5 guidelines when buying a mattress

Buying a new mattress is an investment in your well-being, but finding the right one for you can be tricky. Follow these guidelines to know the dos and don'ts for buying mattresses.

• When it comes to buying most things, money-back guarantees are typically a good thing. But do you really want a mattress that someone may have used for several weeks?
• Straight off the bat, you should know that major bedding manufacturers do not allow retailers to return mattresses just because they didn't feel good.
• So any retailer offering you the chance to return a mattress after you've given it a test run is almost certainly putting returns back into inventory and selling them as new. Just the thought is enough to keep you up at night.

• Box springs and mattresses that come in sets are built and fitted for one another. Separate units can cause problems.
• And since box springs absorb up to 50 percent of the impact, using a well-fitted box spring can prolong the life of your mattress.

• Unlike box springs, these plain wooden platforms covered with fabric have no springs. They are usually meant to make a cheap mattress feel firmer and can actually cause the mattress to break down more quickly.
• Without box springs, the mattress ticking, padding and other upholstery can wear out more than twice as fast.

• There's been a change of thinking when it comes to mattresses. Studies show that the long-held belief that firmer mattresses are best for people with back pain may not necessarily be true.
• Chiropractors say that your spine should look the same when you're lying down as it does when you're standing. If you sleep on your side, a too-firm mattress may not have enough give to let your shoulder and hips sink into the mattress. Your body will be unnaturally compressed.
• Instead, you should look for a mattress designed to conform to the spine's natural curves and to keep the spine in alignment when you lie down.
• The mattress should also distribute pressure evenly across the body to help circulation, decrease body movement and minimize the transfer of movement from one sleeping partner to the other.

• Yes, you read that right. Mattress manufacturers and retailers know how young parents dote on their children. They prey on this tendency to provide "the best that money can buy" by offering high-priced bedding designed expressly for children.
• Top quality is fine when it comes to car seats, fresh food and other things directly related to your child's health and safety. But almost any moderately priced bedding will give children proper support.
• So why buy the most expensive mattress for your six-year-old when he will eventually outgrow it—if he doesn't destroy it first by bed-wetting or trampolining?