To begin with, in a comparison of TempaGel vs. national competitors, Restonic’s base foams are often higher density and therefore higher quality. Secondly, only Restonic puts the gel foam right at the top of the mattress in all of its TempaGel Models.  iComfort for instance puts their gel foam under a layer of another type of non-gel foam in many of its models. http://www.sertacanada.com/icomfort-mattress-sleep-system-by-serta.html#icomfort-models. In my opinion this diminishes the cooling properties of the gel.

Thirdly, Restonic uses swirled gel and many of the other national competitors use beaded gel. Restonic’s gel is swirled like the flavouring of an ice cream into the accompanying foam, making it more stable. The other national competitors’ gel is like a crunchy bit that’s suspended within the ” ice cream” foam. It’s a separate structure and many deduce that it’s an inferior component compared to swirl gel. Restonic uses “Outlast” as the cover for your new TempaGel Mattress. Outlast is one of the highest priced and one of the best temperature regulating fabrics you can put on a mattress. It’s in, or on, many high-end sports equipment products. Restonic gives you Outlast on all our TempaGel models.

When you are shopping, if you want to test the national competitors Gel, simply rub the sample you may find in the store, this motion simulates you moving in your bed. I have noticed the beads of the national competitor’s Gel come off in your hand.

Most importantly, make every manufacturer give you a spec sheet and make sure you analyze it. We’re certain you will find that Restonic always gives you more of each type of product for less money. The mattress industry is scared to death you will start to buy mattresses the same way you buy almost everything else, by looking at the components. A bed with two inches of Talalay Latex in it, is different from one with only one inch of the of Talalay, or other Latex contained in it. That seems obvious, but when YOU shop for a DEAL and not by how the mattress is made, the phrase ” this mattress is similar ” used by the smiling salesperson, has no meaning. In our competitor’s mind similar is good enough when you are shopping for a deal. So, when similar is undefined, similar is what you will get and similar will cost you more money. Don’t shop for similar, shop for the same and what Restonic will give you . . . more for your money. Every day of the week.

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

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Let me give you some idea why the rate of dissatisfaction seems so high.

Firstly, as a rule, happy people don’t use these sites. Go to  to the Best Sleep Centre Google + page and there you will find the happy people, but the idea of this blog is to deal with the unhappy people.

So, what’s their problem, or problems?

Let’s just say that most people don’t take buying mattresses seriously. They don’t go looking for a mattress to sleep on for themselves, based on their specific needs; they go looking for a deal. Mattresses are personal items. They are almost medical devices. Buy the wrong one and you will see how fast it screws up your health.  The very best mattress made in a particular category might be the worst mattress for you. So it does not have to do with quality only. It also has to do with you finding a salesperson who knows the product, and the product should be “sleep”, as well as mattresses. Furthermore, the two of you, or the three of you have to find what you need. As a salesperson I need your help to do this. Today we had a “won’t take my coat off, won’t lie down, don’t care about anything but price, don’t want to talk to you” customer in the store. If she comes back and buys she has a very good chance of being unhappy and it will be her fault.

Let’s just say that most people don’t take buying mattresses seriously.

I need your time and something more than just “looking” and you need our expertise in knowing what’s right for you after you tell us what you’re going through;  then,  you need to take responsibility for the final choice. Because I can hear what you say but I can’t make you spend the amount of money you need to and I can’t feel what you’re feeling.

We give 90 to 120 days to figure it out in the home after a purchase is made to see if its right and go at it again if you choose wrong.

Quality determines how long it feels the way it felt in the store, but a great quality mattress that’s not for you is still great, it’s just not for you and if you buy it from me, or anyone else, you will be unhappy.

Another problem we see all the time when people shop for mattresses is people spend too little for there needs or don’t express their needs, or the salesman does not ask about their needs and they spend $600.00 on a mattress and after four years of use it’s not like it used to be, or it never worked at all.

Part of the problem is that the industry says this is possible because untrained sales staff are selling product and let’s face it a clerk can sell a $600.00 mattress from a pretend  $3000.00 MSRP  to a deal shopper. On the other hand, it takes a professional to sell a sleep-aid to a person with a need, discussing how it’s made, and the value of that instead of  ”Hey, today only, a $2400.00 saving!”  The right salesperson, the customer with the right attitude, the right dialogue and the right product promise and customers are happy.

What are the right promises?

First mattresses won’t last 10 or 25 years. Sears made these promises for years and people came to us in droves when they found out this was not true.  We see this now again in Winnipeg with IKEA mattresses coming to town “big promises about durability so that an untrained clerk can sell something to a customer that a professional should be selling. Let’s face it, it is easier to make a statement; this will last 25 years than it is to make a statement this could help your sleep, let’s take some time here and figure out what you need. You’ll find 484 coils in a queen pocket coil IKEA mattress (in comparison to 858 in ours). This is not going to last 25 years, is not going to reduce as much motion,  is not going to stay the way it feels in the store as long. It will also generally be a lot harder than people are comfortable with and the warranty covers “things that will never happen”.

That’s the way it is 60 percent of the time. We have legitimate warranties because anything made by a human can malfunction and we deal with these people, but we hear this too, “I’m not comfortable anymore” and people think THAT’S warranty and it’s not. The cheaper the mattress the sooner you will not be comfortable; the larger you are as a person, the more health needs you have multiplies the affect.

Is it beginning to sound like you need to purchase from and need to be sold to by a professional?

If I sold a 500 lb. client a mattress made for a 90 lb. little girl, even if it cost $500.00 it would not last eight years. It would last two and may never be proper for that client.  If you are light, and less active, and if your kids don’t jump on the bed,  and if your health does not change, a $1000.00 mattress might last ten years. Spend $120.00 for each year and after $1000.00 you get a better sleep for whatever “product specific”, “need specific” reason you bought that product for . . .  even still, you do not get a longer lifespan.

Why the long warranties then you ask.

It’s simple, this is how its been done for 75 years and it’s illegal to get into a room to change it. Problems that seem solvable happen for real reasons.

Here’s the real reason you can’t get a true warranty on your mattress.

Ten years ago a major brand was sued by the US government for two million dollars because the manufactures of the same brand sat in a room and worked out the wholesale prices of the same products so as to have consistency of product specs and price inside their own brand. Does McDonald’s not sell hamburgers at the same price at every store in a region? Yes, they do,  but the manufactures lost the court fight, calling it “collusion” and since that time no one in the industry has been able to sit in a room and say a $40,000.00 car is warranted three years,  a $1000.00 bed should be five at the most. There would be another lawsuit.

One brand can’t change on its own, or be first, because if you believe what I’m writing you are the smart ones and the sad fact is many just buy their mattress by price and warranty and figure out later that warranty does NOT cover anything that is GOING to happen and that’s why they are unhappy with their purchase. Their expectations were over-sold to get the sale and that’s the way its been done for 75 years.

It’s sagging but not enough, it’s too hard now, not covered, too soft now, not covered, too much motion now not covered, too hot now, not covered. If you buy a $600.00 or a $1000.00 mattress and six years later something is not the same as it was when you bought it . . . not covered. Warranty covers a specific thing, “what’s that specific thing?” you ask:

• Great mattresses, beyond a 3/4 inch impression
• Good mattresses beyond 1.5 inches
• Bad mattresses beyond 1.75 inches

The biggest companies who use the most of these MSRP tactics and filler products have a standard of two inches, also covered are edge-guard breakdown, but remember any abuse and the warranty is void. Your kids jumping on the bed is abuse and can void the warranty. Changing light bulbs and standing on the bed can also void your warranty.

So how do you not get ripped off in this industry?

The problem is solved by the customer and the salesperson taking the buying process seriously.

Is it wrong to ask you to spend between $80.00 to $180.00 per year per person to sleep depending on the health issues involved?  What are the alternatives:

• Pills – $1.00 to $5.00 a day
• Chiropractor – $60 a visit
• Massage $60.00 – $80.00  a visit

Cheap  - $700.00 mattresses used by one person for three years at $233.00 per year cost.

The cost of a great mattress that is $1500.0 or more dollars is much cheaper than a deal that cost $600.00.

I’ve got another piece of news for you; realize that today brand on its own means NOTHING. Every brand is done by franchisees who own the factory and determine on their own for the most part whats in the mattress that they name whatever they want,  and again my other story those franchisees can’t talk price to each other and don’t make the same beds from one region to another.

It’s called a Simm—-s Black Super Duper in one region, a Super Deluxe in the next region and a Great Cloud in the next. The way its built is decided by the franchisee making it. It’s not a car, it’s not a boat, it’s not a Skidoo.  Many of the major brands these days have gone bankrupt or are carrying serious debt load. Why do you care? Because these brands pay their debt by making the mattresses that cost $1000.00 with cheaper ingredients than they used to have in them. It’s called “despecing”.

I as a competent retailer who pays his bills and has a stake in looking after his customers, I  have more control of the product you are buying than any brand name you may think you like; and herein lies the key to getting a proper mattress.

KNOW WHO you buy from and KNOW WHAT you are BUYING.

Best Sleep Centre has been selling mattresses for twenty one years. The employees that are here the most have been around five  years or more and sales management for ten years or longer. If the majority of the staff in a store has turned over in two years what should that tell you? Get a brochure specific to the complete and total make up of the mattress you are looking at. EVERY component listed  . . . period.

THE SAME information I get when I buy, or the same information they get when they buy from the manufacturer. REFUSE to buy from ANYONE who will not tell you in writing in a brochure specific to the exact mattress you are looking at and then find two, or whatever your level of shopping comfort is – CHOOSE what feels good to you and choose the one that’s built of the best materials at the best price. In short, make the industry change.

“ONLY YOU CAN STOP FOREST FIRES” pardon me, “ONLY YOU CAN STOP YOU FROM BEING RIPPED OFF”.

The other thing is that I, David Keam, and my personal friend  the franchisee, and my long term professional staff , are the most important people in getting you a proper mattress.

Over the twenty one years we have been together we have decided:

We don’t use products that are designed to cheapen the cost, raise the profile (height) of the mattress, and increase short term sales at long term pain for you and me. So we don’t use convoluted foam, we don’t use fibres ” silk, wool, and Dacron, in the top of the mattress, sounds sexy ‘ssssssilk”,  but it compacts and is cheaper than good quality topper foam and we don’t use low grade 1.0 and 1.35 lbs foam.

This is the most important piece of furniture in your home. This and the pillow, and if you understand what you are buying you will pay less for it and be happier with it.

So to tie up my title, take some responsibility for this very important purchase for the next three hours and make my industry give you as much written information as they have on the mattress you want to buy from them, and don’t take no for an answer. Walk if they will not photocopy that book they go too to tell you the mattress they are showing you is SIMILAR to the one you have written info on. Only by walking for lack of written information will you change this industry.

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Normally $1299.99 these three piece bonded leather couch sets were tweeted at $799.99 in November 2012.

I don’t sell a 42″ X 66″ table with one leaf exactly, so I will use close comparisons. I sell a 38″ X 63″ table with one leaf, solid wood construction just like the one in the ad. The chairs I sell are the same quality, or better, but for this blog post let’s just say they are the same quality. The total regular price is $808.96 every single day of the year. We also carry a much larger table 44″ X 84.5″ with two butterfly leaves in it for $897.00.

I sell the same quality product for hundreds less every day and can’t seem to get the idea across to the public fast enough.

So you can have a little less for $200.00 less, or a lot more for $100.00 less at my store, at the same quality or higher.

I tweeted that a $1299.99 three piece bonded leather couch sets were now $799.99. The customer just had to show us the tweet to get the deal. I received no response at all. Now I’m selling lots of products, don’t get me wrong, sales are increasing monthly at about 5% to 8%. We have no problem selling the “Sleep” side of the business that we have been growing for 25 years and our top end quality product on the “Seat” side is moving nicely as well.

So, what’s the problem then you ask? Be happy! Here’s the problem. . .

I need to raise my prices to have more dollars to advertise more because companies with higher prices and larger advertising budgets are still selling lots of lower quality product at higher prices than I am. I had a friend who does not talk to his mom very much tell me she spent $5400.00 on a double electric bed from an Ontario company from a paper flyer. She bought sight unseen; she dropped $5400.00 bucks on a bed she could have bought at my store for $2400.00 and at my store the mattress was better quality and we have a comfort guarantee.

I need to raise my prices to have more dollars to advertise more because companies with higher prices and larger advertising budgets are still selling lots of lower quality product at higher prices than I am.

After the ten days cooling off period they delivered. She flipped the mattress over and one side was hard and one was soft and she did not like either. This is no way to build a mattress. She did not like the bed at all and couldn’t sleep on it, so she gave it to her sister. That was $5400.00 down the drain. So here’s my thought: should I be charging $3400.00 for my product so I can spend another $1000.00 on advertising, so I can save this lady and others like her $2000.00? Seems silly, but I’m thinking I may need to do this.

The problem as I see it is no one trusts anyone anymore and believes everyone is dishonest, so just buy from the guy who comes to mind first. Truly what else can the answer be, $799.99 for a three piece bonded leather couch set that I have sold for six months for $1099, priced on twitter for $799 and not a single response; re-tweeted by friends and associates and still nothing. Why? Consumers simply don’t believe it and are not willing to think it through and are not willing to check it out at least via this medium.

Is Twitter really only for information about where I’m eating what hamburger? I get positive responses to those tweets!

My whole idea, “shtick” if you may, is asking the consumer to think. In the furniture business the product sold by all my competitors is on sale 365 days a year unless there is a leap year and then its 366 days. Many consumers when I tell them this say “Yes I know that. How much is your discount? When is your sale?”. Many many more are getting my point and that’s why we are growing, but all too slowly for my liking.

Leons just bought The Brick. What did they buy? They bought another set of leases, some stock, and some “advertising concepts”? Boxing week 60 days a year or more at the Brick and Ho Ho hold the payments at Leons. The prices are the same and now the two venues with “phony sales” are owned by the same buyers instead of one. Whichever HO HO or Boxing Week Blow-Out event you want to believe in, they will prosper even though the prices are higher than my store.

So it seems I would need to raise my prices. If I’m selling a mattress for $1700.00 and my competitors are outselling me on a comparable product at $2000.00, should spend another $300.00 on advertising for that one mattress? You probably say to yourself, “That’s nuts, who spends $300.00 on a single item for advertising alone?” A Tempurpedic Classic has $900.00 to $1000.00 worked into the price just for advertising. Just for advertising? Yes, just for advertising! That bed’s quality is a 2 lbs. X 2 inch Visco elastic with six or seven inches of base-foam also at 2 lbs.

A Tempurpedic Classic has $900.00 to $1000.00 worked into the price just for advertising.

I sell a mattress with three inches of 3.4 lb foam on five inches of 2 lb. base-foam for $379.99. The Tempurpedic Classic is $1600.00, so ONE THOUSAND dollars is invested in this product to make you WANT IT and not THINK ABOUT how it is made. This same ONE THOUSAND dollars MAKES you MAD at ME for telling you this because you figure this can’t be the case. It is the case. This is the way the world works – more advertising less information. It works in politics just as it works in furniture. It’s the same tactic; let’s go to so and so because they’re top of mind. The subconscious thought processes have been triggered by having $1000.00 invested in advertising a single mattress.

So here’s my point – I think I’ll raise my prices; if advertising on Kijji does not change the current status quo.

It’s my last hope. The Internet has helped. Google has helped a lot, but let’s face it, “HO HO BOXING DAY for the fifth time this year VIP SALE not open to public, but you can come in today because we like you” is still the most powerful medium for selling furniture.

Anyway, I have not decided which way to go. We are now the largest independent mattress retailer in Manitoba and Best Seat Centre is growing. If I wait two more years and keep our prices this low I believe we will really explode. Five to eight percent growth is nice a year, but I think it should be much much more. I may have to raise my prices to save you money.

David Keam,
President
Best Sleep Centre Inc.

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So this is how the story goes: A company sells hundreds of thousands of mattresses and basically changes the way mattresses are made and sold. Their stock goes through the roof and they become a top ten producer in ten years as opposed to fifty. Then the top ten catch up and the high flying company loses sales to the other top ten, sales plummet and the stock falls through the floor. This is the story of TempurPedic and their new line of Classic beds

Now imagine you are General Motors and the same thing happens to you.

To combat this you take the Cadillac and you put a three cylinder engine, plastic seats and a install a Walmart stereo and still call it a Cadillac. You cut the price thirty percent to compensate. Problem is the “despecing” (reducing the value of the components) is worth much more than the thirty percent discount, but because you are still calling it a Cadillac people are willing to pay the new price  - you hope, you need the new sales.

The difference between the mattress business and the car business is that you would see the three cylinder engine and the plastic seats. You don’t see the change from 5.3 lb. foam to the 2.5 lb. foam. It looks the same and even feels similar, its just not worth what they are charging for it anymore except that it’s still a TempurPedic. Add a free TV to grab attention and that $1499.00 bed (that used to be $2600.00) is what people have been waiting for for years; the price drop on TempurPedics. What people don’t know is that they pay $1600.00 for mattresses of the same specifications from the Brick or a Sears that are available for $379.00 at many stores in North America. This is without the FREE TV. They are actually the same quality or better for $1200.00 less

This is the mattress business. If you do not shop according to the specifications you will over pay.

The only people who can stop this are you, the consumer. The only way to stop it is to MAKE the vendor give you a specific brochure on the specific mattress you are looking at buying in their store. No other product on the market than mattresses is the customer willing to have so little information in the process of making the decision and it’s your fault. You want the free delivery, you want the free TVs and you believe the “mismatch box spring” hype.

The nice thing about something being your fault is that YOU have the POWER to CHANGE the situation. Just start demanding spec sheets the same as you get from my website and you will pay less for you mattress.

The mattress business is like the car business. In the car business original equipment manufacturers make the most of the parts not the brand manufacturer. Same is true with mattresses. OEM’s make products, bring them to us and we make cakes with them. You want to buy the best cake for your money? The only way to do that is to demand to know what the ingredients are. Next time you need a mattress buy a cake and not a deal. You’ll sleep better and pay less money.

The post How to Buy a Mattress – Part 5 – David Keam appeared first on .

Here’s the doctor’s advice; wash you’re bedding every week and cover your pillow and mattress with an impermeable cover. This simple procedure takes care of the majority of the problem. The other idea is to put your pillows in the sun once a month on the patio table. Switch sides every half hour and leave them outside for an hour. You can do this in winter too. The sun kills dust mites and most bacteria in your pillow without any chemicals at all.

Read our post on Mattress Covers to find out more about how you can protect mattress from dust mites and bacteria.

At Best Sleep Centre we carry the OmniGuard Ultra Pureflow Pillow Protector with AirXchange technology. They are waterproof, allergen proof, dust mite proof and bedbug proof.  It will not alter the comfort of your pillow and it is approved for all memory foam and latex pillows. Machine wash and dry hot settings. The patented AirXchange filter allows air to flow through without letting allergens, dust mites, moisture or bedbugs in. They include a five year manufacturer’s warranty.

Click on the image to view it in the online store.

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When you put a mattress, box spring, headboard and frame in a room it is a bedroom. If you use your bedroom as a home office you are going to look silly Skypeing Chinese suppliers with a mattress in the background. I know I’ve done it. Now take that same room and put in a Wall Bed and your supplier will see a nice cabinet in the back ground and you are in your office.

At Best Sleep Centre we sell Wallbeds of the highest quality made of solid birch plywood and birch veneers. No MDF just real wood. We ship anywhere in Canada and any local cabinet company can install it for you. Visit our web page and after you find what you like email us for a quote. Compare prices at any local shop and we will be able to provide you with better quality at the same or lower prices than your local dealers.

Wall Beds have come a long way since the era of the Keystone cops. Sitting on the wall as opposed to in the wall and many have tables or desks built in. Wall Beds are the best option to turn you daughter’s old bedroom into the dual use room you always wished it was. In lofts, student quarters, or bachelor suites the improved use of space will increase the potential rental income that a living space can demand. It can also increase the desire of the prospective renters to occupy that space. They look cool and ours come with lifetime guarantees on the mechanisms (working parts).

The many different styles these products come in now; wallbeds available to be used in any size room, in horizontal or vertical designs, twin, full or queen size. Many have space for hanging clothes and even built in nightstands. Our units let you use up to an eleven inch mattress so comfort is no longer an issue.

So the next time you are thinking of moving because your home is too small; think about a Wall Bed. They are way less expensive than a real estate agent’s commission. For additional info dial 1-800-383-7755 or email info@bestsleepcentre.com

Best Sleep Centre delivers mattresses and bedroom furniture anywhere eighteen wheels will go. Our showrooms are located throughout Winnipeg in St. James, Nairn, St.Vital, Morden, Brandon, Steinbach and in Portage La Prairie.

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If you have been following my blog post on “How to Buy a Mattress” you might be saying; gee this is getting complicated and I can tell you my competitors hope that you are finding it complicated. The idea here is that you are spending $500.00 to $6000.00 on a product that you will spend one third of your life in for the next seven to ten years. The more serious you take this for one or two days, the more money you save, the more comfortable you will be and the better you will sleep for the next long while.

Getting serious for two hours or two days depending on your shopping style is what I’m asking you to do and I will pay you big money to do it.

The old style of buying a bed just because it’s (pretend) 50% or 60% off has got to go. I think I’ve made that point. So I’ll make another instead of harping on the same one; although I just had a young couple in the store whose parents told them to go to Sears because beds were 60% percent off “this weekend only”. They spent less money here for a better bed regular price. Done!

When you get down to it the more you and your partner (if you have one) weigh, the more you need to spend on your mattress, or the more you need to realize and be told the truth about how long this purchase is going to last. I weigh 150 lbs. or so, soaking wet, and my wife I won’t say (smarter than that), but I will say less than me. If I spend $800.00 dollars on a mattress set it will last me-alone longer than it would with the combined weight of 450 lbs. from a different couple. “Why?” you ask, “I thought warranty covered that”. Warranty does not cover that as warranty for EVERY manufacturer covers manufacturer defects not wear and tear. We sell heavier and lighter people the same mattresses every day; we are just honest enough to tell them to expect different lifespans from their purchases.

See we want your business for the next 50 years and we are willing to wait three years to get it. If we are honest with you and you buy from us we have you for life. If we are honest with you and you still buy somewhere else; when that purchase falls apart in three years we will get you then. We are willing to wait. So ask yourself “how much do I weigh” and be willing to spend more money to accomplish the needs of your body than a lighter customer, or be willing to replace your purchase more often.

Bare in in all mattresses will get “body impressions”. Watch David’s informational video on Mattress Body Impressions.

Your health determines cost as well.

The no arthritis, no back problems, sleeps well anywhere person can spend less. If the people with these problems want help to reduce these issues they must invest in their health. A good mattress is not going to solve every problem that you have, but it will sure help and the wrong one for you, even if it’s good quality, can make things much worse.

If done right this is a long term purchase and as such, the more thought you put into it the happier you will be.

The retail industry as a whole wants you to think ‘on sale’, ‘nice salesperson’, ‘free delivery’, ‘huge discount’ I’ll buy here! We want you to think about how the product is made and compare your needs to the product offered. Think about this the same way you do about a car or computer. If you do, you will sleep better longer, spend less money doing it, probably take less drugs over the years, visit the doctor a little less and generally be a happier person and or couple. Mattresses are the most important piece of furniture in your home and the least expensive per use, no matter how much you spend, unless you buy the wrong one for you, in which case quality won’t help you.

Do some homework, do some thinking and buy the right mattress for you and we will both be very happy to see each other seven, or eight, or ten years from now for a new one for you, or sooner when you bring in family or friends for the same great service.

Best Sleep Centre products can be bought on line and shipped anywhere in the world.

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A good quality pillow is the cheapest and easiest way for anyone to increase the amount of sleep they are getting each night. I always say mattresses are the least expensive furniture in your home no matter how much you spend. Well the pillow is the very least expensive sleep-aid you can buy. Having a quality, properly fitted pillow, can save you a bundle on sleep-aid products and massage. To buy a pillow is really quite simple. In other blogs I see writers go on about this type of pillow for side sleepers and this type for back sleepers and another type for ‘floppers’. I can say after twenty-something years in the sleep business there is not one type of pillow for one type of sleeper. It boils down to this.

Like pants, pillows fit, or don’t fit.

The type of pillow you need is determined by how big you are and your neck to shoulder ratio. Next, you consider what’s most comfortable and durable. Then, out of the different types of quality foams and fibers in the market, you decide what feels best to you.

Do these four things when buying a pillow. Save money and sleep better.

1. Buy a good pillow

   If you are a small person, a good pillow will be smaller and softer, but it will still take up the area from your shoulder to your neck, to the mattress. Very few people stay on their side, or back, all night and having your neck lined up straight with your back in all positions will help you sleep better.

2. Take your time choosing your pillow

   There is no 222-2222 for a quick quality pillow like there is for a quality pizza. Take twenty minutes to half an hour and find a bed that feels like yours at home in the store and try different pillows until you find one that fits you. Pulling a $15.00 or $5.00 pillow off the shelf at a grocery store is no way to save money on pillows. Doing this will reward you with a large collection of pillows, but not a good night’s sleep.

3. Size matters

   At Best Sleep Centre we have developed the Hal Anderson pillow. It’s a pillow for big people. For those of us who know Hal; he is Winnipeg’s most popular Morning DJ. Hal is a big guy, 475 lbs to be fair. If you weigh 225 and have folded every pillow you have ever had in two, this pillow is for you. In the last two years we have sold 2500 pillows of various styles. About a year ago we developed our own pillow for larger customers who could not find anything to FIT them. The Hal Anderson pillow is heavy and made of the highest quality five lb SpaceFoam. Don’t hit anyone with it. You’ll be charged with assault. It feels like an uncooked loaf of bread and fits the neck to shoulder ratio of big people perfectly. It starts hard and melts to your shape, relieving all pressure and aligns the neck to the spine of big people correctly.

4. Buy cheap, buy twice, or even thrice

   An expensive pillow costs $20.00. Here’s why; you won’t use it and it won’t stay the way it felt in the store for more than a year. A cheap pillow costs between $50.00 and $120.00 dollars. They will last 3 to 5 years and will help you sleep better. So take your time picking them.

Final Thoughts

I sometimes have to remind people you get what you pay for. I have people tell me things like “I don’t like SpaceFoam pillows or Latex pillows” and when I ask why they tell me they bought a pillow once and did not like it. Whenever I ask where they bought it from, it inevitably was from their favourite place to buy steaks or case-lots of Christmas paper. There are different quality levels for everything and once something is proven to work at $200.00, people then make other versions for a $100.00. If it’s a good company that will work, but if they knock it off for $20.00 nothing is the same as the $200.00 item except the shape and basic ingredient. A TempurPedic TM pillows cost up to $280.00. It’s a great pillow, twenty four hours a day 365 days a year fifteen channels at a time, advertising and research and development makes it cost what it costs. With less advertising costs involved we can get out great quality pillows of the same standard down to between $100.00 and $129.00 . Discount city cannot get it down to $20.00. It is not the same product, not the same weight and not the same composition of the foam. So do yourself a favour and take your time with this purchase and buy quality. We source and design other pillows from $49.00 and up. All of the highest quality. Buying a proper pillow will in the end help you sleep better and that’s what this blog is about.

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Before I worked at Best Sleep Centre, I worked a stint as a vacuum salesman.  One thing I took away from that experience was that mattresses are a lot dirtier than I ever imagined (if you are squeemish I apologize for the rest of this paragraph).   For the vacuum demonstration we would do all the “our vacuum is better than your vacuum” tests that you’ve seen before on the shopping channel.  One test I was not familiar with, was the Mattress test.  We were trained to ask potential customers as kindly and respectfully as possible to do a small demonstration on their mattress.  I would pull the sheets back, put in a black filter in the bag area and turn the vacuum on and hold it stationary on the mattress for five seconds.  After turning the vacuum off, I would take out the small black filter and there would be up to one inch of dead skin pulled out of the mattress.  Depending on how old the mattress was, sometimes the cake of skin was only an 1/8 of an inch if the mattress was a year or so old.  Every person that saw this demonstration had an expression of disbelief.  This was not some demonstration mattress I brought in from the van, this was their mattress.

Some Health Facts About Mattress Hygiene

The Human body loses at least a half-litre of body fluids from the mouth and skin pores every night.  We shed millions of skin flakes or at least one full layer of skin every thirty days.  This is why a mattress is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, mould and Dust Mites (Dust Mite faeces being a major cause of asthma, eczema and rhinitis).  A shocking statistic I ran across was that an unprotected, four month old mattress, there is 100,000 to 2 million dust mites!

Choosing A Proper Mattress Protector

What I suggest to use as a mattress protector should protect your mattress without sacrificing feel and comfort.  We carry a line of mattress covers that will protect your mattress from dead skin, Dust Mites, pet dander, accidental spills and food/beverage stains. Come into your nearest Best Sleep Centre and ask to see a demonstration of the Mattress Protectors that are waterproof but breathable.  They will help you enjoy the feel of your mattress and keep it clean for years to come.

- Jordan Bowcott

View our selection of mattress covers.

Other good reasons to protect your mattress:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/part/protect-proteger/bedbugs-punaises-lit/prevent-prevenir-eng.php

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