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Not Sleeping Well

Not Sleeping Well? Check Your Mattress Before You Chalk It Up to Stress
New Survey Finds Many Don't Replace Their Mattress Until It Disturbs Their Sleep

A new survey reveals that although consumers widely believe that a good mattress is important to sleep, health and preventing back problems, they tend to hold onto their mattress until it is well past its prime and actually disrupting sleep.

The survey of 400 adults, conducted by Arc Consulting for the Better Sleep Council, includes these findings:

• Eight in 10 (82 percent) believe that sleep problems can be caused by a poor mattress.
• Yet, close to half (46 percent) describe the condition of their mattress when they bought a new one as "bad" or "very bad."
• Respondents are five times more likely to attribute poor sleep to stress than to the condition of their mattress.

Disconnect Between Knowledge and Behavior

"Consumers seem to be remarkably unaware that their mattress may be undermining their attempts to get a good night's sleep," says Better Sleep Council Director Andrea Herman. "The survey shows that consumers recognize on a theoretical level the crucial role of the mattress to a person's sleep and health. But, on a practical level, when it comes to their own sleep and health, they often overlook the condition of the mattress they sleep on every night."

Out of Sight, Out of Mind - But Perhaps Causing Undiagnosed Discomfort

On a day-to-day basis, the mattress is clearly out of sight, out of mind with most consumers. The majority (60 percent) say they only think of their mattress when it disturbs them.

But, another survey finding indicates that many more consumers may be unaware that their mattress is disturbing their sleep. When asked to name the main factor that disturbs their sleep, "stress" outpaced "bad mattress" by a five-to-one margin - at 22 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

"Granted, stress will take its toll on even the healthiest sleeper every now and then," says the Better Sleep Council's Herman. "But, if you're tossing and turning night after night, it's time to consider that the condition of your mattress may be robbing you of sleep."