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07.31.2006

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let's go to bed how to buy a new bed
by Yee-Fan Sun
|
1 2 3 4 5
continued from page 3

shop, stop, and roll
So, you've moseyed on over to a store and stand with eyes a-goggle at the sea of mattress options awaits. Ack: what now? Start testing, of course!

Choose a shopping day when you're feeling good and rested. Mattress shopping can be kind of an exhausting process, and if you're already pooped to begin with, the mere act of flopping down on a big cushy expanse might well sway you into buying the first bed you try. Doing so would be a bad, bad idea, as the key to finding a bed you love is really pretty simple: try a lot of them.

Now, some sales people will try to impress you with blather about construction and coil count and padding material and more. Unless you're planning to go into the mattress business yourself, ignore the jargon. Honestly, in the end, the only way to know you're getting the best mattress is to figure out what sort of bed feels best to you.

Pick a mattress. Lie down on your back, kicking up your feet just as you would at home (most stores put protectors to keep the foot of the bed clean; you can also slip off your shoes). Is there a big gap between your back and your bed? Does the mattress swallow you up into a giant ditch? Move on to a different bed; a decent mattress should conform to your body a bit and have some give, but ensure that your spine is well supported as well. Does the next mattress feel better? Good; now toss and turn, the way you probably do when you go to sleep at night. Turn on to your side, over on to your belly; put your arm up and under your head, tuck it down by your side, over your stomach, whatever. Make sure the bed feels comfortable on your hips and shoulders and other points that jut out; check that you can roll over easily, and that the mattress doesn't squash down as you approach the edges. Support is good, but this shouldn't mean rock-hard; likewise, a bit of cushioning feels inviting, but too much makes you feel like you're being swallowed whole. Try a heap of mattresses, and don't be afraid to linger when you find one you think you kinda sorta like.

If you're planning to share the bed with a partner, don't bother going shopping unless you can both go along. A bed that works fabulously for you might not be at all comfortable for your sweets; moreover, it might feel completely different when there's just one of you lying down on it than when there are two. In addition to doing all the tests you'd do as a single person, make sure that you lie down on each mattress together. See how it feels when you both snuggle over to the right, and when you both snuggle over to the left. Check that the bed doesn't have too much bounce when one or the other of you shifts positions.

mosey along for still more!

 

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