If there is one thing we can be sure of in life, it’s that it changes. Curve balls come at us from all sides and most of the time when least expected. There are those modest changes like weight fluctuations over the years or maybe you worked out a bit too hard one day and the muscles are a little sore. Then there are the big changes like having “a bun in the oven” or the onset of back pain due to an accident. Heck, there are too many life events that can happen to name. One way or another, most of life’s changes can have an impact on our sleep.
Think about your life over the past year. The reality is that you’ve likely experienced one of life’s curve balls and said, “yes,” to at least one of the scenarios mentioned above. It’s why so many products around us can be customized or changed to satisfy our needs. Industries across the spectrum have realized this, and to accommodate their customers they offer flexibility and control. Imagine if the driver’s seat in cars only came in one position. What if every time you turned on the TV or your favorite song, it always played at the same annoying volume and it could not be changed? And then there is “one size fits all” … really only good for baseball hats.
The fact that we all are different shapes, sizes, and have different preferences is exactly why there are over 600 mattress manufacturers in the U.S. and more than 10,000 mattress retailers. They all offer quality products, but also offer a sea of confusing mattress types, materials, and comfort claims. And certainly, you can’t believe that one size fits all makes sense for a mattress if it can’t change. It just can’t be.
When you’re facing life’s ups and downs or major life events, you would think the one product that should change when we need it to would be our mattress. But here’s a fact that most of us are literally asleep to – 95 percent of all of the 36 million mattresses sold every year are spring and foam mattresses and nearly every single one of those does not change from the day you buy it. However, in a 2016 Consumer Reports[1] survey of over 62,000 respondents, 80 percent of those with an adjustable-air bed were very or completely satisfied with their mattress, and that group was also the least likely to regret their purchase. But, those without buyer’s remorse only represented five percent of the mattress buying market. Of all the things we need to accommodate our changing comfort and support needs, it’s our mattress, regardless of what sleep surface we prefer. After all, a lot can happen over the typical 7-10 years of owning the same mattress.
It sounds like something needs to change. From the sales process to technology/innovation, the mattress industry seems to have lagged behind. And if you’re on the tail end of your mattress’s life cycle, you could be sleeping every night on something as relevant as the first generation of Apple’s iPhone. Yes, both are over 10 years old. The industry has come a long way from its roots nearly 77,000 years ago when “mattresses” consisted of grass and leaves and since the 1980’s when the adjustable air mattress was first introduced. Materials have certainly improved, but sleep options have been relatively status-quo.
Thankfully, that’s not the case any longer as the consumer buying and the sleeping experience has forever changed. iSense has brought to market the world’s first fully comfort-controlled premium mattress line in a choice of spring, foam and air surfaces with built-in Comfort Control™ technology. With the touch of an app, now comfort is yours to control from ultra plush to ultra firm, and not just with an adjustable air bed, but with spring and foam, too. Finally, 100 percent of the mattress buying market can be served with adjustable comfort technology. That’s right. If you prefer the bounce of a spring mattress, the hug of a foam mattress, or the original air adjustable air mattress, iSense brings home the flexibility to control your comfort level, whatever that may be–every night and for the life of your mattress.
iSense is the vision of sleep health technology trailblazer, Paul Longman, a 30-year mattress industry veteran, serving 11 years as CEO of Australia's A.H. Beard. “For most, the mattress buying experience consists of laying on a bed for 10 minutes in a mattress store in front of a salesperson. It ends up with the consumer taking home an unchangeable mattress with a static comfort level,” said Longman. “During my 30-plus year tenure in the mattress industry, I have seen it all from product inception to production. This experience enabled me to see a missing element–comfort control for all mattress types. Whether a month, two, or five years after the purchase of your mattress, that previously wonderful, comfy bed that seemed perfect may no longer be perfect when life throws you a curve ball or two.”
Whether lower back pain, a bodily injury or ailment, the joyous occasion of having a baby, or something as simple as worn out muscles from the daily workout, our comfort and support needs will change. Regardless of if it is life’s everyday changes and regular activities that often have us in bed wrestling with getting comfortable before falling and staying asleep, or significant changes, our mattress needs to be able to adjust, no matter what sleep surface we prefer.
As a matter of fact, Jeffrey N. Katz, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and one of the most authoritative voices in the back-pain field, noted that changing to a medium firm mattress can make a substantial difference for lower back pain. But what if you don’t have back pain when you buy your mattress? That same need for having the right mattress holds true for all our aches, pains, and ups and downs in life.
“It was essential that mattress technology evolve so that no matter what sleep surface you prefer, you can adjust the comfort for the life of the mattress to ultra plush, ultra firm or anywhere in between,” says Longman. The development of iSense Sleep mattresses brings individual Comfort Control™ on each side of a premium spring and foam mattress for the first-time as well as redefined an amazing air product. These mattresses all can be controlled to comfort levels with medical grade precision from the touch of an app. “We believe our mattresses will revolutionize the industry. We all want Comfort Control™ so, in my view, buying a mattress that just sits in a bedroom for 7-10 years that doesn’t change while you do just doesn’t make sense.”
There is no doubt that there are many studies about memory foam, innerspring, and various other mattress types, with plenty of information about why one mattress may be better than the other. Most mattresses today are made with quality materials, but 95 percent of mattresses sold today do not allow you to change your comfort. It is high time every type of mattress sold comes with the ability to adjust comfort to embrace individuality and to accommodate all of life’s changes. “We like to think that our spring, foam, and air mattress with Comfort Control™ technology represents just about every mattress sold in a mattress store today,” said Longman. “If you can control your sleep comfort every day after you purchase a mattress, then you can satisfy your needs night after night, not just on the day you make the purchase, but whenever needed.”
It all comes down to one simple fact: Life changes and so should your mattress. It’s the least we should expect from the place where we spend one-third of our lives, in bed, soundly asleep.
[1] Consumer Reports, July 1, 2016 “Think Twice Before Buying Another Mattress”
