50% off! And a Few of Our Favorite Ads.

How Can They Do It, It's Crazy!

Sound like a bed ad you have seen or heard?  We thought so.  But not at our store.  We try our best to offer the best product, and the fairest prices, everyday.  You will not see a 50% off sale here, our regular retails and sale retails are just too low to do that.  In fact, some of our beds are priced below the 50% off marketing geniuses, all day, everyday.

We Guarantee the Lowest Price!

Another good one right?  Most stores have limits on the geographic area.   Most stores require the same exact model, most manufacturers make many different models for this reason.  Those price guarantees are mostly worthless.  Our store does not restrict the geography, and we will match prices even to a different manufacturer, as long as the item specifics show it is substantially like the model we carry.

Queen Mattresses $399*!

Then in the small print it says "each piece when bought as a set."  Not sure of those stores but our most expensive, normal foundation is $299 everyday.  And we have platform bases for about $199.  Our least expensive queen mattress is $699, for a high quality, long lasting mattress.  Same price, but a better bed.

Free TV with Purchase!

Bottom line on this one is that you pay a higher price for the bed, to get a free TV.  Buy them separate, you will get a better bed, and a better TV.

Best Price of the Year!

Probably is, however, it is the price they have sold it at all year.  Nothing special about the price.  All stores need to make a profit to pay rent, utilities and labor.  Instead shop a store that has lower overhead.  How do you know?  Just look at it.  We, as an example, have a nice store.  It is clean and light.  We do not have fancy ceiling work, we do not have a special lighting scheme, we do not have a fancy pressure mapping system to help you choose your bed, we let you decide by what is important, how it feels.  Your back is the best pressure mapper around.

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There are marketers out there, but the cost to all retailers is essentially the same.  Whether you are the largest retailer in the nation, or a small family business in St. Louis.  We know of a retailer that spends fully 50% of what you pay for a bed in marketing.  We don't, guess who has the better value?

We also use a business model that keeps overhead as low as possible.  Doing that takes inventory costs out of the equation.  We do not have a CEO or a broad management base.  We just read a story of a public company, the CEO makes over $2 million in compensation.  They have 400+ stores, so that works out to about $5000 per store.  We do not have share holders.  We sell great products, but because of our overhead, we will save you money.

What we do instead, is educate ourselves in the art of great sleep.  We are not afraid of offering sleep tips.  We are also not afraid to admit our limitations.  We like hearing from past customers, whether good or bad.  We love to help solving sleep or mattress problems.  We have never taken a customer frivolously, and we never will.  We have never had a BBB complaint in over 2 years in business.

Here's what we mean by that.  We shop our competitors regularly.  One such trip recently, we were particularly interested in Tempurpedic mattresses, as we were preparing to launch our Sleep Harmony line.  The Sales pro was nice, but for some reason he had to get us away from Tempurpedic, and have us try a different memory foam bed by a different manufacturer.  It was obvious to us that he made a better commission on the other bed.  We don't care.  We make enough on what ever bed you purchase and are not looking to squeeze a few extra dollars from the sale.  We have set our commission schedules to favor no one brand or bed.  Meaning you get what YOU want here.

Is it time to change the way you shop for a bed?  We think so.  And by the way, want to see that this is how the industry works?  Check out this video by a store in Michigan.  Wish we would have thought of his word:  "Beducation"  That's what its all about!

Sleep Well!

Mattress Myths and Economics

We write another blog about economics, so we thought it might be alright to talk about the economics of mattresses.  We also are finding some myths out there about what constitutes a good mattress. so without further ado...

Mattress economics is quite simple.  Stores have mattresses and you need somewhere to sleep.  That's when it gets complicated.  There are at least four separate technologies out there to choose from.  The oldest is Innerspring.  Most myths developed around these spring mattresses, and frankly a number of them are true.  The biggest is the bed needs to be firm.  This is true, but only if you are talking about springs, and only if you know the definition of firm. 

Firm as it applies here means a high coil count, not just a harder surface.  The coil count in a mattress determines how many points of contact it will make with your body.  The more points of contact, the more support the bed will have.  Stiffer, but fewer in number coils do not offer as much support as higher count springs, but the less springs, the less raw materials, and the less it costs to produce.  Laying on a spring bed and choosing it because it is harder than other test beds is a mistake.  Weed out the low coil count beds and then test what is left.  A great spring bed will support your posture with a large number of coils reacting to the weight of your body, that is support.  Too hard and it will throw your body out of posture and you will wake with pain at some point.

While this is true of spring beds, the opposite is true of other technologies like water, air or foam.  The truth is that for these beds softer is some what more supportive as it will allow your body to find equilibrium on the surface.  If you think you might want a softer sleep, like you get in the trusty recliner, consider these other technologies, you might find they suit your needs better.

Another myth, promulgated by some of our brothers is that you should replace your mattress every 8 to 10 years.  This one is more or less true for spring beds.  Spring mattress manufacturers design their beds to last about 10 years for the average sized consumer.  If you are heavier than that average, your bed will last less, and if you are lighter your bed will last longer.  They use 10 years for a reason as well.  Our bodies change over time.  The support we need on a mattress will change as our bodies change.  The average length of time where the current support will not be optimal anymore is 10 years.



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With higher coil gauge and coil counts, and better materials, there is no reason a spring bed couldn't be engineered to last 25 to 30 years.  But the cost would be high, and at about 10 years your body will need different support anyway, which is an economic waste of money to throw away a good bed.  The same is true of foam beds.  Honestly, there are only two technologies that lend themselves to long usage, water and air.  Both of these technologies have the ability to change the support level as your body changes.  As a result the most reputable manufacturers of these technologies use better foams and fabrics and they can last 20 or more years, some of the best will last indefinitely, as you can change parts and avoid buying a whole new bed.  Water beds are somewhat out of vogue, as air beds are climbing in popularity.  Tempurpedic, a foam company, is launching an air base bed for this very reason.

The last myth of this post is that if your bed isn't quite right, you can just add a topper to it and it will last another 5 years.  This is untrue for all technologies.  Hope springs eternal, but the fact is foam toppers, like pillow tops offer comfort, not support.  If you are waking with back or neck pain, the support in your mattress is gone.  Putting a topper on it will not correct the issue.  And all "valleys" in the bed do not mean the support is gone, it can be just the foam, in this case a topper might help, but will not give you long term repair.

Beds have three major parts inside that cover.  They have a base level, a support level and a comfort level.  Some manufacturers to save money eliminate the base level, as the customer doesn't feel it.  Spring beds base level is a box spring, or a foundation with springs in it with a hard surface.  Foam beds use high density foam as a base level, other foam as the support level, and a comfort level that is designed to feel good, like memory foam or latex foam.  Some sagging comes from inferior foams, or even layered foams and batting.  Seems the demand was for higher mattresses, and so some added loft by making the top layer too high.

I have had laments about not being able to flip mattresses any more.  Flipping would make them last longer, but in consumer research, manufactures have found people don't flip anyway, so why add the expense.

Mattresses are a commodity.  As such they are extremely competitive on price.  Two things add to the price, raw materials and promotion.  That's right promotion.  I know of at least one company who spends about half of the wholesale price of their beds to buy advertising.  So when you shop, and you think you might like a certain mattress, check out all offerings.  The best deal may not be the easiest to find, because they don't promote as heavily.  In the case of springs, while there are a lot of brands, there are probably three spring makers, who sell to all the brands.  In the case of foam and air, check out the quality of the components.  Most air manufacturers make "modular" beds, there is no reason to not look under the hood to see the foams and other parts.  Judge these beds by their components.

Hope that helps a bit.  As you do research, and that is most common any more, use sites like the BBB, Angie's list or specific sites like Sleep Like the Dead.  You can tell a lot about the quality by the number of complaints ( or lack there of) lodged against different technologies.  Hope this helps you to...

Sleep Well!

$175,000 for a Bed?

What does $175,000 buy?  Top of the line Memory Foam?  The top of the line air chambered bed?  How about Gel Memory Foam?  Nope, none of those.  As we were scanning the news for sleep topics, we ran across this story:  $175,000 Mattress Sold as 'Investment' in Good Sleep.  It caught our attention!

Our family runs a bed store, and what we would give to sell a mattress at this price.  But, we guess it is out of our price range!  It does indicate what some people value good sleep at.  Do you think that this is a special mattress?  Maybe, it is a throwback, like some of the soft drinks lately.  And it is a publicity stunt.

There is no reason to pay this much money for a mattress of this type, unless perhaps your royalty in England.  Just a note, there are a lot of great mattresses out there that will not cost you the price of a house in the mid west!

Spring mattresses generally will cost between a $1000 and $2000 for better queen size mattresses.  Spring beds will last 7 to 10 years.  Then repeat the process.

Memory foam beds will cost more for the high end brands, but there are some very good brands that will actually cost you less than a good spring bed.  The lifespan of foam is 10 to 20 years, with some wear expected in the topper foam.

Latex beds are slightly more than memory foam, but it seems they will last longer, so value goes to latex in the foam bed segment.

Air chambered beds run from about $700 to $4000 depending on the construction.  A good average would be between $1500 to $2000.  These are competitive with spring beds in price, but they will last at least twice as long, making them a very good value.  In fact they will last as long or longer than that $175k bed, with much less "maintenance".



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The point is, if you want to invest in sleep, and don't own a country, choose a great mattress.  Consider all types.  Nothing is as sad as the customers we see that say they hate their bed, but will only look at the same bed again.  You may, or may not like the feel of these new beds, but consider a test drive to make sure.

The above story gave us a good chuckle, and we just wanted to share it with you...

Sleep Well!

To Gel, or Not to Gel

That is the question.  Gels have been with us for years, but Serta was the first major company to sell mattresses infused with gel.  Is it all hype?  Or does it really work?  Today we would like to explore this question.

The short answer is yes it does seem to work.  When you add gel to memory foam as Serta does, the gel does two things.  First it does help make the sleep surface cooler, and second the gel does enhance the support in the memory foam.

Memory foam is too soft to be the support of a mattress.  Without the proper support underneath the memory foam you would not like it.  All memory foam makers put memory foam over the top of other substances.  We typically see it over other foam.  But some have installed it on top of Innerspring, while others have used it over an air technology. 

All foam has received bad marks for the temperature control for the sleeper.  In an original Innerspring, there was just a thin layer of comfort materials above the springs.  This allowed a lot of air to move past the surface, and that air would take the heat with it.  Tempurpedic is probably the most successful of the memory foam makers, but if you search for what people say about it, heat is always close to the top.  Keep in mind that even they have recognized the heat issue, and have made good strides to make it better.  The memory foams of today are significantly better than the earlier versions. 

So when Serta was launching their gel memory foam, we were interested, and as a mattress retailer we were invited to a show.  We were amazed with the feel and the coolness of the bed.  Apparently so where customers.  Anytime there is a successful product, others will join the market.  Our vendor, Comfortaire released their version about a year ago and more recently expanded the line.  The gel in these beds remains cool, and we have heard that it can affect the temperature by three or more degrees. 

But is gel all you should consider?  No, the entire bed can make your experience better.  For instance, what is over the top of the bed will affect temperature.  There are Tencil fabrics, bamboo fabrics and even engineered products like Outlast or Cool Max.  All of these will enhance the performance of the bed.  Another consideration is whether or not the top is quilted.  Quilted tops do allow air to move right at the surface and that can keep you cooler as well.  Quilted tops also help with your movement on top of the bed.  The trade off is that it changes the feel of the bed, but not necessarily in a bad way.



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But what of the base foam that the gel is infused in?  Most makers of fine mattresses are using memory foam.  Memory foams popularity began when Tempurpedic introduced their beds in the late 1980s.  It was a mistake in the research arm of NASA, and while it never went to space, it has made things better for us earthlings.  As with all things, as time goes by, the substance is improved.  But there are other gel infused foams.  Recently we found gel latex.  This is remarkable stuff, and could be the next big thing in mattresses.  Latex is not as soft as memory foam.  Latex is more resilient than memory foam.  And it has a firmer feel than memory foam.  The bed we found has infused gel in talalay latex.  Talalay is a process for making foam that actually leaves holes in the finished product.  It looks a lot like a sheet of peg board, with holes every inch or so.  These holes generally go through the foam.  So what is the point of these holes? 

The holes are part of the manufacturing process.  But these holes do allow massive amounts of air to filter through the material.  And remember the Innerspring example?  More air makes for a cooler sleep.  Our newest vendor has infused gel in to the talalay to make it even better.  As we searched for "Better Beds" we are liking this new technology. 

We hope to bring these beds into our store very soon.  Our requirements are for the bed to be long lasting, which this product is, the expectations are that they will out last similar memory foam beds.  That the bed perform better than other models, this one is too new to tell, but early tests suggest it will.  And that the bed is affordable, and that is absolutely true in the case of this bed, our Queen size is set to retail at a sale price of under $1300, for the medium firm version!  And the bed must be attractive.  If you would like updates on when they will be available to test drive, 'Follow Us' on Twitter.  'Like Us" on Face Book, or 'Join our Circle" on Google+, or just watch our web site for updates.  And as always...

Sleep Well!

Back Pain Relief?

Back pain is a scourge on us.  It ruins days and nights.  It is hard to have a happy life, when you are in constant pain.  Back pain comes from life.  But does it have to rule your life?

We have all seen the infomercials touting that this or that can eliminate your back pain.  Where is the true miracle?  My Irish Grandmother used to tell me two things:  If it seems to be to good to be true, it probably is; and It's not what you know, but who you know.  And I took those to heart.  The more hype I see on a product, the more skeptical I become.  But there are some good products out there that can help.  The thing is almost none that I am aware of will "eliminate" all pain in our backs.

As you probably know, our family runs a mattress store.  Mattresses for years have pushed how they can help pain, and that is true, they can.  But is a mattress all you need?  No, but it can be part of your solution.  We would like to look at a few things that may help.

Back braces can be a part of your solution.  A back brace can help you to lift things properly, and help you maintain posture.  And posture is the key to everything you read here today.  Posture is how our bodies are meant to function.  Years of evolution have helped us to grow in to a form that fights gravity best.  It is when we disavow our nature that we tempt fate, and pain.

Exercise can help too, but get help so that you are not making the problem worse.  Exercise can strengthen your back muscles making them more able to keep your skeleton in the best posture.  Part of our problem today is that we are not as active as we once were.  But we have to live in today's world, so exercise is a good alternative.

Medication can help in severe cases.  We believe medication should be a temporary fix, however, until the root cause can be found.  Some times pain comes from a medical condition like curved spine or fibromyalgia.  These are particularly hard to treat. Total pain care needs to be holistic in its intent. 

Chiropractors and Acupuncturists can also be useful.  But again, it is not the total solution.  Doctors and Osteopaths often try to correct through surgery, and yet these surgeries can backfire.  And while we would never say never, we believe surgery to be a last resort.

First, it is important to find out why your back hurts.  Do you work in a factory, with concrete floors, and lift the wrong way?  Perhaps a farmer?  Or even a secretary who has to lift cases of paper.  Or none of these.  Once you know the cause of the pain, you need to talk to people, to doctors, to even mattress guys like us.  Develop a personalized plan to fight back against the pain.

Learning to lift properly.  Knowing what you do that causes the pain.  The self educating to minimize the pain.  As an example, in our industry we know that people spend one third of their lives in bed.  Does your back hurt in the morning?  Could it be because of your bed?  Absolutely.  Even age related maladies like arthritis can be helped, but sadly not eliminated.  Our particular segment, air beds, usually show pain relief, note not elimination, about 90% of the time.  But why?  These beds help promote good posture while sleeping.  Assuming they are set correctly.  Posture will take the pressure off the muscles and joints and allow them to relax, and regenerate to a degree.  Other surfaces also will help, but in our experience, air is the king of the hill.



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But don't expect your bed to be the total solution.  There are some products out there that are pretty good partners.  One we have found is Back2Life, and yes it is an infomercial product, but it helps move your back to release the pain, and is easy to use.  Again the back belts or braces will also help by augmenting your own muscles.  And of course there are the old fashions sit ups that can also help.

Not all pain is a medical condition, in fact, most of it is just lifestyle.  Learn to live in good posture, just like our primary school teachers said:  "stand up straight!" or "sit up straight!"   And as we like to say "lay down straight!"  Our bodies are amazing in what they can do.  Why not do things that can help them do their best?

Sleep Well!

One more thing, if you find at least some of these blogs useful or entertaining, would you let others know?  Post a link to Face Book or Twitter, or email a link.  And if you have a topic to discuss, send us an email at HannahsBetterBeds@att.net Thank you for your loyalty!

Sleep in the News

How is this for a headline?  Lack of sleep 'switches off' genes Made us want to read the story.

It seems that a lot of this article is topics we have already broached on sleep.  It is good to be vindicated!  In this article they report on a study done on sleep deprivation, or getting less than 6 hours sleep per night.  For those of you who claim you can thrive with less than 6, you might want to look at the science.

Over 700 genes were affected by the lack of adequate sleep.  These genes do things like regulate metabolism,and cognitive impairment.  The study also states that it throws off the 24 hour biological clock which is marked by our circadian rhythms.  Can this be good?

We suspect that it is not good.  The jobs these genes do affects our weight and mood.  It affects how well we do everyday tasks.  So it affects our lives.  In this blog we consistently teach good sleep hygiene.  Good sleep hygiene is not hard to do, and can make you more competitive in our world.  Good sleep Hygiene is simply planning to get as much sleep as your body needs, at regular times.  Setting a bed time and a wake time, with enough hours in between.  And then sticking to it!

For children good hygiene can last a lifetime.  Imagine your child with a better report card.  How much can this affect their lives?  Maybe better college and a better entry job.  Staying on the hygiene will make them as adults more productive at work.  Productivity is one criteria for promotion, promotion means more money.  And the earlier the promotion comes the more promotions there can be. 



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Adults also benefit, like children from better attentiveness.  Meaning more friends, and better relationships.  Metabolically speaking, it is what can make them a beautiful person, inside and out.  Obesity is a plague these days, sleep is one weapon to battle it.

We applaud the authors of this study... and to you our readers...

Sleep Well!

Seasonal Sleep Disorders

We find it interesting that our most read blogs are the "How To" blogs, and we guess it is because most people do not spend a lot of time looking at how to buy beds or pillows or bedding.  And those are important skills.  We do, however, like to throw a little science occasionally, and this is one of those times.  Today we would like to talk about Seasonal Sleep Disorders.

This is a good time of year to discuss it, at least north of the tropics.  As winter is starting to wane.  Besides the cold that comes with winter, we also experience less daylight.  Because of the Earth's position on its axis toward the sun, our days are shorter now than in the summer months.  After the autumnal solstice, the days continue to get shorter all the way until December 21st the winter solstice.  With the shortening days our bodies experience a physical loss of the effects of the Sun.  Some people are affected much worse than others, and regions are affected differently, primarily depending on how far north of the tropics they are.  For instance, in the U.S. Alaska would be one of the highest affected regions, because of their northern exposure.  Even areas like Chicago and Detroit or the upper east coast states like Maine can experience this problem.  On the opposite end of the spectrum States like Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, and California (the southern part) are less affected.

Seasonal Sleep Disorder is usually described as a depression, some call it the winter blues.  Most people can tolerate it, but is is characterized by sleepiness, over sleeping, and general bad mood.  It can cause the victim to crave carbohydrates (finally an explanation of why we like Christmas cookies!), and weight gain can result.  Many find themselves trying to get ready for beach season, by an extra trip to the gym or even diet.  Part of this is normal.  Early man could not gather as many crops in the winter, so his diet probably changed to include more meat.  Over the eons that moved to our genes as a preservation reaction to winter.  Also during the cold, it was safer to stay closer to the fire and family to get enough warmth.  Keep in mind there were not even electric light bulbs way back then, so the most fun you could have was to sleep.  The good news is that Spring is coming, soon.



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So sleep plays a role.  And in the winter months it is still important to follow good sleep hygiene.  Keep a regular sleep wake schedule  The more consistent that schedule is, the better your body will fight the winter blues.  In some extreme cases doctors might use a sun replicating light or watch melatonin levels in their patients.  For years, we have followed a sleep wake regimen, and for us it has worked well to beat away the winter time blues.  And it does no harm to try!

Don't worry, dear reader, we will get back to the "how to" series shortly... until then...

Sleep Well!