My HÄSTENS Experience

Today marks the 10th annual World Sleep Day. I’m not kidding, look it up. World Sleep Day is held every year on the Friday before the March Equinox. I had no idea this day existed, but it does. There are discussions, presentations, and exhibitions online and around the world dedicated to this day with the goal of celebrating the benefits of good and healthy sleep. As someone who has a very active lifestyle, I rely on good sleep every night. Recently, I made the decision to purchase a new mattress; this may not sound exciting, but it is. Now I’m celebrating sleep more than ever.

It has been said that people spend one-third of their lives in bed versus roughly half an hour a day in their cars. Though we spend more time in bed then we do a car, the majority of us would invest more money into our vehicle than into a mattress. A few months ago I asked myself these questions: “What is it worth to me to sleep well? How much should I be investing in my sleep?”. I don’t consider myself a bad sleeper, however, I am a light sleeper and I know that the quality of my sleep directly affects my mood. The mattress I was sleeping on, though soft, wasn’t giving me the back support I needed.

At Inform, we represent the Swedish brand Hästens. I know what you’re thinking – this sounds like a sales pitch in attempt to sell you on their product. Trust me, I get it; I’ve been skeptical of Hästens in the past. Could a mattress really change your life? Is it simply a status thing? Now that I have firsthand experience, all I want to do is share that experience and let the rest speak for itself.

If this is the first you are hearing of Hästens, you should check out their website. They have been ‘crafting’ sleep since 1852 with beds made of natural, person and planet-friendly materials. Hästens surveyed the Swedish market and found that there are thousands of families that have owned their beds for over 50 years, and dozens for over 100 years. Hästens’ ambition is to provide a bed for a lifetime. It’s no surprise to me that working for Inform over the past 8 years has helped form my understanding of the importance of quality and longevity for well crafted pieces. With Hästens, each bed is bespoke with no chemicals, no glue, no latex, no foam rubber, and no automation. In the end, a Hästens bed equals true sustainability.

During our 90 minute sleep cycles, our brain is refuelled, cells repaired, release of crucial hormones and blood vessels are healed. It’s hard to put a price on something like that, just like it’s hard to put a price on health and quality of life. Somehow, we have all been tricked into believing that you can get a good bed for very little money when in fact this is one of the products you should really spend extra money on. Not only do you spend about a third of your life sleeping, but this one-third determines how the other two-thirds will work out. Fellow staff members who own a Hästens have told me that if they had to pick one thing out of their home to save in a fire it would be their Hästens mattress (which wouldn’t be an issue). The first step was to choose the right Hästens mattress for me. It’s true that Hästens clientele are typically upward of the middle class however I also have had Hästens clients who saved up for years to purchase one. You must look at it as a long term investment. I read that the average Canadian spends $1,000 to $5,000 on new mattresses every 3 to 10 years. Hästens has a warranty of 25 years and most last much longer.

We have a ‘Sleep Centre’ in the lower level of our 97 Water showroom in Gastown where you can test four reversible mattresses from the Hästens collection (Luxuria, Proferia, Auroria, and 2000t). I began taking a closer look at materials in each mattress and learnt that few materials can match horsehair when it comes to the construction of a mattress. Horsehair is harvested ethically without hurting the horses at all, comes with its own extremely effective ventilation system; moisture passes through the hollow strands so quickly that if you wet horsehair with water and give it a shake, it dries immediately. This quick-drying property is perfect for a mattress because body temperatures often transform into perspiration but in the right bed, you won’t feel sweaty. After much deliberation, I ended up choosing the Luxuria in medium firmness and a BJX Luxury top mattress. I must admit the decision on a Luxuria was mainly a price driven one. It was priced in the lower bracket however it possessed a substantial amount of horsehair, and was very comfortable. The amount of horsehair in the top mattress was important to me therefore I went with the BJX Luxury.

After my first few nights on the mattress, what I had been reading and hearing for months became a reality. For the first time in my life, I was waking up in the same position I fell asleep in. Although this doesn’t sound like much, it has been a huge awakening for me (no pun intended). Buying a Hästens bed represents a significant change in the way that I think about sleep. The perception of sleep has become a major priority in my life. Every night, I find myself getting excited to go to bed. It has become an event worth celebrating. Could you have a great night’s sleep on a $500 mattress? Probably. I did pretty well with one for years. But knowing that the Hästens mattress is in my house tonight, makes me confident that tomorrow I am going to wake up feeling fantastic, and that right there is worth the investment.