Mattress Metrics: Elements of good sleep

Sleep Accessories Rate High in Good Night of Sleep

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 29, 2011

The National Sleep Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based group dedicated to improving sleep health, has conducted many polls over the years. One of that group's latest efforts, a Bedroom Poll, yielded some interesting results for retailers.

Elements of good sleep

Percentage of Americans who claim these elements of the bedroom are important to getting a good night’s sleep

Source: National Sleep Foundation's Bedroom Poll, 2011

     The good news starts with the fact that more than nine out of 10 consumers surveyed in this telephone poll of 1,500 Americans between the ages of 25 and 55 say that a comfortable mattress is important in getting a good night of sleep. That sounds obvious, but it is surprising how many so-called sleep experts don't include the mattress in their list of better sleep ingredients.
     It's also interesting that comfortable pillows are seen as basically as important as a comfy mattress in getting a good night of sleep. Yet many mattress retailers still make pillows an afterthought in the sales process, trying to add them on to the sale at the last minute rather than integrating them into the mattress shopping experience.
     Also rating very high on the list of good sleep essentials are sheets and bedding that have a comfortable feel, with 85% of respondents citing those elements. Again, this points to opportunities for add-on sales
     It's significant that the top three elements of a good night's sleep - the mattress, pillows and sheets - are all items that savvy bedding retailers are already selling.