Investing in a Comfortable Bed

You spend up to one-third of your life in bed, so it's important to have a comfortable one. Today there are a wide variety of beds available-everything from foam mattresses to those formed by adjustable air chambers. Your most comfortable mattress, however, is likely to be an individual matter.

The old saw that the best mattress is the firmest one is really a myth, most sleep experts say. Even the softest new mattresses today provide sufficient firmness and support. Whether or not you sleep best on a firm or soft mattress will depend on your personal tastes. People react to beds in different ways. Just as there's no running shoe that's best for everybody, there's no one type of bed that fits every consumer.

Bedding manufacturers are constantly working to improve their beds and appeal to consumers. One of the most popular technologies today is high quality foam used for the top layers of a bed. It conforms to the shape of the body and fills in all the nooks and crannies-providing support.

Increasingly soft layers of silk, cashmere, wool and cotton fibers are also used to provide softness and comfort on the top of a mattress. One of the most popular types of beds available today is the pillowtop-a mattress with a soft, fat pad stitched to the top, making it extremely comfortable.

The inner workings of a mattress are usually formed from springs (steel coils or continuous wire) solid foam, or air chambers. Each of these types has a different look and feel. Prices of queen-size mattresses with a platform or box spring tend to run from $400 to $800 for more economical versions and $900 to over $4,000 for top-of-the line beds.