After sleeping on hand-me-down beds for pretty much my entire life, with the end result being an air mattress for about 6 months (til the cat popped it while happily 'kneading bread'), I was ready to make like a grownup and buy a mattress.
But I wasn't just going to buy what was on sale at the local store. Nope, not even. Being the passionate holistic health practitioner I am, I had to be neurotic about chemicals, metal coils, and most importantly, the sag/compression indents that come with nightly use and are terrible for spinal health.
To put it bluntly, I researched the shit out of beds. I went down some deep rabbit holes. I learned more about beds than I ever thought I would, or would care to. I researched memory foam, organic cotton, organic wool, latex, Sleep Number, and even the beds that other health practitioners rave about.
There were two main reasons for my neuroticism: First, I was pregnant and planning on co-sleeping at least some of the time (and heard that chemicals in beds are toxic). And second, because of my frugality and the endless lengths I will go to to not have to pay a lot of money for something.
If I was going to buy a bed, it had to be The One. I rarely make large purchases and didn't want to feel lifelong buyer's remorse over it.
I gotta tell ya, and I have been telling everyone, "My bed kicks your bed's ass." Because it does. I'd bet money on that statement.
So what did I end up getting?
A Spindle. The Holy Grail of beds. No, no, it's the pasture-raised, organic bacon of beds. All other beds are just bologna and baloney.
I've had it for about 6 months now and still get giddy thinking about it and how it was the hands-down, best purchase I've ever made. Here are 10 reasons why:
1. Customer service was so awesome that I felt free to tell them all about my horrible sleeping situation (which included finding mold on the underside of the memory foam topper that sat atop my air mattress) and also to ask every question that came up during my crazed research sessions.
2. My husband and I both like a firm mattress. Spindle's mattresses are customizable due to them being three 3"natural latex foam layers. We chose firm-firm-medium. If we happened to have thought it was too firm/not firm enough, we could ship the layer back and exchange it for the firmness we desired. But get this: YOU HAVE AN ENTIRE YEAR TO DECIDE if that's the sweet-spot of firmness for you!* *please note that it is $150 to make this change, shipping included (because those layers aren't light!).
3. My husband often stays up late working so he comes to bed after I'm asleep. But I don't notice when he does because the "motion transfer" is pretty much non-existent.
4. The outer cover is organic wool. Wool is a natural flame retardant so I could rest easy (pun intended) knowing that my newborn babe wasn't inhaling nasty toxic chemicals that are known to disrupt hormones and cause cancers, infertility and birth defects (and a whole slew of other gnarly problems). Oh, and the wool is from humanely raised sheep!
5. We've all heard stories about mattresses that were supposedly new but were definitely not new on the inside. I know what's inside my bed! It arrived at our house in three boxes. We unrolled the latex foam layers and placed them into the organic cotton and wool cover. It took about 20-30 minutes to assemble (it is a two-person job). Easy peasy.
6. Made in the USA! No sweat shop up in here!
7. The warranty. When I purchased my bed there was a 25 year warranty on a 3/4 inch compression! Holy BALLS! All of the other mattresses I researched had warranties, some of them even for 10 years, but none of them covered compression (you know, the indentation or sag that happens when you sleep in the same spot for a while?). This is what sold me. I didn't get an organic cotton mattress because I had read they get compression rather quickly. This warranty has since changed, but not because of a change in quality. You can read more about it here.
8. No metal coils. According to Scientific American, sleeping on metal springs can act like an antenna for EMF's. Check it: “As we sleep on our coil-spring mattresses, we are in effect sleeping on an antenna that amplifies the intensity of the broadcast FM/TV radiation. Asleep on these antennas, our bodies are exposed to the amplified electromagnetic radiation for a third of our life spans. As we slumber on a metal coil-spring mattress, a wave of electromagnetic radiation envelops our bodies so that the maximum strength of the field develops 75 centimeters above the mattress in the middle of our bodies. When sleeping on the right side, the body’s left side will thereby be exposed to field strength about twice as strong as what the right side absorbs." And most everyone I know sleeps with their cell phone within a few feet of their bed.
9. The price. Price was at the heart of my research. Once I knew I wanted a latex bed (as opposed to a toxic memory foam or metal spring mattress), they were all completely out of my price range. I think the cheapest one I had found started at $2,300 for a queen. Pssh. Spindle rocks their queens at $1,350 - an entire grand cheaper than all the others and WAAAAY better on every level. This is because you get it direct from them - no middle men. And free shipping to boot!
10. Awesome sleep. When my husband woke up after our first night sleeping in the bed he said, "I don't think I moved at all." Me too. We slept so darn soundly. Also, he's got two funky back injuries from snowboarding so his back is super sensitive.
So there you have it. My most satisfying experience involving a bed (joke!). I love my Spindle and I'm a customer for life. You could be too - mark my words, you will not regret it.
I highly recommend you contact them if you have any questions. And if you do want to purchase one, you can use this link and you'll get a 5% discount (that's about $70 for a queen!) and I’ll get a few bucks for sending you their way.
Here's to thrillingly restful sleep!