The average person spends 33 years of their life in bed.
Can you believe that? That’s more time than we spend doing anything else.
That means that your bed is one of the most important purchases you make in your entire life.
Buying a bed isn’t just about comfort, it’s also about size. Let’s take a look at ten tips to help you choose the best bed size.
1. Visit a Store
Shopping for a bed online isn’t the same as getting the in-store experience. Even if you end up buying your bed off the internet, you’ll want to visit a store to get a sense of what you’re looking for.
At a mattress and bed store you’ll be able to see all the different designs, shapes, styles, and sizes of beds available. This ensures that you’re choosing from a mentality of abundance rather than limitation.
2. Try Before Buying
When you’re at the store, don’t just look around. One of the benefits of visiting a store in person is that you can lie down on a bed to get a sense of what it would be like to sleep on it every night.
While this is important in terms of comfort, it’s also important when it comes to bed sizes. You might have it in your head that you only need a full size bed, for example, but in the store you might realize that’s not quite big enough.
3. Make It a Team Effort
If you have a partner that you share a bed with, you’ll want to decide on your bed size and style together. Getting quality sleep is essential to our overall health and wellbeing. Since different people can have different needs when it comes to size and mattress style, you’ll want to both have an input in the final outcome.
4. Consider the Size of the Room
How big is the room that you’re putting a bed in? If it’s for the tiny guest room at the end of the hall, you probably don’t want to buy a king size bed frame.
On the other hand, if you’re outfitting your spacious master suite, there’s no need to get a tiny bed unless that’s really what you want.
Before shopping for a bed, you’ll want to have the exact measurements of the room to ensure that whatever you decide on ends up fitting in the space.
5. Be Realistic About How Much Space You Really Need
Do both you and your partner like to sleep pretty sprawled out? Even if a queen size bed would suffice, you might consider upgrading to a king. This is particularly true if you have kids or pets that might be joining you from time to time.
6. Be Mindful of Your Budget
Buying a bed is a big purchase, and ideally, when you buy a bed you keep it for a long time. You need to find the middle ground that works for you between affordability and quality. If you cheap out on your bed because the price tag scares you, you could pay the price with poor sleep or even an aching back.
When you buy a bed, you’re investing in your sleep and life quality. That being said, most of us don’t have an unlimited budget for buying beds. Before embarking on the bed-buying journey, take the time to figure out how much you can realistically spend.
7. Think About Storage Space
Beds are, of course, functional in that they’re a space to relax and sleep. In addition, though, the right bed can double as storage space. Some beds have drawers built-in underneath, while others are tall enough that you can slide plastic bins underneath.
This is a particularly good idea if space is at a premium in your home. It’s also a great idea if you embrace a minimalist aesthetic and want to keep objects out of sight.
8. Consider Your Sleeping Positions
How do you sleep, really? Do you sleep on your back, your stomach, your side, or some bizarre formation that makes you take up as much space as possible? Do you and your partner enjoy snuggling through the night, or do you need a little room to breathe?
(FYI, if you’re a side sleeper, click here to learn more about the winner of the best side sleeper mattress for 2020!)
This is a time to be brutally honest. If you repeatedly get crummy nights of sleep, it’s going to negatively impact your daily life. Make sure there’s enough room for both you and your partner to sleep in a way that’s most comfortable and natural to you.
9. Think About the Future
When you’re buying a bed, you’re buying something that will hopefully stay with you for a long time. That means that you don’t just want to think about the way your life is now but also what you expect it will be like in the future.
Are you constantly apartment hopping? Even if your rented space is palatial now, you might not want to spring for the California king if you could end up moving to a smaller space in a year or two.
Are you and your partner thinking of having children in the near future? You might want to scale up a size if you think your family might be growing sometime soon.
10. Consider Your Height
If you’re a tall person, you might want to factor that into your bed purchasing. Both king and queen sized beds come in “California” sizes, meaning that they’re 84″ long rather than 80″.
Don’t Underestimate the Importance of the Proper Bed Size
When shopping for a bed, it’s easy to focus on things like comfort, material, and cost. The size of your bed can have a big impact on how comfortably you sleep and whether or not you made a sound investment.
Did you find this article on bed size useful? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our blog!