Posted by Andes on June 11, 2009 – 12:45 pm
Your child doesn’t need an ergonomic mattress but he shouldn’t use any old lumpy bed.
According to studies, young children grow as much as 1.5cm in a single night. This is the time when their growth hormone is produced. So supple young backs need a good supportive bed.
A child mattress should be firm, but not too firm. If it’s too firm, the child won’t be comfortable, especially if he is skinny. Put a comforter on the mattress to cushion him.
Futons are are good as they’re not too big and are firm with a soft cushioning.
There’s no harm in your child sleeping on your posture mattress, but cushion his side with a comforter.
To reduce your child’s exposure to chemicals such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs), wrap the mattress in an untreated 100% cotton sheet with a thread count of 250 or more.
BFRs, used to slow the spread of fire in furniture, mattresses, curtains, carpets and electronics, can accumulate in the body over time and may cause cancer, reproductive problems and learning disorders.
Posted by Andes on May 25, 2009 – 1:04 pm
Mattresses offer in comfort and support and manufacturers and retailers emphasize that the only way to choose the right discount mattress is to lie on as many as possible for as long as possible.
It’s worth investing time and effort to test them out as you’re going to spend at least eight hours a day on it, for the next 10 years.
But which one to choose, what material, how hard, how soft? There’s a great variety out there – spring, latex, foam, futons, waterbeds, viscoelastic and memory foam.
Here’s your guide to testing a mattress before you buy one:
Go to a bedding shop that offers a wide range of brands and models of different grades of firmness from different manufacturers.
Wear loose, comfortable clothes with shoes you can slip off.
Lie on a mattress for at least 10 minutes if it feels comfortably initially. Try out as many sleeping positions as you can think of.
Lie on your back and try to slide your hand under the small of your back. If it slides in easily or your shoulders and hips feel uncomfortable, the bed’s too firm.
Try to roll over and if it takes a lot of effort, it’s too soft.
Make sure the base is similar to that of your bed as this will affect how the mattress feels. If you have a hard base (fixed slats or board) don’t test a mattress on a sprung base – it will feel different. Ask the staff to let you test it on the floor.
Two should go shopping if the bed is meant for both of you. See if you have enough space to move freely without disturbing the other person.
Solid, well-made and thick is what a mattress should be. It should be at least 15cm thick. Corners should have weight and edges should be solid.
Roll around – the mattress should not creak, crunch up or wobble.
If you don’t want to be disappointed with the mattress you are going to buy for your bedstead, then take a bit more time to test as many discount mattresses as possible for as long as possible.8
