Orthopedic beds and mattresses

Selecting an orthopaedic bed or mattress

An orthopedic mattress should offer a level of flexibility and support that enable it to provide optimum cradling of the human body at rest. The spine should be held in a natural, neutral and comfortable position enabling restful sleep and a feeling of well being the following morning.

Why select an orthopaedic bed or mattress

Many firm traditional (coil and pocket sprung) mattresses are too rigid and do not adjust adequately to accommodate the curves of the human body.

Softer beds and mattresses can be too soft , or fail to provide enough support. These overly soft beds can misalign the spine and cause aches, discomfort and even long term lumbar difficulties.

Finding the right bed

The information on this website should provide you with plenty of advice about bed types and materials of construction. Equally, your experience of your own bed and your personal sleeping patterns should arm you with a good idea of what is and is not comfortable for you.

The Sleep Council states that -

"A good quality mattress is as important as diet and exercise, when it comes to feeling good,"

So buying a new bed is an important decision.

Things to consider

• Decide how good your existing bed is (or is not) and note any faults or negative features that you have noticed about it. Is it too hard, does it “give” too much, is it big enough. Have you slept better in another bed. If so, where and what was that bed like. Take account of all these points in selecting your next bed.
• Find out which products are on offer and, importantly, what is within you budget. But remember that a good bed will see 10 to 15 years of active use. If you consider £100 per year to be a reasonable price for a good nights sleep, that will give you a budget of between £1000 and £1500 to spend. Your car will get less use, have a shorter life and cost much more (initially and to run), so a quality bed is always good value.
• Look at the features of the different bed types of beds available (e.g. memory foam, spring systems, latex, composite etc) and see if you can eliminate any options straight away.
• Consider how you (and your partner) sleep. As a general guide, firm mattresses are recommended for stomach and some back sleepers, softer mattresses are recommended for side sleepers, and medium mattresses are recommended for the majority of back sleepers. But these are general guides only.
• Think about the maximum size of bed that your room can accommodate. Current thinking suggests that a standard double bed “does not” provide an adequate amount of “moving space” for two fully grown adults. If you can fit a queen or king sized bed in to your room, do so.
• Are you a hot or cold sleeper. Some people tend to get hot in the night whilst other tend towards feeling cool. Hot sleepers may find cheap memory foam beds too warm at night (although the more expensive versions have clever air ventilation designs).
• Do you have allergies or require a hypoallergenic bed system. If so, memory foam and latex beds will offer better solutions than traditional beds and mattresses (although some people can have a latex allergy).
• If you select a memory foam bed, look for at least two layers of memory foam and a minimum mattress thickness of 8 inches.
• Visit a showroom and test drive some beds by lying on them. Do this for several minutes, testing each bed and mattress for comfort and support in different positions. Make sure that you spend several minutes lying statically in your most comfortable sleeping position. In total, you should probably allocate a full morning or afternoon for this bed auditioning exercise.
• If you buy online, check the beds “return” details. Some suppliers will let you “try out” the bed for up to 3 months with a full money back guarantee is you choose to return it. This is always a good option, but only available on top brands.
• If money is no object, consider the biggest bed with the thickest multi-material-composite mattress from one of the major manufacturers. These beds incorporate amazing technology with different horizontal sections of the bed and mattress designed to fulfil different sleep assisting functions.
• If you have a medical problem or ailment that necessitates an orthopaedic bed, speak to your doctor or consultant first and follow any advice that they offer.