You can go to any mattress store and come home with a bed for a couple hundred dollars — but if you want an elevated sleep experience, you need to look for something special. Sustainable mattresses have unique features that allow for improved sleep, and better sleep is essential for health and wellness in all aspects of life.
However, not all interesting mattress features are inherently luxurious. Here are a few of the more expensive (and worthwhile) features to search for in your next mattress shopping journey.
High-quality Materials
You might be surprised by the low quality of materials typically present in most mattresses. Budget mattresses almost always rely on synthetic materials, often petroleum products, and most foam mattresses, to include memory foam, are also manufactured from oil. Besides the environmental impact of using materials made from fossil fuels, petroleum-based synthetic materials have several downsides within your home. For one, they rarely feel as luxurious as natural materials, even inexpensive natural materials like cotton or bamboo. For another, many petroleum products used in mattresses can off-gas, producing toxic compounds that are dangerous to inhale on a regular basis.
In contrast, most luxury mattresses place an emphasis on the quality of materials. Usually, a luxury mattress maker will publish ample resources regarding the source of materials used inside their product, so you can read about the benefits of the materials of a prospective mattress and feel good about your purchase.
Lasting Construction
Most cheap items are not made to last. Fast fashion, flat-pack furniture and affordable mattresses are usually produced quickly with materials and methods that keep bottom lines low. Unfortunately, these same materials and methods are all but guaranteed to fall apart in a matter of years, especially when it comes to mattresses. In particular, inexpensive mattresses are more likely to develop lumps and bumps, creaks and other issues that interfere with effective sleep, meaning they will need to be replaced more frequently than a more deluxe sleep solution.
Experts advocate replacing a mattress every 10 years or so, but thanks to superior construction, luxury mattresses can last a while longer — especially if you are making the effort to take care of your mattress. Especially if you invest in a luxury mattress, you should keep it safe with a mattress protector, regular spot cleanings, rotations and other types of mattress care.
Effective Weight Distribution
A mattress is supposed to support the body, holding you in a comfortable and safe position to facilitate breathing, circulation and joint health as you sleep. Unfortunately, many mattresses fall short of this lofty goal. Poor construction and materials can cause the body to sink too deeply or not enough; mattresses can pinch the body or trigger pressure points that result in lasting pain or immobility.
One of the best features of a luxury mattress is its ability to distribute a sleeper’s weight. With a luxury mattress, you likely won’t become frustrated by an inability to find a comfortable position, and you are all but guaranteed a lack of pain — at least, a lack of pain resulting directly from inadequate mattress support.
Appropriate Cooling and Heating
A bed is meant to be warm and cozy, but some mattresses continue to suffer from a temperature problem. Most low-quality mattresses trap heat, which makes sleepers overheat sometime in the night, which makes a restorative rest difficult to obtain. Less common, but still an issue, is a mattress that remains cold throughout the night, which can interrupt healthful sleep as well as pose a threat during cold winter months when appropriate heat at night is essential.
If you sleep at a neutral temperature and live in a temperate climate, you might not be all that concerned about the cooling and heating effects of your mattress. However, most mattress shoppers should keep in mind that luxury mattresses tend to have better designed temperature management systems, thanks to their access to more intricate construction methods and more expensive materials. Sleeping hot or cold is a thing of the past with a luxury mattress.
Innovations in mattress technology are infrequent, but manufacturers who do make breakthroughs in mattress design or functionality are more likely to charge a pretty penny. If you want the best possible sleep, you need to invest in a luxury mattress — and more often than not, you’ll find your investment incredibly worthwhile.
