Mattress Vancouver

Simmons Mattress Gallery professionals are always being asked the same age-old question: “How do I fall asleep at night when my body won’t turn off?”

Are answer always starts with a question: “What kind of mattress are you sleeping on?” After suggesting a switch to an ultra-comfortable Beautyrest, we widen our advice to include a few tips that have been passed down to us from our many satisfied customers.

One tip is specifically formulated for those nights when you have an important business meeting or presentation the following day.

Our anxious nature occasionally inhibits our mind from slipping into a state of unconsciousness. For those nights when we are consumed by the pressure of our work, we offer this tip:

• Don’t lie in bed trying in vain to fall asleep. Get off your mattress, go to your desk or kitchen table and take out a pen and paper. Do not work on the computer; that will just add more distractions. Write out everything you will be doing the following day. Include all the details you can think of. If need be, include a timeline.
• With that done, return to bed and switch your brain from logical functioning to creative. Imagine a picture or scene and place yourself in it. Let your mind relax and drift away.

You’re welcome.

Write It Down

What do you wear to bed on a nightly basis? Simmons Mattress Gallery wants to know.

Each one of us has a certain bedtime uniform that we feel the most comfortable in after-hours. Some of us retire to our bed wearing half of what we wore that day. Others spend each night in pajamas. Others still, sleep in boxers and a t-shirt.

Feeling sexy? There is always that lingerie at the back of your sock drawer. Feel like a fabric hug? Pull out the hoodie from College. Cold feet? Those wool socks you bought for skiing in 2007 are great!

And then some of us feel the most comfortable with nothing on. Commando!

Simmons Mattress Gallery would like to conduct a poll of what the majority of British Columbians wear to bed. Join our Facebook group and post your answers on our wall. Following us on Twitter? Send us a message or @mention us on your own feed. Just give us a brief description of what you wear on a regular night when you go to sleep.

Feel like doing some mattress shopping in your nightly garbs? Bring them down, change in the back and try out some of the finest beds in the business in your most comfortable evening attire. We won’t judge.

(Is that a Tears For Fears concert shirt???)

Simmons mattresses are a pleasure to sleep on. In a world of counterfeits and knock-offs, nothing beats a night on a pocket coiled Simmons. The masters of eliminating motion transfer, Simmons beds guarantee you and your loved one a sound sleep.

Well that is to say, ‘we guarantee a motionless sleep.’ All ’sounds’ that come from the two of you are your own. But we know that involuntary oral escapes can be a problem. Especially for the silent partner, the one who gets to enjoy the steam whistle every night.

For that lucky individual we have compiled a list of five snore remedies to try with your partner:

1. Ask your partner, in the nicest way possible, if they wouldn’t mind sleeping on their stomach. Sleeping on your back causes your throat to relax and block your airway.

2. Help or encourage your partner to butt-out. Smoking is one of the leading causes of snoring.

3. Use a humidifier to keep the air in your bedroom moist. Dry air can lead to a dry and irritable throat.

4. Ask your partner to try different throat exercises. Strengthening the muscles in your upper respiratory tract can help with the noise.

5. Try a new diet with your partner. Eating habits can directly affect your snoring. A diet of junk food leads to poor muscle tone and extra fatty tissue. Both of these contribute to snoring.

At least someone is sleeping...

*Nothing working. Time to talk to your doctor. Chances are he might recommend a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. This is a rather large commitment. Apart from being very pricey, the CPAP machine is fairly physically obtrusive in the bedroom. But if you can’t sleep…

Good luck with those tips. Try a few. And don’t worry. We’ll still keep on making quality beds for you to enjoy when that silent night finally comes.

We all know that not enough sleep can affect our health, but what about too much sleep? Is there such a thing?

The answer: Yes. Oversleeping can prove to be detrimental to your health.

As much as you love your new mattress, there are a few reasons to leave its warm embrace.

The most significant reason is the threat of diabetes. This metabolic disease that comes in many forms, is having a devastating affect on the world’s population. The body’s inability to properly control insulin levels is strongly connected to our diet and our body’s general health. If you are oversleeping, your body is not receiving enough physical exercise and can become especially susceptible to type 2 diabetes.

Depression is another possible side effect of oversleeping. Most people believe insomnia to be at the root of depression, but it can also work in reverse. Almost 15% of people suffering from depression sleep too much. Rise and shine, welcome the day and take only 7-8 hours of required rest.

With an over allotted sleep schedule, you may also run the risk of developing heart disease. A study found that women who slept 9-11 hours a night were 38% more likely to have coronary heart disease than those who slept 8 hours.

If you are sleeping more than eight hours a night and are concerned about your health, make sure to contact your local doctor. It is also important to note that your sleeping needs will change over the course of your life. The rest you needed in high school is probably significantly different than what your body demands in your adult life.

If you are consistently sleeping more than 8 hours a night, consult your doctor.

As mattress professionals, we get asked a lot of random questions. Last week we posted some of the most bizarre examples of questions related to our specialty. This week, we would like to look at one question in a little more depth.

The question is this: “Can spicy foods affect my sleep potential?”

The answer: “Yes, both negatively and positively.”

Spices: Combatting Bland for Centuries

Spices are often added to foods that are high in protein and fat. These foods can be difficult for your body to digest, often requiring more than the standard four hours for full digestion. If you try and fall asleep to early after eating any large meal, your brain will focus on your body’s struggle to breakdown the food you have added to it, instead of calmly slipping into a state of restfulness.

Spicy foods can also irritate your upper esophagus, which can lead to pain and acid reflex. Falling asleep is hard enough as it is some nights, but add heartburn to the mix and you’re in for a few hours of staring painfully at the ceiling – wishing you hadn’t ordered that third round of suicide wings.

On the flip side, there are a few spices, like cinnamon, that aid digestion. These spices can reduce the time needed before bed.

There are also many other spices that lower blood sugar. And still others that contain essential antioxidants that our body needs to combat disease.

Spices that promote sleep directly are nutmeg, turmeric and the always tasty, garlic.

The best advice we can give you is, “know your own body.” If certain spices give you heartburn, try to avoid them, especially when you’re behind on your sleep. If you feel you need a natural aid to dose off before a big day, go heavy on the garlic.

At Simmons Mattress Gallery, we talk with conscientious consumers every day who are interested in finding the perfect mattress for their unique lifestyle. With the entire Simmons catalogue available to us, we are able to match every customer with a bed that will meet his or her comfort, quality and price expectations.

But there are those few moments when we are caught off guard by a random question.

This week we thought we would post a few questions that made us smile:

1. I love the mattress set and the price is in my range, but does it come in hot pink?

2. I rode my bike over. Do you have any rope I could use to tie my new mattress to my handlebars?

3. Can the ‘pocket’ coils be used for storage?

4. Does the Beautyrest line come with a complimentary makeover?

5. What if I sleep too soundly? Will I constantly be late for work?

6. My great dane sometimes likes to share my bed. Will the motion separation provided by your patented pocket coils ensure me an undisturbed sleep if he starts to move in the middle of the night?

(The answer is yes! The coils will ensure his movements do not disturb you. So long as he doesn’t kick you or lick your face.)

7. I’m building a trapeze set in the backyard. How many mattresses would it take to support a 10 foot fall?

8. What if my kids become jealous of my new bed?

(This is actually a common problem. The only solution: new mattresses for the entire family)