Mattresses: The Foundation of Our Daily Lives

Mattresses are a the “foundation” pun intended when referring to bedding.  Since the majority of us spend over a third of our life in bed trying to rest, finding a premium quality mattress is a huge key factor as improper sleep can hinder our emotional and physical state as well as affect our quality of life.  General mattresses are made of some kind of foam and synthetic fibers or the older versions with the metal coil springs for support that you can put directly over your box spring. Newer more high tech mattresses like airbeds and sleep number beds use some kind of air chamber technology to increase and decrease the pressure in the mattress to allow each person to reach their best level for a night full of peaceful relaxation and rest.

Most people have no idea the size of a bed mattress, and even more people don’t really know what size mattress they sleep on every day. Ever gone to buy a new set of sheets and thought, What is the size of my bed mattress? How do I know what size bedding to buy? Here are a few of the standard mattress sizes that you can use for a general idea of your mattress size. Knowing your mattress size is very important when purchasing bedding such as sheets, bedskirts, comforters, and mattress pads and toppers. You must know your mattress dimensions in order for your new bedding to fit the bed.

What are the sizes and dimensions of bed mattresses?

Mattress Sizes

Standard USA mattress sizes are Twin/Single (39” X 75”)

Double/Full (54” X 75”)

Queen (60” X 80”)

King/Western King (78” X 80”)

California King/Eastern King (72” X 80”) Not as common as Regular western king mattress but still common enough that most brands make California king bedding to fit these mattresses

How often Should You replace Your mattress?

We have customers ask us all the time how often they should wait before they replace their mattress, but I am not the right person to answer because my health issues have been so bad lately that I replaced my mattress about 4 times in 5 years until I found one that worked for me. Most manufacturers recommend every 8-10 years depending on how well you have protected your mattress which is why it is so important to buy mattress pads and mattress protectors. Mattress pads and mattress protectors not only save the mattress from stains and spills but also prolongs the life of it and keeps away dust, dirt, pet dander, bed bugs, mold, and many other allergens. If you keep your mattress covered and protected in a nice dry area, then it can last up to 15 years. Moist and humid areas must really keep mattresses protected because mold spores and germs can manifest within your mattress and cause it to mildew and be harmful to your overall health.
  

Did you know the history of mattresses?

Around 8,000-6,000 B.C., people stopped sleeping on the ground and started making their own area for comfort and warmth which now we refer to as a bed. Of course, they didn’t quite have the technology or the high end Egyptian cotton sheets we have around now, so they used grass, leaves or anything available and held it together with animal fur to keep themselves warm. Persians were the first to come up with the idea of waterbeds. Basically, they filled goats with water and used them to sleep on. The Romans which were quite wealthier at the time used premium bird feathers to sleep on and keep themselves warm. In more modern times, the premium feathers associated with bedding are only for those that can afford such luxuries. In the time of the Romans, the family with the most money to spend was able to buy more feathers in order to make sure their bedding was more comfortable and warm. The spring coils mattress idea was not patented until 1865, so man had to make do with whatever things he could find around him to make the bed more comfortable. We have come a long way since then with our high end quality long staple cotton sheets and Hungarian goose down feather bedding, the more modern society has no idea how difficult it must have been to sleep in luxury back then.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MATTRESSES AND BED SIZES HERE