The Giants Strike Back: Established manufacturers challenge the upstarts For the last few years there has been a proliferation of start-up companies selling mattresses only online and shipping them directly to the customer in a cardboard box. Just a few of the newcomers are Yogabed, Casper Sleep, Tuft & Needle, Lull and Leesa. The mattress-in-a-box trend actually started in 2006 with BedInABox, which began selling mattresses online, compressing and rolling them, and shipping them in...
See-Saw Support I remember when as a child I played with other children on a tilting board, variously called a "see-saw" or "teeter-totter." Pushing with our feet, we would alternately go up and down. Easy enough to do when we were both close to the same weight. This was where we learned the principle of the balance scale. When one end goes down, the other goes up. and it's the heavier end that goes down. That's the way it was on the see-saw. With an average first grader and a fifth...
Sleep Patterns: What they are and why they matter So often we hear about our need to get enough sleep and to sleep restfully. It is important that we are not sleep deprived. It is a matter of health and safety. It does affect the quality of our work. A lot of stress is also put on the type of beds and pillows we use. Lack of proper support and cushioning leads to problems with backs, necks and other joints. It can cause breathing difficulties and make them worse. Other items also factor...
What's New in Box Springs? For many of us, the box spring is a Ho-Hum item. We buy a mattress, and a box spring is included. When the new mattress is delivered and set up, the box spring is placed on the rolling steel frame, which is adjusted for fit. Then the new mattress is placed on the new box spring. We think we know what a box spring is, so we just take it for granted. The truth is, that plain old box spring under our bed might not be as old a design as we think. It may be something...
Progressive Rate Springs: What Are They Doing in My Bed? If anyone of us knows what progressive rate springs (PRS) are, the first place we expect them is in wheeled vehicles. In fact, that is the intended application of progressive rate coiled springs, and that is what comes up first in an online search. So it surprising to find "progressive rate springs" in the description of a mattress. And a waterbed mattress, no less! Before we go on, let's see what a progressive rate spring is. Some...
Ubiquitous Vinyl - It Is Everywhere Vinyl - it is literally everywhere. It covers our houses, carries water into the house and sewage out, and bags our food and our garbage. It is hard; it is soft. It can be the box and the wrapping. We can pour out of it, drink from it, eat off it, and eat with it. It can protect our mattress, and in some cases can be the mattress. And it can be the casing on our remote. So what is vinyl? And how can it be used for so many things? When we say "vinyl"...
Sleeping on Air Many of us have dreamed at one time or another of floating on a cloud. Sometimes using a high-end luxury mattress is described as "sleeping on a cloud" or "sleeping on air." That is not always just a figure of speech. When we use an airbed, we are literally sleeping on air. As with any mattress concept, the goal is restful, restorative sleep. The modern airbed had its beginning with bicycles and automobiles. The first pneumatic tires (inflated with air) used innertubes,...
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