Now that the hustle and bustle of the pre-holiday shopping rush is over, the relatives have left, and the kids are back in school, in a perfect world you might actually be able to catch up on your sleep. Although you may not be able to get a full eight hours each night but a good mattress may be able to help you get the most out the time you do have, and some of the newest innovations can help you get more benefit for something you probably have taken for granted, so we wanted to share our lake night work with you on what we found to be some of the best advances in sleep technology to help you get the perfect night sleep.

Firstly, mattress stores are notorious for making if virtually impossible to comparison shop, so don’t expect to be able to go from store to store and see the same mattress there for different prices. You’re better off paying attention to mattress brand and mattress type when you go shopping. Don’t put too much stock in model names or “line” names. One store may have a line from a prominent manufacturer under one name, and another store will have a line from the same manufacturer under another name, and in reality the mattresses are the same and simply marketed differently for different retailers. So have an idea of what you want, and more importantly what you want to spend because with some of the ‘bells and whistles’ these can a bit out hand.

Tempur-Pedic/Memory Foam  – Tempur Pedic mattresses are actually a brand name, but because they were one of the first in the memory foam space, many people use them to describe any mattress type that uses “memory foam,” or another type of foam that molds to the shape of your body while you sleep, and offers even support all over your body. You essentially sink into it, and the mattress applies even pressure to your body at all points. Tempur-Pedic and memory foam mattresses tend to get warm over the course of the night, so if you need a cool sleeping surface under you, they may not be right for you.

Sleep Number Beds – Sleep number beds use inflatable air pressure chambers inside of the mattress that you can customize to suit the level of firmness you want in your sleeping surface. You can, at any time, make the mattress firmer or softer, and depending on the model you get, you can tilt the bed up into a reclining position, or you can get sleep number beds that have different chambers on either side of the bed, so you and your spouse or partner can enjoy different levels of firmness. “Sleep Number Bed” is a trademark of Select Comfort, who makes most of the beds that fit this description. My concern is that once you know how firm/soft you like your mattress you probably won’t changing it on a nightly bases so why would you pay so much for the ability to change it as they tend to be fairly pricey. You might be better off taking some time to find out what you like and searching for the right mattress to meet that level of firmness.

Firm vs. Plush – Firm and plush, as their names imply, indicate the firmness or softness of the mattress in question. You’ll see some mattresses described as “extra firm, firm, plush, ultra plush,” to denote how hard or soft the mattress actually is. In some cases, to get to the “ultra plush” end of the scale, manufacturers add thick pillowtops and cushions to the tops of a standard mattress to make it feel softer. You can also find mattress types in between like “cushion firm” or “pillowtop” or a firm mattress that has extra padding on the sides and top or a pillowtop on it that makes the mattress softer when you lay in it, but still is firm enough to provide support while you sleep.

At the end of the day, literally, what helps you sleep at night is totally subjective so your quest should be to turn off the noise from the commercials of petite girls in blue teddies, beds that move up and down to stop snoring, and instead know what surface helps you get that deep sleep you need, then find one that meets your needs. Lastly, don’t be afraid to spend some money because remember this is one of the few things you will buy where you spend a third of your life on.