There is nothing better than a good night’s sleep. I’m talking about the type of rest you have when you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, regenerated and ready to face the new day with all its challenges. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping so it comes as no surprise that sleep, good quality sleep, plays a significant role in the state of our health and wellbeing.

 

For many years, I was not getting a proper night’s sleep. I would wake up in the morning having endured a restless night which resulted in backaches and pains. No matter how I arranged the pillows around and under my body, I could not get comfortable. Chuck however, has no sleep issues. I swear that guy can sleep standing up. Over the years, we experimented with different styles of mattresses with varying support systems but nothing worked for me. Finally, I could take it no longer. Enough was enough. Something had to be done. Maybe, it was time to check out adjustable beds.

 

A trip was made to the Sleep Country store where we were greeted by a very pleasant lady named Susan who had obviously not reached her sales quota for the week. We explained our situation to her and she immediately escorted us to the electric bed section. Back 15 years ago, there was not a large selection or at least in this store that was the case. There were three options – a queen size bed with one remote, a queen size bed split in the middle with two remotes or last choice, twin beds each with its own control. Well, it was a no brainer. Twin beds it was.

 

Because these beds required special mattresses, again there was a limited choice which was actually a good thing. Susan suggested that we lie on each mattress and see which one was the most comfortable for us plus it would also give us a chance to experiment with the remote and try out the different positions. Good Lord, the remotes even had a massage button. I could see that I was losing Chuck. There was no damn way he was going to lie down on a bed in a busy store, pushing a bunch of buttons, vibrating and looking like an idiot. I secretly agreed with him but I dutifully laid down on each mattress for approximately two minutes which seemed like an eternity. But really, how could one accurately assess how comfortable a mattress was under these conditions. Since they had a thirty-day return policy we decided to take a chance on the Sealy Pocket Coil Comfort Silk Pillowtop. At least the name sounded “comfortable”. The purchases were made, a delivery date decided on and two very confused people left the store wondering what on earth they had just bought. A smiling Susan had reached her sales quota for the week.

 

The beds arrived, were assembled and then it was time to set the beds to their most comfortable positions for each of us. Chuck announced that he was quite comfortable sleeping flat so he wasn’t going to be pushing any stupid buttons. I thought to myself that the purchase of his bed was rather a waste of money. After a few days of experimenting, I found the perfect sleep position for me. My sweet spot was in the shape of a “v” with my head elevated, my bum dropping down into the hollow and my knees in a slanted elevated position. The remote allowed me to lock into this exact position so with a single push of a button, the mattress would shift immediately into it.

 

A few nights later Chuck went up to bed while I did the woman’s nightly check list – lock the doors, turn off all the lights, check if the stove is turned off, oh wait, did I check the back door? You know the routine. Naturally Chuck was sound asleep by the time I got upstairs. I grabbed the remote and facing my bed I pushed the automatic position button. Nothing happened. I pushed the button again. The mattress did not move. The green light on the remote winked back at me so obviously the batteries were working. This time I pushed several new buttons. All of a sudden, from behind me came this very ticked off voice, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” I turned around and there was Chuck all scrunched up with his knees touching his chin. I had grabbed his remote. I could not help it. I burst out laughing which trust me, did nothing to improve his mood. That night I got very little sleep as I could not get the comical picture of Chuck out of my mind. My laughing just kept me awake.

 

When we travel, I encounter uncomfortable, sleepless nights but I am grateful that this is only a temporary situation. Once back home, I again enjoy restful nights. After all the searching, I can finally say, there is no bed like my own for a good night’s sleep.

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