Ready for Sleep – 4 Steps to Your Dream Bed

The MATTRESS

The heart of a continental bed is the main mattress.

It is responsible for 90% of the sleep comfort. The requirements for a good mattress can be summarized in the following points:

• The internal spring construction of the mattress must meet individual needs for firmness or softness. This depends on the materials, construction, and arrangement of the springs inside the mattress.
• The filling materials used must meet the individual body’s climate in terms of moisture and temperature.
• The mattress must absorb the moisture released during sleep at the surface and release it through a ventilation system. Equipping mattresses with temperature-regulating, natural materials speeds up this process.
• The surface covering is not just packaging that holds everything together. As you sink into the mattress, the cover can already provide a sense of comfort and influence the perception of softness or firmness.

Additionally, the choice of fabric on the mattress surface can help regulate body climate concerning warmth and moisture.

Bonell Spring System

The most affordable spring system is the Bonell spring core made from basic steel.

It consists of hourglass-shaped springs arranged side by side. To prevent the individual springs from getting tangled under pressure, they are connected by wire or stitching. While the Bonell spring core offers high support, it has relatively weak point elasticity. In a modified form, this type is also known as endless spring core, multispring, or multicoil.

Pocket Spring Mattress

In higher-quality spring mattresses, you will typically find a pocket spring core.

The springs are individually sewn into fabric pockets to prevent them from tangling. Pocket spring systems allow for precise sinking and provide exact support for the body on the mattress.

Double Pocket Spring Mattress

In a double pocket spring mattress, two layers of pocket springs are stacked on top of each other.

Essentially, this type of mattress is already a box spring system (spring on spring) within a single casing. The lower layer of springs in the mattress performs the function of the box spring.

Micro-Springs

A newer development is the Micro-Spring core.

In this system, up to 20,000 small springs, each measuring 1.5 to 3 cm in height, are stacked in multiple layers, significantly improving the distribution of pressure and support forces.

The Upholstery Materials

Only the right filling materials ensure good sleep.

The so-called padding in the pocket spring mattress has two functions. It covers the ends of the pocket springs, making comfortable lying on the mattress possible. Additionally, the padding takes on the task of transporting moisture released during sleep and regulating the temperature.

The filling materials used for this purpose vary significantly in price. In more affordable mattresses, synthetic materials are often used, while mattresses in the mid-price range typically feature a mix of synthetic and natural materials. In luxury mattresses, only natural materials are used, such as cotton, coconut, latex, new wool, merino wool, as well as mohair, cashmere, camel hair, horsehair, and silk.

The combination of these natural materials in varying thicknesses within the same mattress is an art in itself, with each manufacturer of high-quality mattresses following its own concept and experience.

The Cover

The cover not only completes the functional aspects but also the tactile and visual design of the mattress.

In very basic and affordable mattresses, covers are often made of jersey or stretch materials, which are usually removable and washable. This is quite practical because the materials inside these mattresses, as well as their covers, are typically not breathable.

Without sufficient air circulation, the moisture released during sleep evaporates on the mattress itself, making regular washing of the cover essential.

In the segment of semi-machine-made and hand-crafted mattresses, however, high-quality twill (a particularly dense yet flexible fabric) made of cotton or even silk and silk satin is used as the cover material for the mattress.

The higher the quality of the twill, the more breathable, soft, and durable the mattress becomes. Due to their construction, these covers are typically not removable.

Handcraft vs. Machine Processing

Another price- and quality-relevant factor is the type of processing of a mattress. Two categories can be distinguished:

Semi-machine-made mattresses

In this case, machine-made pocket spring rows are manually inserted into a frame made of rigid foam. After that, the padding layers are placed by hand onto the spring system, and the mattress is machine-closed (quilted). Semi-machine-made mattresses always require a layer of foam or similar material to be inserted into the mattress, as otherwise, the quilting machine needle would not have anything to hold onto.

Handcrafted Mattresses (Luxury Class)

In handcrafted mattresses, the spring cores are not arranged in rows but placed offset in a honeycomb pattern within a wooden frame. This allows for more springs to be placed per square meter, significantly improving support comfort. Afterward, the wooden frame is removed, and the outer springs are individually hand-sewn to the side panels. There is no longer a comfort-reducing frame. Next, the filling material is manually placed over the springs. Finally, the top and bottom of the mattress are hand-stitched with long needles, giving the mattress its characteristic appearance with what are known as “roses.”

From Both Sides

When choosing a mattress, also pay attention to the number and the quality of the handles.

A high-quality mattress is no lightweight; the weight of the metal springs is particularly noticeable. The handles are not just decorative; they are necessary for regularly turning the mattress. This should be done up to four times a year to ensure optimal distribution and load on the filling materials.

Two additional details are indicators of a high-quality mattress: One is a neatly crafted piping, which is the bulging edge reinforcement of the seam that provides the mattress with extra stability. The other is the side ventilation openings that are incorporated into the mattress to improve moisture drainage.

THE BOXSPRING

The boxspring serves as the support for the main mattress.

Here, too, there are technical, qualitative, aesthetic, and thus price differences.

Requirements for a well-made boxspring include:

• The spring system should be strong and at the same time flexible enough to optimally support the main mattress.
• The high-quality boxspring needs a stable, durable frame to withstand the high loads over the years consistently.
• Well-crafted frame parts and connection elements to the spring units prevent noise under load.
• A padded spring core in the boxspring protects the underside of the mattress.
• As with the construction of all furniture pieces, there is a wide range regarding the quality of the materials used and the quality of workmanship.
• The frame can be made from chipboard or MDF boards in various heights. It is then covered, with material choices ranging from cotton to leather. It is then placed on the desired feet at the appropriate height. For the spring system, a steel-bonell spring core, stainless steel pocket springs, or even stainless steel double-pocket springs can be used. The covering of the spring system can be made from a cotton-synthetic fleece, pure cotton, or a cotton-horsehair blend.

THE TOPPER

The topper forms the upper finish of many continental beds as a simply designed mattress topper.

As an additional, separate covering layer between the mattress and the body, toppers promote a greater sinking effect in the shoulder and hip areas when lying down. Whether a topper is useful in a sleep system always directly relates to the main mattress used. In more affordable mattresses, there is often only a thin layer of filling material, which is significantly increased by using a topper.

Toppers come in a variety of styles and thicknesses. In most cases, they are foam or cold foam toppers that are about 4 cm to 10 cm thick. Higher-quality products use natural latex or cotton toppers, while in the luxury range, silk or horsehair toppers are used.

However, a topper alone does not make a good sleep system.

Since the use of a topper makes every mattress – feel – very soft, extremely inexpensive mattresses are sometimes combined with foam toppers to give customers the impression of a high-quality and comfortable sleeping experience.

When purchasing, however, you should always first try out the mattress without a topper to determine if you can achieve a healthy sleeping position on your own.

The main mattress must allow the heavier parts of the body to sink in, ensuring that proper orthopedic support is provided for the entire musculoskeletal system.

If, after testing, you decide to go for a topper due to its practical and hygienic benefits, nothing will stand in the way of the much-discussed feeling of sleeping on clouds.