How satisfied are you with your mattress? Research develops and tests a tool to find out

Sleep quality is a crucial aspect of health, yet while adults spend around a third of their lives sleeping, there is surprisingly little research on mattresses. Mass General Brigham researchers developed and tested the Boston Mattress Satisfaction Questionnaire (BMSQ), a new tool to rigorously assess mattress satisfaction and characteristics.

They administered the BMSQ to a representative sample of over 1,000 adults in the United States, finding that the tool is internally consistent and viable for assessing mattress satisfaction and may be helpful for customers, researchers and industry professionals. Results are published in Frontiers in Sleep.

“A mattress provides the foundation for a good night’s sleep, and sleeping on a comfortable surface is one of our key behavioral recommendations for improving sleep quality, but there is a dearth of research on mattresses in the scientific literature,” said lead author Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system.

The BMSQ was developed collaboratively by sleep scientists, clinicians, and mattress industry professionals to assess mattress satisfaction and characteristics. Satisfaction included comfort, firmness, temperature, and an overall rating on a scale of 1–10, with 10 being the most satisfied. Mattress characteristics explored included type, size, age, and experience of pain after waking.

“We found that most people reported being somewhat satisfied with their current mattresses, with an average mattress satisfaction score of 6.9 out of 10,” said Robbins.

“We also found the most common type of mattress was an all-spring mattress (34.9%), followed by an all-foam mattress (29.9%) and hybrid (springs combined with another component, such as a feather or foam topper, 28.4%), and mattresses comprised of air-filled chambers (5.0%).”

“Adults most commonly reported owning their mattress for 0-3 years (39.8%), but a substantial number of individuals reported owning their mattress for 10 or more years (17.0%). We found that compared to all-spring mattresses, sleeping on all-foam, hybrid or air-filled chamber mattress was associated with higher mattress satisfaction. Also, we found that the presence of a bed partner was associated with improved mattress satisfaction.”