Good Question: What's In A $33K Mattress?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- As many as one in four of us have problems getting to sleep at night. And pretty much of all of us have struggled to find the perfect mattress. So hearing about a $33,000 mattress got our attention.

Could our mattress be keeping us from sleep? And what's inside a $33,000 mattress?

"This is a bargain, at two-thirds the price," laughed R.J. Nohr, a mattress specialist at Gabberts Furniture in Edina.

The Aireloom Bespoke is from E. S. Kluft & Company and is hand made in California. Nohr said he's visited the factory, and points out that the MSRP is $33,000, but the mattress is on sale at Gabberts right now for just under $17,000.

It uses hand-tied coils and hand side-stitching. There are 15 layers of different materials, designed to "adapt and react to the body, nurture proper body balance and allow for optimum pressure relief, comfort and support," according to the company.

"They do layers and layers of material," Nohr said. "All those variables come into play at a top-quality sleeping system."

He compared the mattress to a Rolls Royce. But when it comes to getting you from A to B, you certainly don't need a Rolls.

"I can't think of why you'd get a $33,000 mattress," laughed Dr. Charlene McEvoy, a sleep specialist with Health Partners specialty clinic in St. Paul.

As far as the importance of a mattress to a good night's sleep: "There's comfort from layers and the coils that create the firmness and support," she said.

But she argued that price isn't an indicator for quality, at least when it comes to sleep.

"You want good support on spine, then it's personal preference," she said. "There are people who love futons, they're really firm."

You also might have seen commercials for mattress companies saying if your mattress is over 8 years old it's time to replace.

"There's no scientific evidence out there to say that," McEvoy said.

In fact, "Replace Every 8" is a trademark of a California chain of mattress stores, Sit' N Sleep.

"Most quality beds warranty for 20 years," said Nohr, the mattress salesman. Of course, he said that's depending on how you use your mattress; you may need to replace it while it's still under warranty if you don't use a mattress protector, or if you don't change your sheets often.

People do have many questions about sleep. In fact, Gabberts offers free monthly seminars about mattresses. The next one is Sept.1 at the Galleria Sleep Studio.

Another claim is that your mattress will double its weight over eight years, because all the dust mites and dust particles gathered in it. While there has been at least one study that made that claim, there has not been a study that's actually weighed that mattress at the start, and after eight years of use.