Unique Mattress Provides Deep Sleep For Heavy Sleepers

One of the things I love most about my job is the opportunity to be involved in a wide range of projects, all aimed at improving the lives of individuals living with severe obesity.

After hearing persistent complaints from my patients about their inability to find suitable beds or mattresses that would easily bear their considerable weight, I began to pursue the idea of finding a mattress manufacturer, who may be able to design a mattress that would meet their needs.

It turns out that I did not have to look very far.

Right here in Edmonton, Araam Inc. manufactures a range of standard and custom made mattresses. Surprisingly enough, this company even holds a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, making them the only bed manufacturer to actively supply the British Royal Family and the Royal Household with their Hypnos brand of mattresses (also found around the world in the finest palaces, estates and hotels).

Our project started with focus groups in which several of my patients and ergonomy experts from the Canadian Obesity Network met with the mattress folks in their West-Edmonton showroom to first discuss the limitation of current mattresses and determine the specifics of an ideal ‘bariatric’ mattress for home use.

Based on the input from this focus group Araam then produced five prototypes from a wide range of materials and specifications, which was followed by another in-house focus group session to test the prototypes.

However, given the wide range of shapes and sizes of 250+ lb individuals with varying dimensions around the upper, mid and lower section of their bodies, it turned out that the prototype that felt great around the head and shoulders, was too firm around the butt. The prototype that felt great around the calves and feet was too soft in the mid section. It soon became clear that any single mattress would simply not be good enough.

For this Araam came up with a novel solution: a mattress that consists of three separate sections, each of which can be chosen to suit the specific dimensions and needs of each body section. The final product is then fused together into a single mattress that exactly meets the individual needs of each client.

With four materials to chose for each section (memory foam, memory foam plus, latex, gel), each providing a different level of support, aeration, and firmness, clients can literally chose from a seemingly endless combination (believe me it would take several hours to try all permutations on this one).

In addition to the specs for each section the focus groups provided to additional important criteria: 1) the materials had to withstand considerable loads – enough to support even clients in the 500 lb range; 2) the mattress would have to be affordable to users with a limited budget.

Aaram took all of these requirements and met them in its new line of LitBeds – even the most expensive combination comes for just under $2,500.

As a bonus for all the support they received in the design of this mattress, they have agreed to donate a proportion of all sales to the Canadian Obesity Network.

Obviously, this mattress is not only for large and heavy clients – it is in fact perfect for anyone seeking a fully customizable sleeping experience – I might just get one myself.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta