online. You can have it shipped directly to your home and you won’t have to deal with those pesky salespeople.

2. Return Policy
Do not buy a mattress from anywhere that does not have a return policy. You should be able to try the mattress in your home for at least 30 days. Remember, mattresses feel different in your home than they do in the store. There is nothing worse than choosing the right mattress in the store and finding it all wrong when you get home. Make sure that you can try the mattress for 30, 60 or 90 days with the opportunity to get a full refund.

3. Mattress Types
There are many types of mattresses on the market today. They are pretty self-explanatory. Innerspring mattresses are made up of coils and springs. Air mattresses are filled with air. Water beds use water to distribute weight evenly and reduce pressure points. Memory foam mattresses use polyurethane foam to comfort, support and mold your body. Latex mattresses are the most popular type of mattress. They are similar to memory foam mattress and are naturally hypoallergenic (along with other benefits).

Mattress shopping can be confusing if you don’t know what you are looking for. All you have to do is follow these “Mattress Shopping 101″ tips to make your shopping experience a success.

I didn’t know a play called “Once Upon a Mattress” existed, and am almost happy it received the reviews it did based on the plot synopsis below. The reviews: VERY mixed. In other words, it was horrible. But hey, anyone that can feel a pea (or weapons) through 20 mattresses is fine by me! But they wouldn’t have if they were memory foam mattress…

Once Upon a Mattress takes place in a fictional medieval kingdom ruled by the devious Queen Aggravaine and the mute King Sextimus the Silent. King Sextimus suffers from a curse that can only be reversed “when the mouse devours the hawk.” As the show opens,(Many Moons Ago) the populace of the castle complains about an unjust law levied by Queen Aggravaine. She is testing Princess #12; to the queen’s delight, the princess misses the last question (“What was the middle name of the daughter-in-law of the best friend of the blacksmith who forged the sword that killed the beast [the dragon killed by St. George]?”) and is given a dead bird. The law states that no one may wed until the Prince, Dauntless the Drab, first marries (“throughout the land no one may wed, ’till Dauntless down the altar led”) . However, every petitioning princess is sent away after failing an unfair test devised by the Queen. It seems that no one is good enough to marry Prince Dauntless. (Opening for A Princess)

The crisis escalates when the leading knight of the realm, Sir Harry, discovers that his girlfriend, Lady Larken, is pregnant. Facing great embarrassment and loss of his station, Sir Harry embarks on a quest to find the last princess in the realm. (In A Little While) He soon returns with Princess Winnifred the Woebegone, a brash, unrefined, and muscular princess from the marshlands. She immediately charms Dauntless and most of the townspeople. (Shy) However, she also succeeds in offending the Queen, who vows to find a way to stop her.

The Queen, assisted by her Wizard sidekick, quickly designs Winnifred’s secret “test.” They will place a tiny pea beneath twenty thick downy mattresses. If Winnifred is unable to sleep due to the pea, then she will be sensitive enough to marry Dauntless. (Sensitivity) Later, the king pantomimes to the Minstrel and the Jester that Larkin is pregnant, he tells them to not say a word, but they both are more worried about the king saying something, because even though he’s mute, he can still communicate. (The Minstrel, the Jester, and I).

Meanwhile, Winnifred tells Dauntless and the ladies in waiting about her home in the swamp (Swamps of Home). Then, after spilling a flower vase, Winnifred is caught cleaning the mess by Lady Larken who mistakes her for a chambermaid. Soon Harry gets mad at Larken for her mistake and they get in a fight. Larken vows that she’ll run far far away where she’ll never see him again.

Then The king, the Minstrel and the Jester catch Larkin trying to run away, and they all try to stop her (Normandy). Later that night, the queen throws a ball so Winnifred can dance the (Spanish Panic.)The wicked Queen hopes that Winnifred will tire herself to sleep, but the plan fails. Winnifred is the last one standing as everyone collapses with exhast at the song’s climax. Dauntless admits that he loves Winnifred, who mentions that her nickname is Fred (Song of Love.)

During the late night, the Queen leads the knights and ladies to carry the twenty mattress to Fred’s room (Quiet), while Fred and Dauntless study for the test, and Fred convinces Larken to fix things with Harry. Larken leaves to find Harry, Dauntless bids Fred goodnight, and now she is left alone. While studying a fairytale, she complains about how other fairy tale princess’ had it easy and how she want’s to live (Happily Ever After.) Later, Dauntless and King Sextimus have a (Man to Man Talk) about the birds and the bees, while the Jester and Minstrel trick the Wizard into telling them of the test (The Potion) and the Jester reminisces about his father’s dancing days (Very Soft Shoes).

Sir Harry and Lady Larken run into each other and they confess that their love is stronger than ever (Yesterday I Loved You.) When Fred finally takes the test, the queen brings in the Nightengale of Samarkand to sing her to sleep (Nightengale Lullabye) but Winnifred cannot fall asleep. It seems that there is some “lump” under the mattresses that is keeping her from relaxing.

She drowsily confronts the Queen the next morning, but Aggravaine insists that the test was rigged. Dauntless tells Aggravaine to “shut up,” and the curse on King Sextimus is lifted (the “mouse,” or Dauntless, thus devours the “hawk,” or Aggravaine). Aggravaine discovers that she cannot talk, and Dauntless and Winnifred are free to be married. The Wizard falls for the King’s charm and wit, and leaves the poor Queen hopelessly hopping and skipping on stage. (Finale)

In the final seconds of the play, the real reason why Winnifred passed the test is revealed. After learning about the test, the King, Minstrel, and Jester stuffed the mattresses full of weapons, jousting equipment, and other sharp items. All the items are removed by the Jester in the Finale. After the items are removed Winnifred still has trouble sleeping until Dauntless takes the pea out from under the mattress, when she then falls asleep almost immediately. Everyone, in classic fairy-tale tradition, lives happily ever after.

* Neolithic period: The mattress and bed are invented. Beds are raised off the ground to avoid drafts, dirt, and pests. The first mattress probably consists of a pile of leaves, grass, or possibly straw, with animal skins over it.
* 3600 B.C.: Beds made of goatskins filled with water are used in Persia.
* 3400 B.C.: Egyptians sleep on palm boughs heaped in the corners of their homes.
* 200 B.C.: Mattresses in Ancient Rome consist of bags of cloth stuffed with reeds, hay, or wool; the wealthy use feather stuffing.
* 15th century: During the Renaissance, mattresses are made of pea shucks, straw, or sometimes feathers, stuffed into coarse ticks, and covered with velvets, brocades, or silks.
* 16th and 17th centuries: Mattresses are stuffed with straw or down and placed atop a bed consisting of a timber frame with support latticeworks of rope or leather.
* Early 18th century: Mattresses are stuffed with cotton or wool.
* Mid 18th century: Mattress covers begin to be made of quality linen or cotton. The mattress cane box is shaped or bordered, and fillings include natural fibers such as coconut fibre, cotton, wool, and horsehair. The mattress is tufted or buttoned to attach the stuffing to the cover and the edges are stitched.
* 1857: The steel coil spring is invented and is first patented for use in chair seats.
* 1865: The first coil spring construction for bedding is patented.
* 1871: The German Heinrich Westphal invents the inner spring mattress. He later died in poverty, never having profited from his invention.
* 1873: Sir James Paget presents a waterbed designed by Neil Arnott to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital as a treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers.
* 1885: J.P. Leggett patents improvements to the steel coil bedspring. His innovative method of coupling the springs and attaching them to wooden bed slats launched a successful partnership with C.B. Platt, which eventually became Leggett & Platt, Inc.
* 1895: A few waterbeds, which resemble large hot water bottles, are sold via mail order by the British store Harrod’s.
* Late 19th century: The box-spring is invented, making mattresses less lumpy.
* 1900: James Marshall of Simmons Bedding Company invents the pocket coil mattress
* 1906: Sealy Mattress Company forms after buying all patents and knowledge from a local inventor.
* 1929: The most expensive mattresses are constructed of latex rubber and are produced by Dunlopillow.
* 1930s: Innerspring mattresses and upholstered foundations become widely used, and artificial fillers become common. Pocket spring mattresses, which consist of individual springs sewn into linked fabric bags, are introduced.
* 1931: Orders’ Mattress is established in South Carolina
* 1940s: The futon is introduced in North America.
* 1950: Sealy introduced the Posturepedic mattress designed in conjunction with Orthopedic surgeons.
* 1950s: Foam rubber mattresses and pillows are available for purchase.
* 1958: The Simmons Company introduces the Queen size and King size mattress.
* 1960s: The modern waterbed is introduced and gains its first widespread use with the invention of vinyl. Adjustable beds gain popularity.
* 1970s: NASA invents material that later becomes known as memory foam[2].
* 1971: Selther is established in Mexico City.
* 1980s: Air mattresses constructed of Vulcanized Rubber or vinyl are introduced.
* 1981: Comfortaire invents the air bed mattress with remote control.
* 1987: Select Comfort creator of the Sleep Number is introduced in North America.
* 1992: Tempur-Pedic introduces a mattress made from memory foam.
* 2003: ZeroGravityBed introduces changeable and replaceable components in their adjustable mattresses.
* 2005: Selther introduces in Mexico, Latin America and the US a mattress made from dispersion chambers and latex foam known as Flotek.
* 2007: Park Place Corporation invents a aroma therapy mattress infused with lavender.

If you Google the phrase “Memory Foam Mattress”, you will find over 16 million results. And 99% of those results will give you great information about memory foam mattresses- and why you should buy that site’s mattress!!

It’s different here. The goal of this site is to give you a place to come for in-depth, honest, at times humorous, and most importantly unbiased information.  We will review mattresses through case studies, stories, testing, and every other possible way you can think of.  I will start it off with a story, of a mattress. And the smallest room I’ve lived in.

Long ago, in college, I was very poor.  I was forced to live in a house with six other gentleman in our college town.  To say this house was sub-standard was to imply their were any to begin with.  To say we cared was moot- we were young, broke, and didn’t know any better.

Being the broke-est of them all led to me getting the smallest bedroom of them all.  This wouldn’t have been such a big deal – I don’t need a TON of space and the price was right.  Unfortunately, I’m 6’3″. And my room wasn’t.  I literally couldn’t lay down.  I was about 3″ short of being able to stretch out.  And hand in hand with that problem was my mattress. It was too big.  So being the industrious college kids that we were, we came up with a solution (genius in our eyes)- just cut the mattress down to size.

So there I was, A giant with little lodging, and a sawed off mattress.  At first we laughed, then I realized I was living there. Suffice to say I didn’t impress too many chicks with my cut off mattress. Suffice to say I tolerated about two months of that situation.  And then I realized life’s too short, and I’m too tall.

The moral of the story: Don’t shorten your mattress, widen your room.