In sitting down to write this article I had hoped to open
with a witty analogy, comparing a mattress with something we engage with on a
more conscious and deliberate everyday level. For example, a mattress is like
food – we need it everyday to function, with good quality foods empowering us
to thrive, and poor quality meals making our bodies and minds weaker and less
effective. Or similarly, a mattress is like our desk at work – we need it to
get the job done, but often don’t realize how much it effects our ability to
complete tasks until we’re forced to use a rickety one that constantly wobbles
back and forth.
Nevertheless, none of these comparisons seemed truly sound
to me in the end, however my point remains the same – the mattress you sleep on
every night is far more important than most people realize. It helps us
accomplish a task that we spend approximately 1/3 of our life doing – rest.
It’s during these hours that our muscles and our brain cells are given the
critical time they need to recover and recharge. And while research finds that nearly 97% of people agree that “a good night’s sleep is essential
to quality of life,” half of the same group wants to own a better mattress due
to the poor quality of sleep they currently experience.
What’s even more interesting to think about is the vast
percentage of people out there who aren’t even aware that they are desperately
in need of a new mattress, and are simply accepting sub-quality sleep as their
status quo. Unfortunately for my personal well-being, I existed in this
category for the past two years of my life, and it wasn’t until two weeks ago
that I finally realized it.
What would you characterize as the key indicators to poor
quality sleep? Is it the sore feeling in the middle of your back that you
sometimes endure after a night’s rest in a hotel bed? Or the inability to fall
asleep due to constant tossing and turning? Maybe the uneven quality of your
mattress is causing you to be more aware of the pain you feel along your
pressure points before you fall asleep. Lucky for you – at least you know you
need to make a change.
My partner and I moved in together almost four years ago,
and accompanied with our joint move came the decision to keep his memory foam mattress
and get rid of mine. His mattress was already over four years old at the time, but
felt perfectly fine and carried me through plenty of restful nights. He had
bought it off Amazon shortly after graduating college, and we garnished it with
a lovely memory foam mattress topper that kept it soft and lush.
You see, with the preoccupations of everyday life – from
jobs, to going and and seeing friends, to traveling, we (like many other
couples I presume) were not giving the quality of our sleep active thought. Why
should we? We fell asleep just fine and never experienced soreness in the
mornings. We didn’t feel immense pressure on our hips or pressure points when
we were falling asleep. So, like many couples, we accepted a status quo of
sleep quality that I never realized was sub-par.
There were several sleep factors we both experienced ever
since we moved in together that did lead us to regularly experience poor
quality sleep, but these were items we never saw as related to our mattress.
For example:
- Both of us would regularly wake up in the middle
of the night, too hot on whatever side we were sleeping on. No matter how much
we would crank up the air conditioner, it wouldn’t matter – this occurred
almost every night like clockwork - I could only sleep comfortably on my sides,
while my boyfriend could really only sleep comfortably on his back. We just
assumed this was our sleeping style and preference, and had nothing to do with
the quality of our mattress - We could only spoon comfortably for so long
before needing to readjust in order to actually fall asleep. Again, we just
accepted that falling asleep while spooning was just simply not a possibility
given our “sleeping styles”
As always, our intention as an organization is to always be
transparent with you – our audience. And in keeping with that transparency, I
want to be honest in reinstating that we often have the opportunity to work
with a number of brands who want us to do an honest and fair review of products
they send us. Many of these reviews never see the light of day, simply because
the product is unworthy and undeserving of the attention of our audience (you).
However, every so often, we get to work with an organization that makes us
truly excited. This is one of those times.
A little over a month ago we were contacted by Saatva – an
online organization that owns a mattress brand called Loom & Leaf. For
those of you who are unaware, Loom & Leaf is one of the fiercest mattresses
that is competing in the newer ecommerce sleep industry. Consistently rated
alongside brands like Casper, Tempur-Pedic, and Nectar, Loom & Leaf is
always featured within the top 5 best memory foam mattress lists on sites like Forbes, Loom & Leaf,
and Sleepopolis.
However, believe it or not, we were hesitant at first to
bring something into our house that would effect the way we sleep every night.
I already dread sleeping in hotel beds, even when staying at high-quality
resorts with superior mattresses. I had become so accustomed to our Amazon
mattress, I was worried that I wouldn’t like the experience, or that my body
would take time to adjust to a new mattress. Bringing a new mattress into the
house is no easy task, nor is getting rid of an old mattress. However, after
some deliberation, we decided to give Loom & Leaf a try.
Like receiving any large package in the mail, we were very
excited the day our new mattress showed up. We had done some preliminary
research on the specs and reviews of the mattress, so we already knew that it
was going to be 2 inches thicker than our current mattress. After unpacking the
mattress, the clear quality difference in the outer fabric alone was an
immediately noticeable contrast between the Loom & Leaf and our old Amazon
mattress. We had opted for the “L&L Relaxed Firm” which we were initially
worried would be too soft, but was definitely more firm than we were expecting,
which was a pleasant surprise.
After removing our old mattress and setting up the new one,
we laid down for a few moments just to test it out (it was early in the
evening, so we were not ready to call it a night just yet). The most
immediately noticeable difference was the topical layer of the Loom & Leaf
compared to the mattress topper we had on our old mattress. Our old one would
feel soft and lush when you would first lie down, but when you would eventually
into the top layer, you could feel the firmness of the mattress underneath.
It’s hard to explain, but the new Loom & Leaf simply felt more balanced, as
if my bodyweight was being more evenly dispersed along the layers of the
mattress. It was firm but not too firm, and was evenly quilted and textured to
give it a feeling of support along my back.
We got up and continued on with our evening, and eventually
settled into bed to go to sleep, and here’s where things get interesting:
- I usually spoon with my partner before going to
bed at night, although with our old mattress we would have to readjust before
actually falling asleep because spooning for too long would become painful.
With the new Loom & Leaf mattress, we never had to readjust, and simply
fell asleep without even realizing it - For the first time in a long time, we both slept
through the night without experiencing hot sweats on whatever side of our body
we were sleeping on. This was a huge moment of “AHA” for both of us, finally
realizing that these previous hot flashes were not due to the heat in the room
or the weakness of our air conditioning, but our low quality mattress - I would finally sleep on my back comfortably. My
partner could finally sleep on his side comfortably. This was a ridiculous
realization to us both, finally recognizing that we were compromising sleep
positions not due to our innate “sleeping style,” but because we had a low
quality mattress before Loom & Leaf
We’ve had our Loom & Leaf for a little over two weeks
now, and it has truly changed our sleep experience. In going through this
process we realized that all along we were sacrificing our ability to cuddle,
sleep through the night, and sleep on whatever side we chose because of our
mattress. So whether you’re actively aware of the poor quality sleep you’re
getting, or you’re less consciously sacrificing the way you sleep without
realizing that it might be due to your mattress quality, consider trying it
out. It might just change your life.
Loom & Leaf essentially offers two products based on
your preferred comfort level – a “L&L Relaxed Firm” (which is their
original flagship version), and the “L&L Firm” (intended for people who
prefer a firmer feel). Even if you do prefer firmer mattresses, I’d recommend
first trying their flagship version. We were worried that it wouldn’t be firm
enough, but it is definitely firmer than we were expecting. It has also finally
allowed us to enjoy sleeping on all sides, whereas previously I could pretty
much only sleep on my side, and my partner could only sleep on his back.
The mattress in 12 inches in height with a foam density of 5
pounds. It has a layer of cooling technology foam, which is probably why we no
longer were experiencing those awful hot flashes in the middle of the night.
They offer a whopping 15-year warranty, with a money-back guarantee sleep trial
of 120 days (Tempur-Pedic only offers 90 days).
As an organization, Loom & Leaf is committed to
sustainability. Their botanical antimicrobial
fabric helps to prolong the life of their mattresses by
significantly reducing bacteria in the mattress. Additionally, their foam
suppliers use renewable materials that have immensely reduced greenhouse gasses
normally created in the manufacturing process.
The mattress is subdivided into four layers that come
together to create a superior sleep experience:
- The organic cotton covering
- Cooling spinal gel layer
- 5lb premium foam (also eco-friendly)
- Dual breathable support layer
To read more details about the L&L mattress, visit their website at Loomandleaf.com.
