Investigation on effect of mattress hardness on sleep comfort of middle-aged and old women

Abstract

By investigating the effect on mattresses with different hardness on sleep comfort of the middle-aged and old women, the paper provides reference and basis for designing and purchasing a mattress for the middle-aged and old women. In the experiment, 46 middle-aged and old women aged 40–65 years finish subjective user’s experience evaluation and a body pressure distribution test. The comprehensive research results indicate that: 1. Mattress hardness has a significant impact on the mattress comfort; 2. The objective body pressure distribution test result is consistent with the subjective user`s experience and evaluation result; 3. The middle-aged and old women generally prefer mattress with moderate and higher hardness value; 4. Shoulder comfort is related to head pressure intensity and back peak pressure, waist comfort is related to pressure intensity of whole body and back peak pressure; and hip comfort is related to back peak pressure, back peak pressure intensity and head pressure intensity.