This is National Sleep Awareness Week®! Sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation, this special week is a good time to focus on strategies for getting a better night’s sleep. The best strategy? Build a good night’s sleep from the bottom up – with what you are sleeping on!
Think of your mattress and foundation as sleep equipment. As in any endeavor, the quality of your equipment matters. Tennis pros invest in just the right racket. Golfers on the PGA Tour care deeply about the clubs they use. I don’t recall a NASCAR driver winning a major race in a clunker! Similarly, what you sleep on can contribute to a good night’s sleep.
According to the Better Sleep Council, if your mattress is more than seven years old, it’s probably time to consider a new one —or at least try some new mattresses to see if they feel more supportive and comfortable than what you are used to sleeping on. Find mattress-shopping advice here.
With so many manufacturers and retailers today offering mattresses containing CertiPUR-US® certified foam, it’s easy to find a mattress (and topper and pillow) that will make you comfortable physically as well as mentally, by giving you the peace of mind that comes with knowing more about the products you bring into your home.
Whether your mattress is made with conventional foam, viscoelastic (memory) foam or a variation, you’ll sleep better knowing the flexible polyurethane foam inside meets rigorous standards for content, emissions and durability. Certified foam is:
- Made without ozone depleters
- Made without PBDEs, TDCPP or TCEP (“Tris”) flame retardants
- Made without mercury, lead and other heavy metals
- Made without formaldehyde
- Made without phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Has low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions for indoor air quality (less than 0.5 parts per million)
Once you get a new bed, be sure you spend enough time on it! The National Sleep Foundation offers a bedtime calculator that allows you to figure out what time to go to bed based on how many hours you want to sleep and when your morning alarm will ring.
Happy National Sleep Awareness Week to all!
