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Here’s a wake up call: A good mattress can make the difference between sweet dreams and a nightmare of tossing that leads to a sore back or stiff neck.

So says Dr Terrence Yap, a chiropractor at Atlas Chiropratic Clinic and vice-president of the cChiropractic Association Singapore. Here are his tips on picking the right one.

1. Try before you buy. Don’t worry about looking silly – the only way to properly try the mattress is to lie on it, even if other shoppers giggle and stare. “Lie on it facing up and then on your side,” says Dr Yap. You need to spend about 10 minutes testing out a mattress to see if it suits you.Couples who share a bed should test the mattress together. You should not feel your partner’s movements on a good mattress.
2. Look for a mattress that has a medium/firm feel. Your body should feel supported, not like it is sagging.
3. There should not be a gap between the mattress and your wasit. If there is, it means the mattress does nto conform to your body’s contours and you could end up with aches.A mattress that is too hard is also bad for the spine. “It means the curve of your spine is not supported,” says Dr Yap.
4. Some companies offer mattresses that don;t require flipping, which you usually have to do so that your mattress wears evenly. Otherwise, “it is best to flip your mattress at least once a month”, says Dr Yap.Flip the top to the bottom.

Mattress matters

Inner spring: These have wire coils inside which are the support structure for the mattress. Depending on the manufacturer, there are different types of coils used.

The open coil is the ldest type. It is an hourglass-shaped wire coil joined to adjacent coils by small wire spirals.

A pocket coil is one where a cylindrical spring is wrapped in its own fabric pocket. Each coil works independently which means that you will feel your partner move much less.

The third kind is the continuous coil. Each row of coil is made of a single wire attached to the next row by small spiral wires. Such mattresses supposedly keep their shape longer.

Water: Comes filled with water but stll offers full support for the psine and body. Unlike tradtional mattresses, waterbeds do not sage and need not be flipped over. They also do not leak and will not cause seasickness.

Latex: Made from matural or synthetic latex. The dense material makes them durable. The latex usually comes with small holes which help soften it and make it comfortable.

Memory foam: Made from polyurethane foam which is said to help distribute body pressure and follow individual body contours. Such mattresses tend to be heavier.

Extracted from The Straits Times, Saturday, 6 December 2008.