Contour vs Select Comfort

A Contour Adjustable Mattress is light years ahead of a Select Comfort® raised air bed in both technology and comfort! Many people have seen a commercial or advertisement for the sleep number bed but don’t know how one is made.

A Select Comfort bed is essentially an air mattress, similar to one that you might take camping or blow up for overnight guests in your home. The air mattress is wrapped in foam and padding and covered with traditional mattress fabric. Tubes that are connected to the air mattress protrude from the inside of the mattresses to an air pump and are attached to a remote control with a dial. A customer changes the number on the dial to increase or decrease the amount of air in the mattress to make it firmer or softer. The final number on the remote control after adjustment is marketed as a “sleep number.” The mattress sits on a conventional box spring or an electric adjustable bed base.

There are many drawbacks to sleeping on a raised air bed mattress with the largest being support. With air, when you push down in one spot, it pushes back up in another. Air mattresses generally sag at the heaviest point of your body. On most people this will be at the hips. After the first few moments of contouring, the mattress progressively begins to become hammock-shaped. This can lead to progressively poorer support and sore lower backs on some people.

Another support problem occurs with Select Comfort’s dual firmness mattresses. On this product both sides have separate air chambers so each person can adjust their firmness. The two groups of chambers are separated with foam which has been reported to quickly deteriorate. The deterioration creates an indentation in the center of the bed causing further support issues. Additionally, if one partner has more air in their mattress than the other partner does it can cause the bed to feel and appear lopsided because one mattress will be lower than the other due to the amount of air inside each mattress.

Adjustable air bladder mattresses are also prone to mold growth inside the mattress and Select Comfort has had considerable problems with black mold. A web search on mold in Select Comfort mattresses resulted in an avalanche of complaints about the problem. Many people who have used the Sleep Number bed have become ill, suffering from allergies, hypersensitivity, pulmonary distress and/or other bronchial problems. A Class Action Lawsuit was filed against the company in California on behalf of thousands of customers. The lawsuit is still pending.

Finally, raised air mattresses can have a negative effect on a couple’s intimate relations! A recent survey by Fortune 500 Company Leggett & Platt revealed that only 7% of respondents to a survey on the best sleep surface for sex answered with air mattresses! Respondents said there was not enough bounce in an air mattress for a satisfying sexual encounter! Customers with dual firmness beds have also complained that because each side of the mattress is adjusted separately one side of the bed can be higher or lower than the other causing discomfort for couples when cuddling or having sex.

Contour®, Tempurpedic®, Select Comfort® and Craftmatic® are registered trademarks of different companies.