Welcome to The Rest Shoppe!

Of course, we recommend that everyone read this entire page. But if you have certain questions, use the following links.

In the past, a mattress was "just something we sleep on." In the last twenty years, massive amounts of research has been done in the field of "Sleep Science" towards discovering the impact of sleep on our bodies, mind and emotions, and life in general. Poor sleep quality has been linked to numerous health problems such as fatigue and headaches (in the short term) or increased risk of heart disease or Alzheimer's (long run).

Research has determined that your sleep environment has the largest impact on your quality of sleep. Sleep should take place in cool temperatures (65 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit). Your bedroom should be free of any background noise or light. Many people sleep to the television and radio; the sounds and flashing lights can break up your sleep cycle, ruining your ability to remain in deep sleep. Even a quiet "ticking" sound or soft green glow of an alarm clock can have this effect.

The single greatest factor in getting a good night's sleep is the mattress. A comfortable, supportive mattress is imperative to getting quality sleep. Improper support can lead to a variety of health issues; an uncomfortable mattress can cause tossing and turning, again leading to disjointed sleep. Specific health problems (arthritis, fibromyalgia or injuries) may have specific support and comfort requirements. You should consult your physician as to his/her recommendation; then work closely with an in-store sleep consultant to best satisfy those needs.

The average adult spends 6 to 8 hours each day on the mattress, more time than in the car or on the sofa. The mattress is a worthwhile investment in your health.

According to the Better Sleep Council, when a mattress has been used nightly for 8 to 10 years, it loses a significant amount of comfort and support. Additionally, the mattress is the #1 collector of dust mites and bacteria and the #2 collector of mold and mildew in the house. Even mattresses that are not used nightly accumulate these microbes. While some mattresses are designed to last longer than ten years, most should be replaced for the health issues alone.

More importantly, if the mattress is simply uncomfortable, or if you wake up sore, tired or fatigued every morning, it is time to replace the mattress. If you toss and turn all night in an attempt to get comfortable, a new mattress may help you significantly.

If you have not purchased a new mattress set for some time, you may be experiencing something we call "Sticker Shock". You may find some of the prices you see hard to believe. If you purchased a mattress in 1985, you may remember being able to buy a good quality set for $399 or a top quality set for $599. In 1985, you could also buy a brand new Ford Mustang, fully loaded, for about $7,995. Today, that car would cost you three times that. Or, in 1996, I bought regular octane gas for 90 cents to 99 cents per gallon. Today, we regularly pay over $2 per gallon and have recently paid as high as $3.

In mattresses, the "Sticker Shock" effect is so much more pronounced for two reasons. One, we purchase new mattress sets on average every 10 to 12 years, so minor yearly price increases add up over time. Two, until recently, mattresses have been largely viewed as optional, luxury items and not something we have to spend good money on.

Actually, this couldn't be further from the truth. Cheap mattresses are statistically linked to poor sleep, back pain and a variety of other health and stress problems. A fully detailed description of sleep disorders and the advantages of a quality mattress can be found at the Better Sleep Council's website http://www.bettersleep.org.

Good support is actually independent of the comfort level of a mattress. Let's redefine good support as exceptional contour conformance - that is, the mattress' ability to conform to your shape and not vice versa. If we were built like hard boxes out of two by fours, a flat hard mattress would probably be comfortable for us. But, we aren't; our bodies have curves, contours and parts that stick out awkwardly. As a result, the best mattress is the mattress that contours to your body's natural shape.

In the past, there was little choice in the feel of your mattress. All mattresses were hard, regardless of the support level. Thanks to technological advancement, support and comfort are no longer linked in any way. I can show you some of the softest mattresses ever that also provide excellent support. On the flip side, I can show you a very firm feeling mattress that actually does not give good support. It is also important to note that extra firm mattresses are being linked to any number of health problems, such as arthritis in the spine and shoulders, sleep apnia, or just general discomfort. In a recent Spanish study, 73% of sleepers slept better with a softer feeling mattress. With new technology and manufacturing techniques, we can provide you a wide selection of comfort levels.

Comfort is the most subjective issue when selecting a mattress. What I may find comfortable, you may absolutely hate. However, comfort is arguably the most important aspect of a mattress; I can sell you the most expensive, durable, supportive mattress in the world, but if you don't find it comfortable, your sleep suffers.

This is why, when shopping for a mattress, we must always take the time to take a "comfort test" in the store. A comfort test involves more than sitting on the side of a mattress for a minute; it involves spending some serious time laying on the mattress. You may lay on a particular mattress and know automatically that its not for you. Be honest with your sleep consultant; we can save a lot of time if you tell us what is or is not comfortable to you. Also, you may find that some mattresses are not comfortable at first, but become more comfortable the longer you test them.

All mattresses on the market contain some amount of foam. There are four major types of foam found in bedding - convoluted, memory foam, HR foam and latex. They all have ranges in quality that effect the pricing of the foam and bedding.

Convoluted Foam - This is the most common foam found in bedding; it is found in some form in over 90% of the mattresses available on the market. Convoluted foam is synthetic, based on an oil refining byproduct, and can be made in a range of quality levels and softness. The "egg-crate" foam toppers you purchase in department stores are an example of very low quality convoluted foam. Convoluted foam has seen huge increases in usage in the last 15 years with the introduction of the pillowtop mattress. While relatively inexpensive, convoluted is the least durable foam in bedding and tends to compress readily under the sleeper's weight.

Memory Foam - Visco-elastic memory foam was invented in the late seventies in a Swedish lab for NASA. It is a synthetic, open celled foam that responds to pressure and slowly conforms to relieve that pressure. When pressure is removed, the foam always regains its shape, hence the name "memory foam". Memory foam is also temperature sensitive and becomes very firm when it drops below sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Some sleepers may find memory foam to "sleep hot"; this complaint is usually found in persons who are hot natured to begin with, who sleep in a room over seventy degrees, or are using a mattress with three or more inches of memory foam. Memory foam, like other foams, is available in a wide range of qualities; quality is most easily measured by the density in pounds per cubic foot. Memory foam is available in density as low as 2.5 Lbs / Ft³ and as high as 7.0 Lbs / Ft³. Tempur-Pedic uses the best foam available; their visco memory foam is a patented 5.3 2.5 Lbs / Ft³, and they have recently introduced a new high density 7.0 Lbs / Ft³. Any domestic memory foam of 4 Lbs / Ft³ or more is a good quality foam, and all of our memory foam products are at least this desnsity. Avoid memory foams being produced in certain "mass production" countries; while the foam may have a high density, the foam's ability to remember its shape is questionable.

HR Foam - High Resiliency foam is another synthetic product, based on oil that uses the same basic manufacturing process as convoluted. We categorize it differently due to its extremely high density and resiliency against pressure. HR foam has a density as low as 1.2 Lbs / Ft³ and as high as 2.0 Lbs / Ft³. Any HR foam 1.4 Lbs / Ft³ or more is a good, durable foam. HR foam is typically used as a support core in all foam mattresses. It is very firm, and usually, another foam such as memory foam is used on top of the HR foam. Mattresses with HR foam cores dampen motion which is a wonderful benefit to couples. The Rest Shoppe does not carry any products that use HR foam lower than 1.5 Lbs / Ft³.

Latex - Latex foam is a natural product; the sap of rubber trees is harvested and the rubber particles separated from the sap. The rubber particles are then suspended in water, frothed into a foam and poured into a mold to cure. When the curing process is complete, you have latex foam. Latex is one of the original mattress foams and arguably the best for many reasons. It is the only fill material available in bedding that is wholly anit-microbial - dust mites, mold, mildew and bacteria cannot live in it. The mattress is a major cause of dust and mold related allergies in the home. Most kinds of latex are extremely durable. Latex is a fast recovery foam, meaning it readily compresses under pressure and immediately "bounces" back to its shape. Latex does have more motion than HR foam, but usually less motion than spring systems. About 1% of the population has an allergy to the proteins found on the surface of certain latex foams (see below). There are three basic kinds of latex:

Pure Natural - Pure natural latex is the most expensive latex on the market; it is also the most durable. Pure natural latex mattresses have been known to last over 30 years with no breakdown in the latex. It is made solely of rubber particles and water. Some people may have allergic reactions to pure natural latex using the Dunlop manufacturing process (see below).

Partially Natural - Many mattress companies will simply refer to this as "natural" latex. As the name would indicate, this latex is NOT completely natural. This latex often includes cheap fillers such as clay or inexpensive oil based foam additives. This decreases the price substantially, but also decreases overall durability. If the mattress, manufacturer or sales person says the latex is "natural" and does not say "pure", the latex is partially synthetic. Again, partially synthetic latex may cause allergic reactions in about 1% of the population, if it uses Dunlop process (see below).

Wholly Synthetic - Synthetic latex is the least expensive latex on the market. It is mass produced and based on oil refining by-products. There are no allergy concerns with synthetic, but the overall durability runs 8-10 years. Most of the major, well known mattress manufacturers use all synthetic latex. The world market could not handle that level of demand.

Dunlop - Dunlop latex can be pure natural or partially natural. The Dunlop process is relatively simple. The "frothy" mixture described above is poured into a mold of the proper size. The mold is agitated to help remove large bubbles. The froth then cures or hardens into the latex foam. Dunlop is relatively simple and easy to make, but has drawbacks. Bubbles are not always removed which can eventually cause "sinkholes". Also, the rubber particles may not evenly distribute throughout the mold, causing variations in the feel of the latex. Finally, partially natural or pure natural latex using the Dunlop process contains proteins that some people may have allergic reactions to. This occurs in about 1% of the population and usually only when skin on latex contact occurs, appearing as a rash or hives. About 1 in 10,000 people may have severe allergic reactions.

Talalay - Talalay latex may be pure natural, partially natural or wholly synthetic. The mixture is poured into the mold and agitated as above, but to ensure that air bubbles are removed, the mold is then compressed. This forces air to escape the mixture. The mold is then vacuum sealed and expanded to the proper size, forcing the latex to expand to fill the space. This is important for two reasons - the rubber particles distribute evenly throughout the latex, creating a consistent product, and it allows the manufacturer to vary the feel of the latex, from very firm to very plush, by altering the amount of mixture forced into the mold. Lastly, there are no allergy concerns with Talalay latex. The synthetic latex does not contain allergy causing proteins. The pure or partially natural latex goes through an extensive washing process to remove the proteins.

The Rest Shoppe only carries products that use pure natural Talalay process latex.

Most mattress sets use innerspring coil systems. With this type of mattress, we have several things we have to look at. A simple rule of thumb, though, is that most innerspring coils systems will be reasonable durable for most people. The difference is in support, higher coil count "Luraflex" coil systems typically provide better conformance, and therefore, better support.

Coil Count - In general, more coils create more support. By increasing the number of coils in a mattress, you increase the mattress' ability to better conform to your shape. Watch out for mattresses with fantastically high coil counts. These mattresses usually use "coil-on-coil" designs, extremely thin wire or half size coils.

Coil Thickness - Put simply, a mattress with 805 coils in queen size using a 14 gauge coil provides better support than a mattress with the same coil count using a thinner 18 gauge coil. With a 18 gauge coil, the mattress would need 999 coils to provide the same orthopedic support. Also, any coil thinner than 15 gauge will have questionable resiliency.

Coil Design - There are two general coil designs on the market, Bonnell and Luraflex. A Bonnell coil tends to be thicker gauge and uses a larger spiral. A bonnell coil has the shape of an hourglass when viewed from the side. Luraflex coils look like a perfect cylinder from the side. Because the coil is smaller, Luraflex coil units can be made to have much higher coil counts than Bonnell units, resulting in better contour conformance. There is no question, Bonnell units provide durability. The basic 390 queen count Bonnell at 13 gauge has been in use for over 70 years by nearly every major mattress manufacturer and provides good durability for most people.

Tempered Coils - Tempering is a process of "baking" steel to a certain level in order to make it more durable and resilient to its shape. Most mattresses on the market use tempered coils (including everything we carry), but, in fact, one of the top bedding manufacturers does not use tempered coils. Also, there is no benefit to tempering coils more than once.

Tied, Continuous, and Individual Systems - The vast majority of mattresses use a standard "tied" system, where the coils are woven in and held in place by steel wire. In a continuous system, each row of coils in one long steel coil. Arguably, this system has more support, but at the expense of durability. In an individual coil system, the coils are wrapped in fabric to provide independent motion. This has two effects: one, motion is reduced throughout the mattress, and two, the coils are able to give more contouring support. However, most individual coil systems are not tempered, thereby having dubious durability.

Edge Support - Virtually all innerspring mattresses use a heavy gage border rod on the edge of the coil system; this actually provides little benefit. Most edge supports are made of a rigid foam known as polystyrene, inserted just inside the first row of coils (some manufacturers place it directly on the outside of the coil unit). This does add support and increases sleep area, but is not the ideal system. High density foam encasement is the best form if edge support. Mattresses with this system have a "wall" of extremely durable foam, no less than three inches thick, surrounding the coil system for the firmest edge available in bedding.

It is easy to say, "This is just for my son; he doesn't have back problems" or "My daughter is six; she can sleep on anything." Unfortunately, neither of these statements are really true. Your children require more overall sleep and more deep sleep than you do. The average five year old needs 10 hours of sleep, with 5 to 6 hours of deep sleep. Kids need a supportive and comfortable mattress, just like adults.

Did you know that children do 75% of their growing while they sleep? There are documented cases of kids growing as much as one half inch overnight!

Did you know that an improper sleep surface can lead to scoliosis or other alignment problems?

Did you know that poor quality sleep has a direct impact on school performance and can increase the effects of certain issues such as ADHD?

Many parents are concerned that if they purchase a nice sleep set for their children, the mattress is likely to be ruined in one way or another. A higher quality mattress will be more resilient to the rigors of childhood, and the mattress can be easily protected from spills, food or bed-wetting.

Children need a comfortable, supportive mattress. A good rule of thumb - if you wouldn't sleep on it, then why would to want your kids to?

Mattress warrantees are put in place by manufacturers to prevent the consumer from defects in workmanship. Warrantee lengths and types vary from product to product, manufacturer to manufacturer. Mattress warrantees are not guarantees of comfort or performance. Through a warrantee, the manufacturer does not guarantee that the mattress will relieve your back pain. Also, though a mattress may have a ten year warrantee, the manufacturer is not guaranteeing the mattress will perform as it did the day you bought it for those ten years; mattresses typically lose support, durability and comfort over time. It should be noted, soils and stains will void your warrantee.

Mattresses are made far differently now than they were even 15 years ago. Most mattresses have multiple layers of quilting and foam paneling; you will find more of these layers in softer mattresses. These layers compress and settle under the weight of a sleeper; this is normal and expected. Most body impressions occur within the first 6 months (sometimes start within days), but rarely get much worse after the first year. Body impressions of about 1 inch (variable with the weight of the sleeper) are largely standard. Some types of foam (see below) will help retard or negate body impressions to some extent. Body impressions are not covered under warrantee unless they are deeper than two inches (3/4 inch on Tempur-Pedic mattresses).