Today's Mattresses are More Comfortable than Your Grandpa's Bed.

May 18, 2010 - PRLog -- "Back in the day" a firm mattress was all that was available. It was thought at that time -erroneously, as we know now- a soft mattress would ruin your back. When commercially made mattresses were first on the market, the standard materials that were available for stuffing were a strange combination.

The first commercial mattresses were stuffed with horse hair. The mattress was all hand tufted, to keep the hair from shifting. Typically, the prickly hair would poke through the mattress ticking and give you a nice itchy feeling while you tried to sleep. That's why Grandma invented the feather bed - the first  mattress topper http://www.milliondollarmattress.com/latextopper.html. Even today, curled horse hair and hog hair are the highest quality upholstery stuffing -and the most expensive, costing over $100 for a 10 pound bag today. Other less expensive stuffings used in these 19th century mattresses would have been straw, hay, and even moss. Many of there were made as a custom mattress, since bed sizes had not been standardized.

Late 19th century mattresses began to have coiled springs inside. This called for a a new design and materials. The springs needed to have a layer of a insulating fiber, so cocoa fiber mats, burlap and other sheathing were secured over the springs. Horse hair was still used, being sewn to the springs. A layer of cotton batting was added over the hair, to keep the hair from stabbing the sleeper. It was then all hand tufted through the ticking.

Mattresses didn't change much until the 1960, when latex foam came into use in the residential market. Sometimes, latex was the complete mattress -some of which are still in use today! More often, though, a layer of latex was added to cushion the springs, which were by now, made by machine in "bed sized" units.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m6t60kPY9U



Today, there are many choices in mattress construction materials, and the levels of firmness. No longer is a firm mattress the best for every sleeper -we have choices!

There are several basic rules for selecting your perfect mattress. A side sleeper needs more cushioning. So does someone who is light weight. A firm base, with 2-3 inches of Natural Talalay Latex on top is best for these sleepers.  A back or stomach sleeper may rest better on a firmer mattress with less padding. An inch or two of high quality latex will help relieve the pressure points caused by a firm spring mattress.

Which ever mattress you choose, make sure the materials are as pure as possible. American standards are the highest, so make sure you don;t buy a cheap-o-pedic that was imported.

We've come a long way from prickly horse hair. Our grand parents had to settle for sleeping on a brick. We don't have to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XMD-vhDANo

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Million Dollar Mattress is a new mattress company featuring all custom made memory foam, natural latex and traditional spring mattresses. Every mattress component is American made and all of our mattresses are proudly made in New England.