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Welcome to the SleepPros web log, Sleep Tight Tonight! Insights into the industry, opinions, tips, rants and raves. You'll find it all here. Our first post begins at the beginning - how to figure out what you are looking at, and how to choose what's important to you.

Tips on purchasing an airbed

by Tami La Velle, Managing Director, Sleeppros
Tami@SleepPros.Com

The two key components of any air bed are the chambers and the pumps. After you have decided on your preference in pumps and chambers, next in line would be the cover. I don't mean just the fabric. The cover will include fibers, fill and all foam within the cover, all of which are placed above the air chambers.

The cover fabric itself will vary. Too many fabric elements to list here right now but do pay attention to the quilting. Lower end beds will use "continuous quilting" for a firmer flatter surface. Tack and Jump quilting is usually found on your higher-end beds. Tack and Jump Quilting uses hundreds of needles but is not limited to a continuous pattern, allowing for more loft and a softer-feeling surface.

Mattresses can be divided into two main layers:

1. Support layers. This would include innersprings, furniture type foam used as support in a foam mattress, water tubes in a waterbed and the air chambers in an airbed. The chambers are adjusted to define your particular support needs and those of your partner. This is not to be confused with making your bed softer, as you will see advertised. Support adjustments are going to be different from one person to another based on their weight, and their sleep position. Spinal support must not be sacrificed nor mistaken for the softness or pressure reducing desired with your new bed. This is the job of the comfort layers, not the support layers.

2. The comfort layers. This is the layer(s) closest to your body and would include most material placed above the air chambers or the like, with foam beds, innersprings etc. You can find a variety of fibers, specialty foams and cushioning material within your comfort layers.

Generally, the more foam you add the more expensive your bed will be. Do not confuse a higher priced airbed with higher quality. More foam or less? Pillowtop or not? The comfort layers and whether you need a pillowtop or not should be relevant to your pressure reduction needs. Side sleepers tend to have more pressure points at the hips for instance. So the higher profile pillowtop might be a good choice. People with lower back problems tend to need more support and less foam.

For a little extra softness you may wish to have a resilient light and airy convoluted foam layer. More supportive would be the Visco-elastic memory foam which helps relieve pressure points. Or if you would prefer a naturally conforming foam that is not temperature sensitive and will remain new-like for the life of the bed, you may want to consider our favorite, which is Latex. Nature has provided us with this wonderful foam, tapped from the rubber tree. It naturally springs back to the same shape each and every time; unlike the slow recovery characteristics found in the synthetic elasticity of memory foam. It too will help with your pressure points as well as offer different degrees of support. Myth: Latex is firm and Visco-elastic memory foam is soft or more plush? The truth is that latex in the medium range is a heck of a lot softer than memory foam and as mentioned, memory foam will be firmer if you keep your house cool. If you are getting for an RV, make sure you have a heating pad to warm it up before you go to bed at night!

Comments? Send to info@sleeppros.com.