0959 Use of a Memory Foam Mattress Improves Sleep Quality and Consistency

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Previous research has shown that comfort, including comfort of the sleep surface, is essential to sleep quality. In addition to comfort, the structure and firmness of a mattress may play a role in sleep quality. More empirical research is needed to establish the impact of particular mattresses on both objective and self-reported measures of sleep. This study compared sleep on a memory foam mattress to participants’ prior sleep on their original mattress. Methods Healthy adults (65% female, ages 24-59) participated in a 10-week field study, using a pre-post intervention design. During the 4-week baseline period, participants used their regular mattress at home. During the 4-week intervention period, which occurred following a 2-week adjustment period, they used a Sleepy’s Memory Foam mattress at home. Sleep was measured objectively using SleepScore Max every night and by daily and pre-post self-report. Multilevel regression and paired t-tests were used to test for statistical significance. Results There were over 1,000 nights of tracked sleep across 25 participants. Objective sleep measurements showed many nightly improvements during the intervention compared to baseline: less WASO, both in duration (-7 minutes, p<.001) and proportion of the night (p<.001); fewer awakenings (p=.002); and better sleep efficiency (p<.001) and sleep maintenance (p<.001). Improvement also was observed in SleepScore, a measure of sleep quality (p=.008). Self-report measures revealed greater comfort when using the memory foam mattress, as well as improvement in a variety of perceived sleep outcomes, including time to fall asleep, waking less often, spending less time awake after initially falling asleep, longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, and feeling more rested in the morning (ps<.05). Conclusion Objectively-measured sleep and self-reported sleep improved in quality and consistency when using the memory mattress compared to healthy adults’ original mattresses. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative self-report results suggested that the intervention was perceived as comfortable. Support (if any) Mattress Firm INC