This is a sponsored post. Leesa generously provided me with a mattress in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
As a kid, I was an early riser who shunned naps. I never imagined that when I grew up, I'd choose sleep over almost anything when given the choice.
As a doctor, blogger and mom, sleep is a precious commodity and I'm always trying to get more.
Because I take sleep, and sleeping well, so seriously, I pull out all the stops to protect my slumber: a white noise machine, ear plugs, and a sleep mask are part of my bedtime arsenal. Of course, having a comfortable mattress is a must.
Prior to our Leesa mattress, we had a top-of-the-line, queen-sized, pocket coil mattress. It was purchased several years ago, during our carefree days (pre-dog, pre-kid, pre-sleep deprivation...). We'd been thinking of getting a new one for a while now. Not for lack of comfort, but for more space.
Though most nights our bed starts out with two occupants, our 50 pound Whoodle joins shortly after the lights are out, and our four-year-old usually makes his way in after a mid-night waking. Thus, the number of bodies in our bed increases exponentially throughout the night---from two to four is literally exponential (2^2 = 4)! I'm geeking out right now...
When we’d wake up in the morning, our bodies were contorted against each other like Tetris pieces (if Tetris pieces were allowed to partially overlap other Tetris pieces and kick them in the head!).
So, when Leesa reached out to me to review one of their mattresses---other than being thrilled and flattered that a big, reputable brand had my rookie blog on their radar----it was the perfect opportunity to finally upgrade to a king!
In this post, I'll review our experience with the Leesa mattress after the first month.
Ordering
As with most bed-in-a-box companies that operate online, Leesa doesn't have an official storefront. This allows them to keep their operating costs low and offer high quality mattresses without the inflated price tag. But, if you're dead set on trying before buying, they're available to test out at many West Elm stores across the U.S. and Canada.
Image via: Leesa.com.
I love West Elm and recently noticed that they have the Leesa mattress set up on one of their gorgeous mid-century bed frames at the Liberty Village location, here in Toronto.
While it's nice to be able to see it in person first, I don't think there's any better way to test drive a mattress than by actually sleeping on it. No amount of in-store lounging can replicate a full night's sleep. Leesa acknowledges this, and offers a 100-day risk-free trial period. If during this time you decide you don't want to keep it, they'll refund your money, pick up the mattress, and deliver it to a charitable organization (or if not locally available, ensure it's recycled with no materials ending up as landfill)! If only clothing companies operated this way!
Delivery
Within just a few days of submitting our order, we were pleasantly surprised to find the Leesa mattress on our front porch. Leesa mattresses are made in the USA and they offer free shipping within just three to five days of your order.
We were even more surprised that they were able to get an entire king-sized mattress into this box:
Unboxing
It's pretty mesmerizing watching the Leesa mattress unfold and expand before your eyes! Here's a little 10x speed unboxing for you:
If you have kids, make sure you unbox it in front of them. Owen observed me doing this, mouth agape. It's like watching a troupe of circus performers climbing out of a tiny clown car!
First Impressions
As a design buff, appearances matter to me. I love the look of the Leesa mattress. Can you believe this is what it looks like without a fitted sheet?
Even before we had one, Leesa stood out to me in a sea of foam mattress brands. Those four white stripes overlying the ribbed, light grey background are iconic in a way that's reminiscent of the Bay's multi-coloured stripes.
From reading other foam mattress reviews, I'd expected there to be a strong 'chemical' smell. I didn't notice much until I put my nose up to it and took a sniff. It had a mild smell that I would liken to a Sharpie marker---something I personally find inoffensive, if not pleasant. If you liked sniffing markers as a kid, you'll probably feel the same! Others have compared the smell to coffee grounds. If you don't like it, fear not: the odour fades significantly over the first couple of days and is imperceptible after a week.
Shortly after setting up the Leesa mattress on our newly assembled king bed frame, Eric lay down to enjoy the fruit of his labour and (in typical Eric fashion) was asleep soon after. Owen noticed and decided to play his favourite game, wherein he causes some disturbance near a sleeping bystander and acts as if it wasn't his intention to wake them. He hopped up onto the bed, ran, jumped and did somersaults on it. Eric didn't wake. Though he's a heavy sleeper, it's a testament to the Leesa mattress' reduced motion transfer.
Its ability to absorb movement is one of the most noticeable improvements when compared to our old pocket coil, as my husband has a bad case of the jimmy legs. Do you remember that Seinfeld episode where Kramer's girlfriend has jimmy legs?
Well that's what Eric's got! In his sleep, he'll periodically thrash his long legs, like someone who's fallen in the water and doesn't know how to swim. The frustrating part is that he's completely oblivious to it and refuses to believe this happens when I report it to him the next morning!
I'm a very light sleeper, so if Eric's legs are particularly restless or his snoring is particularly loud, I'll get up and sneak into my son's bed. That's how important sleep is to me!
My son's room. I'll take sharing his tiny twin bed over jimmy legs and snoring...
As a physician, I take sleep very seriously. Sleep deprivation can increase your risk of developing a slew of medical conditions (including obesity, heart disease, and mood disorders). Personally, though, I'm just not a nice person the next day if I don't get a good night's sleep!
Thoughts After A Month
Before the Leesa mattress, I hadn't tried a foam mattress before and didn't know what to expect.
One of my fears of going foam was that it would be too soft. I'm primarily a back sleeper and prefer my mattresses on the firm side. However, about a quarter of the time, I sleep on my side, so there's a limit to the firmness I can tolerate without waking up with a sore shoulder. I find that, for me, the Leesa mattress provides just the right amount of firmness and support. The secret supposedly lies in their unique combination of three different foam layers that adapt to the body to provide optimum support.
Image via: Leesa.com.
The first foam layer is breathable and allows airflow, for a cooler sleep; the second memory foam layer contours the body and provides pressure relief; and, the thickest, bottom layer is dense foam to maintain structure and for durability. Leesa stands by their mattresses: each one comes with a ten year warranty!
Another foam mattress fear of mine: overheating. It's not unusual for me to kick off the covers (or even my pyjama bottoms) in a sweaty, half-asleep stupor----I overheat very easily. So, I was happy to learn of Leesa's breathable top foam layer, composed of Avena foam (unique to Leesa), which contains holes for airflow. Because of this, you're less likely to overheat on a Leesa mattress compared to other foam mattresses without such technology. And, so far, so good! I don't find that it gets any warmer throughout the night than our previous non-foam mattress.
Overall, since using the Leesa mattress, I've been waking less frequently throughout the night. While the Leesa is definitely more comfortable than our previous mattress, I suspect the reduced waking is thanks to the motion isolation (or, what I refer to as the jimmy legs force field). I find I don't wake when our dog jumps on and off the bed throughout the night, now, either. And, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that we now have the added space of a king-sized mattress!
My husband agrees the Leesa mattress is more comfortable than our previous mattress. Though, he's the kind of guy who can sleep anytime, anywhere. When asked for his input, my son said "it's so comfy, cozy, Mama!". Though, his favourite thing to do in the bed is anything but sleep.
As for Charlie, the dog, I think he's under the impression that this is his new bed. I've been coming home to find him napping here most days. Something he almost never did on our previous mattress. As you may recall from my post on our couch makeover, this dog has a penchant for napping on white couches. The Leesa mattress may have just saved our couch!
There you have it! My review on the Leesa mattress. The verdict? The whole family loves it!
If you want to try one out, you can use the promo code NEATNTINY for $150 off a Leesa mattress.
If you're not happy with it during the 100 day trial, they'll refund your money, pick up the mattress and deliver it to a local charity (or, if not locally available, they'll make sure it gets completely recycled with no materials ending up as landfill). That's what I consider a win-win situation! Leesa also donates one mattress for every ten sold and plants a tree for each mattress sold to help offset their carbon footprint. Gotta love it!
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