Creating the Ultimate Sleep System

What to Look For When You Purchase

What makes for a marvelous night's sleep?
Many people indulge in a personal sleep ritual that composes the mind, and that ritual will clearly be subjective. But when it comes to creating the ultimate sleep experience for the body ... well, every body deserves - in fact, requires - healthy and restorative sleep. And to achieve optimal, rejuvenating sleep, the mattresses and foundations that we select must have qualities that contribute to meeting that universal bodily need.

The Ideal Sleep System

Before looking at the specifics of superior mattresses and foundations, let's consider the (remarkably few) key features of the ideal sleep system:

• A size sufficient to comfortably accommodate the sleeper or sleepers, without impediment to the limbs
• Firm under-support, combined with a resilient, body-conforming surface (Even for those who have a "bad" back, harder is rarely better)
• Evenly balanced linear and lateral support
• Construction using nontoxic, breathable materials

Ideally, when you lie on a mattress, you should sink into it sufficiently that your body makes maximal contact, thus reducing pressure. A long-held myth is that if you sink a little into your mattress, then the mattress must be too soft. Naturally, you mustn't accept a feeling of "bottoming out." You need merely be aware that your body has evenly "settled in" and feels completely supported from head to feet.

This maximal contact is vital for your spine it has little to do with your immediate comfort - although the cradling that we are talking about undoubtedly gives tremendous comfort to your body. What you want is to sink into the mattress surface in a way that produces an experience of leveling, accompanied by even, firm support beneath every inch of your body.

As a result of maximal contact, your spine will be optimally supported along its full length. This support is crucial to a good night's sleep because, with your spine supported - whether you sleep prone, supine, or on your side - your muscles are no longer needed to provide that support and can truly relax. And when your muscles are relaxed, pent-up tensions acquired during the day are released, allowing the rejuvenation process to begin.

Creating the Largest Contact Zone

Proper linear and lateral construction are crucial if your mattress and foundation are to offer orthopedically appropriate support. Using a well-constructed sleep set is the only way to obtain the optimal pressure-reducing contact that your body requires. You must be able to stretch out, evenly supported from head to toe, with your body making the greatest possible contact with your mattress.

The longer your body can enjoy this optimal pressure-reducing contact plane, the longer it will take to send a "roll over" signal to your brain. That signal to shift position come from a build-up of tension or pressure in your body's skeletomuscular system. Each such signal interrupts your deep sleep or REM sleep cycles, negatively affecting your body's ability to repair and rejuvenate itself and your psyche's ability to de-stress and awake refreshed.

The fewer the signals to turn, the more restful and healthy your sleep becomes. And that won't happen if you sleep on a hard surface that lacks sufficient support for your spine.

How Linear and Lateral Support Contribute

Lateral and linear support are significant in that they make up for differences in sleep position and for differences in weight between the shoulders and the hips.

Because hips are typically heavier than shoulders, lateral support - extra-strong wooden slats positioned in the proper places in the foundation - becomes very important. Even lighter-weight individuals have to impress their shoulders sufficiently so that a pillow (when used) does not have to carry the weight of the shoulders through the neck.

Also, most people have a genetic predisposition for sleeping in a particular position. For example, more than 70% of women are side sleepers, and more than 70% of men are side/belly sleepers. The potential for intensified pressure that comes with side sleeping - less of the total body surface in contact with the mattress - requires excellent linear support to ensure a good night's sleep.

You can then see how exceptional linear and lateral engineering of your mattress and foundation will contribute to exceptional rest. Perfectly proportioned construction will greatly aid in keeping the spine supported during sleep.

The Nontoxic Sleep Environment

The final - and equal - contribution to rejuvenating rest comes from what you do not experience: noxious fumes that are the result of off-gassing from chemical glues, pesticides, and fabric treatments. Inhaling these fumes can compromise your immune system, and bathing your skin - the largest organ of your body - in them through full contact with your mattress could lead to toxins being absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Don't make this very serious oversight when shopping for your new sleep system. Avoid products treated with chemicals that are not only harmful to the environment, but also extremely harmful to you!