What is the impact of a poor-quality mattress?

Firstly, let’s take a look at what kind of an impact sleeping on a poor mattress can have on your body and quality of sleep. Mattress performance is related to many physical issues such as:

• Back pain
• Neck ache
• Sleep deprivation
• Allergy aggravation

On top of potentially causing or aggravating the above physical issues, a below-par mattress can lead to a poor nights sleep. A consistently poor night’s sleep can lead to lack of sleep, which can have a negative impact on your mental health.

While a cheap mattress can be appealing financially, it is important to ensure that you don’t compromise on quality. A quality mattress is one of the best investments you can make for your overall health and well-being. After all, we spend around a third of our lives lying on our mattress.

What different types of mattress are available?

The Henry Smeaton name has been synonymous with luxury British mattresses since 1893. Exclusive to Revival Beds, every Henry Smeaton mattress is handcrafted in Yorkshire using the finest materials to offer outstanding support and comfort for a sublime night’s sleep.

The collection offers a range of construction and grades of firmness, from single up to 8ft bed widths.

Mattress size guide

Typically, choosing the correct mattress size is simple. If you have a king size bed, then you buy a king size mattress, but the bed itself is not always the same size as the mattress.

A divan bed frame is the closest you will get regarding the bed being the same size as the mattress, as the sides and foot of a divan base sit flush with the mattress. Although, you have to allow for the depth of the headboard, which sits external to the mattress.

Bear in mind that the size of other beds, like a sleigh bed frame, can be very different. So, a kingsize mattress and a kingsize sleigh bed will have different dimensions because of the design and shape of the sleigh bed.

Where a mattress sits on a divan bed, with other bed frames, the mattress sits in it. Although, when buying a bed frame, the bed manufacturer should have all the mattress sizes required to fit your new bed perfectly.

How big is a Single bed?

A standard single bed frame (sleigh bed) is 106cm x 214cm | 3’.5” x 7’.02”
A standard single mattress is 90cm x 190cm | 3’ x 6’.3”

How big is a Double bed?

A standard double bed frame (sleigh bed) is 151cm x 214cm | 4’.9” x 7’.02”
A standard double mattress is 135cm x 190cm | 4’.6” x 6’.3”

How big is a King size bed?

A standard king size bed frame (sleigh bed) is 166cm x 222cm | 5’.4” x 7’.3”
A standard King size mattress is 150cm x 200 cm | 5’.0”x 6’.6”

How big is a Super King size bed?

A standard Super King size bed (sleigh bed) is 197cm x 222cm | 6’.5” x 7’.3”
A standard Super King size mattress is 180cm x 200cm | 6′.0″ x 6’.6”

Mattress firmness

Mattresses can come with different levels of firmness. Soft, Medium or Firm. With a pocket sprung mattress, it is not always the case that the more springs, the firmer it is. For example, you could have a pocket sprung mattress with 7000 springs in either a medium or firm feel. Here it is the tension in the springs that differs, rather than the spring count.

In this guide, we’ll also discuss what mattress firmness is best for you.

What are mattresses made from?

The materials used in the creation of a mattress is important for many reasons. For example, certain cheaper materials do not allow the mattress to ‘breathe’, trapping heat and making summer nights unbearably warm. Additionally, some cheaper mattresses can have poor allergen control leading to dust particles gathering within the mattress, which can affect people who suffer from allergies.

For example, a mattress made from 100% natural latex and chemical free fabric will help allergy sufferers as dust mites cannot live in natural latex; while the fabric helps provide a hypoallergenic barrier.

What is an Orthopaedic Mattress?

The term ‘orthopaedic’ when discussing mattresses typically means an extra firm mattress; rather than there being any medically recognised difference. For those of you looking for a mattress to help with back pains, we would recommend looking at the ‘Guide to Ideal Mattress Firmness’ below.

Our mattress firmness guide should aid you when it comes to choosing a mattress that best fits you as a person. A quality mattress is fully tailored to your needs and can often compliment any traditional orthopaedic treatment somebody might undertake for back pain.

Find the right sized mattress

It might sound obvious, but when buying a mattress, you need to make sure it fits the size of your bed frame. For example, if you have a king size bed frame, then you don’t want to be buying a single mattress!

Is the mattress for one person or a couple?

Selecting a mattress can be difficult enough but selecting the best mattress for a couple can create complications, especially if you both have different needs.

One solution to this is to choose a ziplink mattress. A ziplink mattress comes in two halves that can be zipped together to create one mattress; allowing for each half of the mattress to differ in firmness, ensuring both parties get the comfiest, best night’s sleep possible. Our range of Henry Smeaton mattresses come with the ziplink option.

Front, back or side; how do you sleep?

On Your Back

For those people who predominantly sleep on their back, a medium mattress firmness could be ideal as it will provide support for the lower back.

On your Side

People that sleep on their side could benefit from a soft mattress and high pillow combination. This combination will allow your shoulders and hips to sink in and provide ultimate comfort.

On your Front

Those who sleep on their front could benefit from a firm mattress and low pillow combination; offering ample support for the neck muscles.

The best mattress firmness. Soft, Medium or Firm?

Firm, medium or soft, the perfect mattress needs to offer good support whether you sleep on your back, side or front. A good mattress also needs to adjust to different body weights.

Both height and weight can play a part in the choice of firmness. Generally, smaller lighter people should choose a softer mattress, where taller or heavier individuals should choose the firmer mattress. Here is our mattress firmness guide:

Mattress firmness chart

If your height suggests one firmness and your weight another, then let us simplify it for you.

As a rule of thumb, a smaller heavier set individual would get the correct support from a medium to firm mattress. The average framed person can look to a medium mattress and light framed people from a medium-soft mattress.

How often should you change your mattress?

As a rule of thumb, we suggest changing your mattress every 7 years.

It’s easy to overlook some of the problems you may be having with your mattress; we take niggling faults for granted.

Remember, you spend a third of your life on your mattress, with a good night’s sleep providing the foundations for good physical and mental health. So, it makes sense to sleep on a mattress in tip-top condition.