Every morning I was waking up with sore hips. I’m a side sleeper, and our mattress was less than two years old. I thought, “No way it’s time to purchase another mattress again so soon!”
It was a mattress I absolutely adored when we purchased it. The first time I laid on it, I knew I wanted that mattress. It was so soft and plush. I felt like I was laying in a bed of clouds. Just the mattress for me!
As the months wore on, I realized this just wasn’t going to work. As much as I loathed shopping for a new mattress after just a couple of years, I knew the pain and waking up multiple times a night to sore hips just was not worth it.
What to look for when shopping for a new mattress?
The mattress my husband and I landed on was Organix. While I very highly recommend you consider this mattress, you can use these concepts when shopping around for any mattress. (But I really don’t think you’ll find a better mattress out there.)
1. Comfort
Comfort is king. For better or worse, this is the #1 thing I look for in a mattress. You spend about 1/4 to 1/3 of your life on a mattress, so by golly it better be comfortable!
As I found out with my prior mattress, it isn’t just comfort in the short-term that matters but comfort in the long-term as well. Is it comfortable all night long? Is it comfortable night after night, week after week?
One thing that is important when sleeping is good posture. I bet (unless you’re a chiropractor) you haven’t thought much about posture while you sleep. Organix is the only bed that distributes your weight correctly, supporting good posture while you sleep. This is why Organix is the bed many chiropractors recommend.
One of the things I noticed was the lack of pressure on my hips while sleeping, which has resulted in no more sore hips in the morning. Listen to what this physician has to say about Organix (formerly intelliBED).
2. Toxins
Most mattresses, unless you’re purchasing organic, are filled with toxins. Toxins that you inhale every single day. While some of you may not be particularly aware of this, others might be.
Most mattresses emit strong gasses—a phenomenon called off-gassing. This can be very irritating to the respiratory system and even if you don’t notice it can ever so slowly cause long-term damage to your body and contribute to disease.
…growing evidence shows that PBDE compounds are escaping from the products they protect and making their way into the products’ users. Moreover, the chemicals may disrupt human thyroid hormone functioning and cause other health effects, prompting many nations to ban or suspend their use in new consumer goods. (Environmental Health Perspectives May 2008)
You see, in the 1960s the government passed a law that all mattresses must pass a flammability test. In addition to the chemicals from the foam in your mattress and chemical flame retardants our mattresses are doused in, there are a lot of chemicals that are being emitted!
In 2005, Walter Bader, author of the book Toxic Bedrooms, sent several mattresses to a lab. A memory-foam model was found to emit 61 chemicals, including the carcinogens benzene and naphthalene.
This is another reason that the Organix mattress stood out to me. While there are organic mattresses out there that are non-toxic, Organix does not use any of these harmful toxins in their mattresses. To meet federal flame retardant regulations, nontoxic silica thread is used, which is the same stuff in the little white packets in supplement bottles.
3. Allergens
Did you know that a standard mattresses approximately double it’s weight every 10 years? Wanna know why? It’s gross. It fills up with dust mites, mite feces, mold, mildew, dead skin, and more nastiness. For those that have allergies to dust and dust mites, a standard coil mattress is a mine field.
While there may be organic mattresses out there that are non-toxic, many organic mattresses can still cause problems with allergies. Even organic mattresses use blends of natural materials like cotton, wool, and latex which can cause allergic reactions.
Unlike standard and organic mattresses, Organix mattresses are 100% hypoallergenic. This is a very good thing for my family who struggles with allergies.
4. Durability
A new mattress is a pretty big investment. I don’t ever again want to have to replace my mattress after just a couple of years. It’s important that my mattress hold up. Most mattresses last just 5-10 years.
If you want to ensure you’re buying a durable mattress, look for a good warranty. What’s a good warranty? Well, Organix offers a 20 year warranty. Their beds will likely hold up even longer than that though.
5. Value
While Organix is not the cheapest bed on the market, it’s also not the most expensive. Compared to organic mattresses that I’ve looked at, it’s moderately priced. While it’s a decent up-front investment, given the fact that you can count on your bed to last 20+ years, it actually is an incredible value.
Is there a one-size-fits-all mattress solution?
While I truly believe Organix is a great bed for most people, I realize that buying a bed isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. I think they realize that too. They offer a few different levels of softness for their mattress. We chose the softest mattress.
They also offer a 90-day in-home trial offer. You can sleep on their mattress for 90 days (using their mattress protector) and if you don’t love the bed, just call them and let them know you’d like to return it. They’ll even pay for the return shipping. You’ve got nothing to lose!
Get a Discount on Organix
Organix is offering Intoxicated on Life readers a generous discount! If you’d like to give their beds a try, just use promo code: IOL for 10% off mattress, free sheets & mattress protector, and free shipping (up to $1,000 in savings).
My wife and I bought a bed three years ago but I have been feeling really stiff when I wake up recently. I am not sure if it is the mattress or something else, but I am looking into different things. I like your considerations to make when looking for a mattress. If I wanted to look into intellibed, do I have to go to an intellibed store or do other places sell them? Thanks for the ideas!
I really don’t know if other retailers sell them, but I’ve not seen them anywhere except online.
Wish I had thought of these before buying my mattress about 3 years ago. It really is important to reduce toxins that come in contact with our bodies. Thanks for sharing on Let’s Get Real Link Party.
This is a good overview. Toxins are definitely something that is overlooked when people buy mattresses. People sometimes get duped as well by companies claiming they have a “green” product when they don’t really have one.
Exactly.
“Did you know that a standard mattresses approximately double it’s weight every 10 years? Wanna know why? It’s gross. It fills up with dust mites, mite feces, mold, mildew, dead skin, and more nastiness. For those that have allergies to dust and dust mites, a standard coil mattress is a mine field.”
How much does this mattress weigh after 30 years?
Hi. Thank you for your post. I learned quite a lot. But I’m not sure I agree with the part on memory foam mattresses. Memory mattresses take alittle time to acquire your body’s shape. But that time span is really short; it takes just a fraction of a second, assuming it has been well broken into. And if you can get one of the higher end versions (which are only a few dollars more compared to what you’re already spending on that mattress, the common complaint regarding cooling shouldn’t stand very long either. The only part I dislike about memory foam mattresses is that the cooling gels last a year or two shorter than the mattress itself. I don’t know for certain, but i guess changing the mattress at 18 or 20 years of its life isn’t much of a difference.
I am actually more concerned about the toxins that the memory foam emits! That’s a major problem.
My wife and I are looking for a new mattress. Her back has been hurting very badly after she sleeps and we want to make sure she is comfortable. I agree that you want to find a mattress that is durable so you don’t have to replace it every few years. Buying a mattress is a hassle, and I want to do it as little as possible.
For sure! Hope you’re able to find a mattress that works well for your wife and you 🙂
I knew that it’s not that much easy to choose a right mattress. Thanks for sharing these tips to choose a perfect mattress.
You’re welcome!
Very useful guide! I agree with the toxins section. The materials (LITERALLY) make the bed.
However, its a challenge to find mattresses that are affordable AND “green.”
What do you suggest in that manner?
Thanks for sharing valuable points, I am going to buy a mattress soon and I will keep all these points in my mind.
Regards,
Mary
Nice post! Its great of you to share the tips on choice of right mattresses as most of the people are not aware about what to look for in a perfect mattress. I totally agree with you! Keep it up!