::Nigelrene Loft::MATTRESS SHOPPING

Bed shopping at The Sleep Clinic in Courts Megastore - even the Bb felt the sleep bug in the air.. ;p 

awwwww....I reckon N makes a good pillow :p

We have been to at least 3 different venues in Singapore, and tried on countless brands and models, in order to find our perfect bed.

We were at the Courts Megastore over the weekend because Sleep to Live offers a free body assessment using 18 different points on your body while lying down to determine the mattress type suitable for you and your partner. So far it is the only brand that uses science to sell and tailor the bed to our unique body needs by combining 2 sets of support type on your side of the bed into a mattress . I was quite sold to the support system the mattresses provide. The only con was that the mattresses are all too plushy and gives a sink-in effect.

Drawing reference to my own home, the only thing that we have not changed in the entire household is our mattresses. A good mattress can really last you a lifetime. So I imagine it ll have to take me thru my 30s, 40s and maybe 50s....and as you age, you definitely prefer something harder. And if God grants us His blessings, I definitely want to be able to roll out of bed easily with a tummy.

After a 2 day adventure trying out many different mattresses, here is a summarised shopping guide after all we have been through:

Size

Size matters. The bigger it is, the less disturbance from your partner. The only limitation is the size of your room. The larger your partner is, the bigger you should get. For me, it naturally has to be the King. ;p

Support

Support comes from the spring within the mattress. Different brands boast of different benefits that their spring technology provides.

Inner spring - wired coils as the basic support structure and a wired border

Pocketed spring - individual springs that can move independently according to the human body shape

Unicased - the trademark spring support system from Sealy that has interlocking in between each spring stabilises the spring

Comfort

Almost all brands carry different lines of products under them. There is always a low- high range selection with varying comfort levels. Comfort level are differentiated by the different layers of materials they layer over the mattress:

Sheep wool - Dong nuan xia liang: simply translates into winter warmth and summer breeze. When you feel cold, it naturally insulates you but when you feel hot, it ll cool you down.

Memory foam - plush and soft to lie on. But doesnt allow mattress to breathe. Body feels hotter when aircon is not on if this is the top layer.

Natural/artificial latex - allows the mattress to breathe. Body feels cooler even without aircon. Good as a top layer. There are brands that claims to use natural latex but normal consumers like us wouldnt be able to tell anyway, so I dont care if it is natural or not.

Bamboo fibre - absorbs odour

Pillow top - Plush and soft to sleep on... mmmmmmzzz :)

So within a brand, the most expensive mattress is usually the thickest one! Because it will have ALL OF THE ABOVE + maybe more :p

After trying out a the mattresses all over singapore, we also realised that some secondary factors play a part in the decision making too:

Store settings - Depending on the store layout, lighting and aircon, the comfort level from the same model may feel different in different stores. So it's always good to go different places to try out the same mattress. We have already ruled out one of our shortlisted mattresses because of that.

Freebies - Most brands offer freebies such as pillows and protector. Some even offers bedsheet set. Some wouldnt hesitate to give you up to 4 pillows + a long pillow + 2 protectors - you just have to ASK.

Bedframes - Some stores offer purchase on purchase. Top up $300-600 to get a set of bedframe together with your purchase. Some models of mattresses even come with free bedframes! Designs are verrrrry limited though...If you want to classier looking ones within the store, you usually have to pay more...

Discounts - ASK for discounts. Market rate is about 10%. There was an sales exec aunty who offered us additional $100 off because she understands how expensive a property is nowadays and she pities young couples like us and claims will try to help in whatever ways she can...it is good that the GE has just passed not too long ago and people still remember all the hot issues that have been brought up ;)

Personal preference - Some like it hard, some like it soft. Some like it medium soft. You ll need to find a compromise during bed selection.

Luckily N&I have the same kind of preference for comfort level, so it s easier to buy a bed that we both like. We have shortlisted one but a bit hesitant to buy it yet cos it is not within our budget :( We ll have to decide by this weekend!