Good night's sleep: More than a mattress

David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 29, 2012

This is the classic bad news-good news scenario.
     The bad news, and it's bad, no matter how you look at it, is that just 66% of consumers say a comfortable mattress is very important to a good night of sleep. Who wants to sleep on an uncomfortable mattress? Apparently some consumers wouldn't mind doing just that, judging by these survey results.
     But there is also some good news here: Comfortable pillows are seen as every bit as important to a good night of sleep as a comfy mattress. And comfortable sheets and bedding are cited as very important for a good night of sleep by 53% of consumers.
     So the sleep products industry has more than one entrant in the better sleep derby. Yes, it would be nice if mattresses received higher scores here, but comfy pillows and sheets do get a fair share of credit. That suggests nice sales possibilities for those product categories.
     It's also good to learn that sleeping pills are said to be very important to a good night's sleep by just 7% of the consumers. Given all of the advertising behind those products, we would have thought that figure was much higher.