Blog posts tagged with 'mattress shopping'

Why a Regular Sleep Schedule is Essential for Your Health, Mood, and Waistline

In today's fast-paced world, sleep is often the first thing we sacrifice when life gets busy. Whether you're staying up late to meet a deadline, binge-watching your favorite show, or scrolling through your phone in bed, irregular sleep habits and chronic sleep deficits can take a serious toll on your physical health, emotional wellbeing, and even your weight.

Let’s explore why a consistent sleep schedule matters so much—and how you can take simple steps to sleep better, feel better, and live healthier.

What Is a Sleep Deficit—and Why Should You Care?

A sleep deficit occurs when you consistently get less sleep than your body needs. Most adults require between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep per night. Missing even an hour or two each night can add up quickly and cause what scientists refer to as “sleep debt.”

This debt doesn’t just make you feel groggy in the morning. It affects almost every system in your body, from brain function to metabolism.

The Real-World Effects of Sleep Deficits

1. Impaired Health and Immune Function

Lack of sleep weakens your immune system, making you more susceptible to illnesses. Over time, chronic sleep deprivation increases your risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.

2. Mood Swings and Poor Mental Health

You’ve probably noticed that you’re more irritable or anxious after a bad night’s sleep. That’s because sleep plays a crucial role in emotional regulation. Without adequate rest, your brain struggles to manage stress, control impulses, and maintain a positive outlook.

3. Difficulty Managing Weight

Sleep has a direct impact on your appetite-regulating hormones—ghrelin and leptin. When you're sleep-deprived, ghrelin (which increases hunger) goes up, while leptin (which signals fullness) goes down. This can lead to late-night cravings and overeating, making weight management far more difficult.

4. Decreased Focus and Productivity

Cognitive performance takes a hit when you’re sleep-deprived. Your ability to concentrate, solve problems, and retain information diminishes—impacting everything from work performance to safe driving.

Benefits of a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Creating a regular sleep routine—going to bed and waking up at the same time every day—helps to regulate your body’s internal clock (your circadian rhythm). This consistency improves sleep quality, supports hormone balance, and makes falling asleep and waking up easier over time.

Even better? Regular, high-quality sleep boosts your energy, sharpens your mind, and helps you feel emotionally resilient—allowing you to show up as your best self each day.

Top 5 Tips for Better Sleep Health

1. Stick to a Sleep Schedule
   Go to bed and wake up at the same time—even on weekends. Your body thrives on rhythm.
2. Limit Screen Time Before Bed
   The blue light from phones and laptops suppresses melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep. Try turning off screens at least an hour before bed.
3. Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
   Signal to your body that it’s time to wind down. This could include reading, journaling, gentle stretching, or listening to calming music.
4. Watch What You Eat and Drink
   Avoid caffeine and heavy meals in the hours leading up to bedtime. Instead, opt for a light snack like a banana or herbal tea if you need something before bed.
5. Invest in the Right Sleep Environment
   A supportive, comfortable mattress and a properly fitted pillow can make all the difference in your sleep quality.

Support Local, Sleep Better

Looking to upgrade your sleep setup? Support your health and your community by purchasing a locally built supportive mattress. Locally crafted mattresses often offer better quality control, more eco-friendly options, and personalized service that big-box brands can't match.

Don’t forget the importance of a properly fitted pillow—it aligns your neck and spine, reducing the chances of waking up sore or stiff. The right pillow and mattress work together to cradle your body and help you fall—and stay—asleep longer.

Final Thoughts

Sleep isn't a luxury. It's a non-negotiable foundation for good health, balanced moods, and sustainable weight management. By establishing a regular sleep schedule and creating the ideal sleep environment, you’re making an investment in your well-being that pays off every single day.

So tonight, power down your screens, fluff that perfect pillow, and slip into a supportive mattress made right here in your community. Your body and mind will thank you.

Sweet dreams!

Rule number 10: Replace when you ache.

Retail stores constantly spend money on advertisements that tell you to replace your mattress on some arbitrary timeline. However, I am here to tell you that this is terrible advice.

Why?

Because your mattress may be fine after that amount of time and you don’t want to fix something that isn’t broken. Or what felt great to you a few years ago might not feel as good now. Our bodies change constantly! We may fluctuate in weight or might have better or worse health conditions---those lead to whether or not we are getting the best sleep at the time.

Our taste buds change every 7 years our support needs may change too!

How can you tell when you should replace your mattress?  Replace when you ache.

If you wake up with a sore back or aching shoulders then you know your mattress needs replaced, because it’s not working for you. If you wake up feeling refreshed when you wake up then your mattress is doing what it’s supposed to, whether it is 2 or 12 years old.

Common life changes may cause you to want a new mattress suddenly.

Changes in weight may require an increase in support. Changes in sleep position may require more pressure relief or more support. Hormonal changes can get you sleeping hot. Sealy Chilland Tempur Breeze cooling technology are huge advances in sleep technology for you if you need to sleep cooler.

If your sleep partner is unhappy with your current mattress many solutions are available today that address the sleep needs for both of you.

Make sure everyone is getting great sleep by sharing information about your sleep issues with your Mattress Direct sleep specialist. We can fit you and your partner for a mattress that makes you both excited to get to bed at night. If either of you are struggling from heat, aches or stiffness when you wake up it’s time to replace your mattress.

Your mattress may have been wrong for you from the start.

Any amount of time spent on a mattress that is wrong for you is too much. Unfortunately, this is a common issue because many retail stores can make shopping so confusing. If you can, put this mattress in a guest room and replace your mattress. Everyone deserves to wake up feeling refreshed. Mattress Direct offers 1 year of comfort assurance to ensure your mattress fits your needs.

All Mattress Direct factory direct show rooms have mattress specialists trained to fit you for the best mattress for your sleep needs.  Plus, Mattress Direct makes shopping for the right mattress easy with our nationwide guaranteed lowest price factory direct savings. You get the lowest prices on everything in our showroom up-front so we can focus on finding the best mattress to help you.

Mattress Direct is a factory direct showroom for Tempur-pedic, Sealy, Stearns and Foster, iDirect, King Koil, and Campbell Mattress of Missouri. We proudly carry mattresses made in USA such as the Sealy Posturepedic, King Koil, Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid, Sealy Conform, Tempurpedic Cloud, Tempurpedic Conform and Tempurpedic Flex, Stearns & Foster Estate, Stearns & Foster Lux Estate, Stearns & Foster Reserve and Stearns & Foster Hybrid. We are locally owned and operated serving the greater St. Louis area and growing. Please visit our factory direct mattress showrooms so you get the lowest price and the very best mattress for your particular needs.

You will see two main varieties of mattress when you shop for a mattress traditional inner spring mattresses and memory foam. Both are fantastic depending on your own personal preference and sleeping style.

Memory foam you sleep more inside the mattress, while innerspring mattresses you sleep more on top of the mattress.

All memory foam mattresses are made of foam but some mattresses are cooler than others.  Gel has some limited cooling properties, but try more advanced cooling methods like Tempurpedic Breeze technology or Sealy Chill cooling technology if you tend to sleep hot.

Tempurpedic is the most recommended style of memory foam mattress. It is made entirely of advanced TempurMaterial. Tempurpedic pioneered advanced cooling technology with Tempurpedic Breeze which gives mattresses a cool to the touch feel so you sleep cool.

Many cheap memory foam mattress brands come and go. You may have tried a mattress before that was not good quality, but trusted brands like Tempurpedic have very high standards.

TempurMaterial is proprietary just to Tempur-Pedic. Their material conforms better and lasts longer. Plus, Tempur foams adapt to pressure better so you sleep with less tossing and turning. If you sleep with a partner they will appreciate the fact that memory foam mattresses isolate motion.

Tempur-Pedic offers 2 varieties of all foam mattresses. Tempurpedic Contour mattresses are firm, but adapt to provide pressure relief and great alignment. Tempurpedic Cloud mattresses give an initial feel of softness, while still providing a lot of support. Both styles are available with extra Breeze cooling.

Sealy Conform is another great option for those seeking a memory foam mattress. Conform mattresses use different technology throughout their line. Most of their memory foam has what Sealy is known for—their Posturepedic technology. The center third of their memory foam is reinforced to support you where you need it most. The all memory foam Sealy Conform mattresses have new improved Chill memory foam.

If you like the ease of movement that can be provided by an all spring mattress you may wish to look into a hybrid design that uses coils and memory foams in combination. Tempurpedic Flex mattresses and Sealy Hybrids have a more traditional support feel while providing the benefits of memory foam to ease pressure on shoulders and hips.

A hybrid memory foam mattress replaces some of the bottom support layers of a memory foam mattress with a traditional coil support system to bring back the feel of being on top of a mattress while allowing the memory foam on top to conform to your natural curves.

Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid or Stearns and Foster Hybrid mattresses are an excellent choice if you want memory foams but want to keep some of the traditional feel of a spring coil mattress.

If you like a sleep on top feel a traditional spring mattress or a hybrid could be the right one for you. Many of those style mattresses also have many cooling features as well. If you sleep mostly on your stomach, typically a firmer spring mattress (especially one with Posturepedic technology) would give you the support or firmness needed.

The best way to find out which one is right for you is to come in to your local Mattress Direct and feel each type for yourself. Your own unique body will be able to feel how the mattresses conform and support you. So wear comfy clothes and get ready for a nap. The longer you lay in a mattress the better of an idea you will get for the feel of it and how it will be for an entire night. Our sleep specialists can guide you until you find your perfect mattress!

Picking the right outfit for any occasion:  Mattress Shopping

By Justin Taylor

So you’ve decided you need a new mattress and you want to find your perfect bed, but are unsure of what to wear to give you your best result. Do you want to wear that cute workout outfit you bought last week to try a Tempurpedic? Maybe your his and hers matching rompers just arrived and this seems like the perfect evening to try them out laying on a Stearns and Foster.

There are many right answers but here are a few guidelines that you will want to follow when picking clothes to shop for a mattress.

Wear something that does not bind or restrict your movement
Remember to avoid the super tight jeans that keep you from being able to bend your legs. You want to be able to get into that typical fetal position many like to sleep in. Also, no light jackets either.  Jackets tend to keep you from being able move and stretch on a new bed. They obstruct your ability to test a mattress properly.

Don’t add padding with a coat or jacket
Make sure you take off your coat or jacket. It can not only change how you move on the mattress but it will also add additional padding the mattress and make the mattress feel different--- it won’t feel the same when it is in your bedroom.  Also, you want to be able to feel the new cooling features on mattresses like Tempurpedic and Sealy Posturepedic Conform and Sealy Posturepedic Hybrid. Cooling layers make a huge difference on how you sleep. It’s easier to evaluate these new advanced features while wearing thinner comfortable clothing.

Remember to wear pants or shorts
A romper could work too but typically you will feel more comfortable in pants or shorts that allow you to lie down while other shoppers or employees are around. You can turn more freely so when you compare the Sealy Posturepedic with the Tempurpedic you don’t have to move any less naturally than you would in your own bedroom.

You know you want to wear PJs
Everyone has done it. Quick trip to the store, long flight, you love your PJs. You know you want to show off your latest cute PJs. Bring the kids in their latest superhero PJs! While normally it might not be socially acceptable to wear PJs just anywhere--- but shopping for a mattress in athletic shorts and tank tops or t-shirts is very common. It’s about picking the right mattress and not dressing to impress.

Most any modern athletic pants/shorts shirt combo seems to be the best possible outfit. Just avoid heavily padded or bulky clothing and short dresses then you will have a pleasurable mattress shopping experience.

DOs

T-shirt

Shorts

Pants

Pajamas

Under armour

Comfy lighter weight clothing

DON’Ts

Jackets

Coats

Tight Clothing

Skirts/Dresses