The Great Debate: Is a Bed a Good Investment?

Do the things we value have any real value?

Throughout the ages humans have attached value to many different things, from salt in ancient Rome to diamonds today. And even in our modern times, what we deem valuable still seems rooted in the tangible – something we can see, feel, taste or touch. When one considers investing their wealth in something material(whether that be hard-earned currency or inherited riches), the deciding factor often comes down to, ‘what’s -in-it-for-me’, in other words, what am I going to get out of this, what’s the ‘return on investment?

If we think about it, many of the things we attach value to offer a poor return on investment – a car, for instance, depreciates in value from the moment it’s taken off the showroom floor. Many of the things we hold dear have no inherent value, after all our idea of value is often a perception at best. Perhaps it’s time we reframe our idea of what’s valuable and what we choose to invest our money in? Perhaps it’s time we truly invest in our health.

Health is wealth so why do we undervalue it?

With our modern idea of wealth grounded in the material, humanity struggles to truly believe that our health is the real wealth. Of course, we all know that our health is important and we want to hang on to it, but somehow the value of being ‘healthy’ just doesn’t seem to excite us as much as diamonds, fast cars and fine wine might. There are some biological facts we cannot escape; the first one is that humans are hardwired to seek out the shortest path to pleasure. We want to feel good and we want to feel it now, and the idea of ‘being healthy’ just doesn’t push those neurological buttons for us.

There’s a tussle between logic and emotion here, and that’s the battle we fight in trying to convince ourselves that our health is worth every cent we invest in it. Investing in our health will give us the best return on investment of our lives, and ten times over. The second biological fact is that we cannot live without sleep – this is irrefutable. Sleep is the gamechanger for us in so many ways – want to live longer? Get enough sleep. Want to be a better sportsperson? Get good sleep. Want to recover from illness? You need to sleep. Sleep quantity sits high up in the healthy hierarchy but so does sleep quality. We as humanity need to take a bold step to invest in our best sleep.

Good Sleep is influenced by our Environment

We have unbridled access to so much information about the value of sleep, penned by some of the brightest minds in neuroscience and psychology. We can find out whatever we want to, whenever we need to. And one thing we have come to know is that our best sleep comes from the right support systems, broadly categorised as emotional, physiological and environmental. Emotional support means managing our stress levels, something which we know has a physiological response in the body which increases the production of hormones that negatively impact our sleep.

We know stress isn’t just psychological, it’s physiological, so managing our emotional wellbeing will impact our physiology for the greater good. The good news is we can support our physiology and our sleep better with the right supplementation. Apart from Magnesium, Glycine is being recognised as important sleep supplement, as Dr. Michael Breus (The SleepDoctor.com) explains, “Glycine helps the body make serotonin, a hormone and neurotransmitter that has significant effects on sleep and mood.”

We can educate ourselves on sleeping better and audit our lifestyles to support this, so why don’t place enough importance on our sleep environment? The environmental elements of sleep are just as important as the others – Dr Andrew Huberman explains in his ‘Master your Sleep & Be more alert when awake’ podcast that, “having the proper sleep environment, both the environment you’re sleeping in and the object you’re sleeping on, is critically important to getting a good night’s sleep.”

Mastering our sleep environment is well within in our control, and we have ultimate power when it comes to the type of pillow and duvet we have, the temperature and lighting in our rooms, and the bed and mattress we sleep on. However, the virtues of sleep supplements like Glycine and Magnesium, and sleeping on a good bed are not mutually exclusive. To get your best sleep, these elements must work in unison.

It’s Time to Invest in your Best Sleep

Ask any new homeowner what the 3 essential items of furniture are, a bed is one. If you asked them what kind of bed, they’d probably be at a loss. If you asked them how much they want to spend on a bed, it’s likely they wouldn’t know either. It seems, that when it comes to buying a bed we’re unprepared and our decision is largely governed by economics. We want to know what the bed will cost before we decide it’s for us. If we are going to truly start honouring our sleep then we should put as much energy into selecting a bed as we do a car. In fact, we spend more time in our bed than our car, so technically speaking a bed offers us a much better return. When we say something is too expensive, it’s often not a matter of affordability, it’s about value. We humans will hand our money over for anything that we believe we must have and need because it is valuable to us.

A bed is an essential household item; its value cannot really be quantified so it pays manifold to invest in the best bed you can afford it. What’s expensive to one person is cheap to another, so your bed must be right for you. A cost comparison between a car and a bed will illustrate that a good bed for pay for itself in the long run. Also, a bed will outlive a car in most cases and you won’t have to replace parts or service it. Amortise your bed investment over the same terms as a car, and you’ll see a good bed costs you less day-to-day.

Quantifying the value of Good Sleep

We cannot quantify the value of good sleep, but we can arm ourselves with all the information we need to make the best decision, including how much we should invest in a bed. Over and above the features of the bed itself, there are several key factors which signify quality.

Warranties, guarantees and hidden costs:

What terms are offered and what is covered? Does the bed seller vet their bed manufacturers and suppliers before stocking them? A warranty offered by a store must be backed by a trustworthy and solid manufacturer or supplier, otherwise honouring a warranty could fall short. A hefty delivery cost will ultimately impact on how much you can afford to pay for your bed. Dream Republic® will deliver your bed to you for free.

In-house innovation:

Ongoing research and development into creating industry-leading beds that deliver comfort is certainly something to look out for. The industry leaders are the ones who set new benchmarks for quality, and ultimately will ensure that their products across the board adhere to these standards. Innovation also extends to the type of ticking (covering) on a mattress, and Serta® are leading here. BioCare® is a unique ticking which blocks 98.5% of known electro-magnetic frequency (a known sleep disruptor), while the Ametist® ticking found on the Sertapedic® range provides chemical-free, natural protection against bacteria among its list of features. The type of spring system in your bed is truly the cornerstone of its comfort, and cheaply made beds will often take shortcuts with their spring systems. Our Serta® beds are fitted with our unique patented spring system, giving you both physical support and ultimate comfort.

International accolade:

Serta® is the world’s number 1 mattress manufacturer and the fact that it won the American Women’s Choice Awards puts paid to this accolade. The activities of a more mature consumer market, like the US, helps to educate our local market on which brands are worth investing in. There are so many bed brands out there, so why not trust in one that has won accolades abroad?

The fact remains you cannot survive without sleep, yet we continue to undervalue it. The only time sleep’s value is realised is when we are not able to do it. And once your health is lost, it doesn’t matter how wealthy you are in currency or commodities, you simply cannot buy it back. Don’t invest in diamonds, rather buy the best bed you can today.