I have earned the right to be called  "The Old Bed Guy".   For far more than half a  century  of making, buying, and selling sleep products occupied me 128 hours a week when I wasn't sleeping or trying to fall asleep.   For some years I have shared my thoughts and sleep wisdom with the public at a www.oldbedguy.com.  Hundreds of people have sought my advice on beds and mattresses and I have shared unstintingly.

From the late forties when I learned by doing, mostly using my strong back and legs, through the rest of the century when I became a successful entrepreneur working somewhat more with my brain, one beat has kept drumming in the background.  There is no valid science of making or buying a mattress.   Some manufacturers with a point to make have paid for "science" at two or three universities, but the results only benefited the payer.  

In 1950 the most frequent customer complaint was "sagging" and in 2013 it still is.  Mattress constructions have changed visually but almost not at all in concept or practicality.  Hard is strong and not very comfortable.   Soft is very comfortable but not very durable.  The holy grail has been a material that can be soft and supportive and can last at least ten years unchanged.  Synthetic foams are still in the promise stage and getting better.  Latex was good and still is but costs too much.
Pocketed springs are winning the market from open coils and that is good.  

In the race to win the thickest mattress derby mattresses have more than doubled in thickness and probably tripled in sagging issues.  Thicker mattresses have more foam and fiber and that is what compresses and appears to be sagging.  Higher quality thinner mattresses with reflexive pocketed coils conform to the contours of the sleeper and provide excellent support.  Same problem as filling is that they increase the manufacturing cost.

I am starting this blog to reach more people and will return all  email requests for help from oldbedguy@google.com