The Healthy Foundations Blog

I listened in today to the Tempur-Pedic 4th quarter earnings call - my real interest wasn't their financial numbers but getting the scoop on their latest bed, the GrandBed. As the name suggests, this is Tempur-pedic's foray into the ultra expensive bedding market. The price point for a Queen GrandBed is around $5400.

While Tempur-Pedic didn't give too many details on the GrandBed in this call, they did say that it will include a new type of Tempur foam (as will the Rhapsody bed they are also coming out with that is at a lower price point). They will be introducing both these beds at the Las Vegas Market next week (Jan 30 - Feb 3 2006). I can't wait to get more details on it. Who would have thunk that a foam bed could scale the heights of over $5000? We'll have to see what they have put into the bed to make it that much better and different from their current top of the line CelebrityBed.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 09:29 PM | Permalink

We got this testimonial the other day, and it tickled us so much that we wanted to share it with you all:

"Hi there, Just a quick note about your mattress topper that we received last night. Put it this way, I woke up at 5:45am and couldnt get back to sleep. My husband was awake too. We chated for a few minutes and i tried to get back to sleep but couldnt. I WASNT TIRED!!!! I realized i slept like a rock so deeply that i actually woke up refreshed!! So thats what it feels like???? I got the topper for my husband for christmas. He can't get comfortable no matter what since having a disk removed last August. He absolutely raved about how comfortable he was last night, he can't wait for the weekend so he can sleep in!!!! Thank you for your product and for a good night sleep- finally!! Angelina M."

Posted by David Rosenberg at 11:32 AM | Permalink

Tempur-Pedic announced recently that they will show their newest bed, the GrandBed, at the upcoming Las Vegas Market (which I may be going to). I'm very curious to see what the GrandBed is all about - since the price points will be $6,000 for a Queen and $7,000 for a King. While I had heard for awhile that Tempur-Pedic had an ultra luxury bed in the works and whispers of a $5,000 price point, I have to admit it I was shocked to see these kind of price points for a memory foam bed. Their current top of the line bed, the CelebrityBed, is a very nice product and I thought it was about as luxury and as deep as a memory foam bed could be. So I'm looking forward to what Tempur-Pedic came up with in the GrandBed that almost doubles the price of the CelebrityBed. Tempur-Pedic hasn't announced yet when the GrandBed would be available to the public.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 11:20 AM | Permalink

I'm always careful to caution people about whether our memory foam mattress topper pad will help with their back pain. There are just too many different causes of back pain, and so sometimes the topper pad can help and sometimes it doesn't. My experience with customers has been that about 80 - 85% of the time, the topper pad helps with back pain (in the case where the underlying mattress is overly firm). And my own personal experience is that memory foam helped my back feel much less painful in the mornings.

We did get a very nice testimonial on this last week that made our day. Here it is - again with the caution that not all back pain sufferers would have this sort of result:

"Hi Healthy Foundations.

I am so pleased with my purchase of your queen size 3" memory foam mattress. I would like to write a quick testimonial, but don't see how to add it to your web site, so here goes:

I've experienced back pain for many of my 60 years. I've recently had X-Rays and MRI's done, and was told it's degenerative disc disease and arthritis, along with some discs that are bulging. I've been through physical therapy, and take muscle relaxants every morning. I ALWAYS get out of bed in the morning severely bent over to the left side with my back in muscle spasm lasting until about noon. Since I take care of 5 grandchildren from 7 months old up to 10 years old, starting at 5:45 in the morning, it makes my morning life quite difficult.

I've been reading a lot about the memory foam mattresses (although NONE of the orthopedists or neurologists I've seen have mentioned it) and thought I'd try it since my worse pain is when I get up in the morning. I ordered the 3" queen size topper and it arrived on time as promised. After unrolling it slightly, it opened itself up quite nicely. The fresh foam smell didn't bother me at all...smelled kind of like new paint. By bedtime, it seemed completely uncompressed. I was SO anxious to try it that we put it on our mattress (a very good one) and covered it with our quilted fitted mattress pad, even though it had only been unpacked for about 8 hours. As soon as we settled in, my husband and I felt a difference. He is in excellent shape ( a gym rat/racquetball competitor/motorcyclist/athlete) and has no back problems, but he also noticed the comfort right away.

Well, I woke up this morning...got out of bed...and I WAS STANDING UP STRAIGHT WITH ALMOST NO BACK PAIN!!!! It was like one of those tent revivals where they lay hands on the crippled and they walk! "YOU ARE HEALED!!!" That's just what it felt like. I kept waiting for the pain to hit, but the relief lasted all day. I can't wait to go to bed tonight just to wake up again tomorrow to feel so good.

I want to thank you for your fine product...and the generous return policy. That's what made me order from Healthy Foundations, knowing it was risk free. I've tried so many things that did not help as they promised, that I has become very leary of back pain cure products.

Thanks again for pain free days!

Marilyn F."

Posted by David Rosenberg at 08:35 AM | Permalink

I've shied away from using video on my site for a number of years - the quality of the video just wasn't very good, download time was pretty long, and I didn't want to have video just to have video. I only wanted to use video if the user experience would be good and also the video would offer something beyond what the text of the site had to offer.

But in the last few months I've seen that a new generation of web video programs and players has come out and video now can look good on the web and download easily as well.

So after taking a crash course on web video, I've put up our first web video - and its an in-depth look at our memory foam mattress topper pads. My goal was to try to give you a personal, no hype look at the toppers - just like we might do if you walked into our "store" and wanted to know what the toppers are all about. I hope that in this way the video gives you a more personal feel for the product than you could get just from copy on a page. I enjoyed making it and learning all the video stuff - I hope you find the content useful and the video easy to use.

You can find the video on our Memory Foam Mattress Topper Page.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Once in awhile we get a question on whether our memory foam mattress topper pad would work well on a futon. Here's a question on this we got today:

Question:

"I own a futon that's just too uncomfortable for me but works fine for my husband. Do you have any idea if the toppers work on futons or if it's simply not the right base for them?"

Answer:

A memory foam topper would work on a futon, but in general I recommend that the better fix is getting a new futon rather than our topper pad. The real problem is that your futon has become compressed and hard. - and the only way to really fix this is to get a new futon. Putting a topper on the futon will make it more comfortable, but it is really putting a Band-Aid on the real problem. Given the relative cost of our topper pad, I just think you would be better off spending your money on getting a new futon that was comfortable - you will be addressing the real issue and saving money in the long run.

When you are looking for a new futon, it really does pay to get the best quality one possible. I recommend getting one with a dense foam core so it won't compress as readily (1.8 lb density foam or better). These do cost more than just the standard, inexpensive futon that comes with a futon couch, but these upgraded futon pads are really worth the extra money - they will last a lot longer, won't compress nearly as much and become rock hard, and are much more comfortable to sleep on.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 05:39 PM | Permalink

We are often asked about whether our memory foam topper pads are helpful for people with specific types of pain issues. Here's a question we got about fibromyalgia:

Question:

"I am trying to decide whether to purchase the 2" or 3" memory foam mattress topper. I have fibromyalgia and will be placing the topper on my King Coil mattress and box springs (they are in great shape).

Secondly, are your toppers hypo-allergenic?"

Answer:

We've had a bit of feedback from customers with fibromyalgia, and it has been positive. The few people that have wrote us told us that the pad really did help reduce their aches and pains. Here's a couple of the email we received from people with fibromyalgia and their feedback on our topper pads:

"Dear Healthy Foundations:

I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how
wonderfully the mattress topper works. I've been diagnosed with
fibromyalgia for the last six years. I am in pain all the time but
especially when I try to sleep. I've not been able to sleep on my side for
years because of tender points on my hips. I received my mattress topper on
Oct. 15 and from the first night I've not only slept sounder, I am able to
sleep on my side.

I've tried the Cuddle Ewe (and sent it back), different foam egg creates,
and down toppers. Nothing that I've tried has made the difference that the
memory foam topper has made. I only wish that I'd heard about the
mattress topper long ago. I've purchased a topper for my 81 year old mother
and three other friends are planning on purchasing a memory foam mattress
topper because I've told them what a difference the topper
has made in my ability to sleep longer and better; also, because I can get
better rest I have less pain.

If you don't advertise on "links" for fibromyalgia you sure should. Thanks
again, Sandy B"

"Dave, I did receive the topper, two weeks ago. I have Crohn's disease and fibromyalgia, I can't believe the difference. I have finally slept all night. I thank you for checking into the shipping for me. I can't thank you enough, and will be ordering another for my 81 yr. old mother. thank you so very much again Carol R. P"

Both of these people did use the 2" pad - so you may be ok with just the 2" topper. But you might want to try the 3" if you feel your bed is pretty firm and you are having a lot of pain issues.

As for your second question, our memory foam mattress topper pads are considered hypo-allergenic (no known allergens). But they are a polyurethane product, so they may cause issues for chemically sensitive people.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 05:23 PM | Permalink

We had this question the other day about using our memory foam mattress topper pad on an adjustable bed.

Question:

"Hello!

I have a special adjustable bed, and it's a full size, extra length

My questions are:
1) Is your topper appropriate for an adjustable bed?
2) Can you cut me a special size to fit my bed?
3) What is the best thickness for me & my special bed?"

Answer:

Our memory foam mattress topper pads work well on adjustable beds. They are soft and pliable so they bend easily with the movement of the adjustable bed. We have had a lot of customers buy our topper to use on their adjustable beds and heard back that the pads worked out great.

We aren't, however, able to cut our pads to a special size. The pads are precut in standard bed sizes, so we don't have the ability to do custom sizes. Often, though, a twin long will work fine on an adjustable bed.

Lastly, its hard to recommend which thickness you might need. In general, 2" works well for most people, but if you are over 185 lbs or so you may want to go with a 3" pad - especially if the adjustable bed is pretty firm.

Posted by David Rosenberg at 05:10 PM | Permalink