// NECTAR Sleep

One fun perk of being a blogger is that you get the opportunity to work with some really neat brands and review some really neat products. Today's blog post is in partnership with NECTAR Sleep, and I'm sharing my thoughts on their queen memory foam mattress. I've had the mattress for about a month now, and I've taken my time getting this review up because I wanted to really "experience" it so I could give a thorough and honest (and maybe somewhat embarrassing ha!) review. 

I honestly feel like a new mattress is such a luxury. Mattresses aren't something you can typically just go out and buy on a whim because it sounds like a good idea. I mean, I guess some people can, but as a self-employed mom of two it's absolutely a luxury. The last time I had a brand new mattress was immediately following the flood that took all of our belongings back in 2010. My mattress at that point was OLD. Like, used it my entire childhood old. Needless to say it was obviously pretty gross and overdue to be replaced - but you know, college student. When we lost everything in the flood we had several family members step up and treat us to a brand new mattress so that we could at least have somewhere to sleep once we found a new place to live - It was a great mattress and served its purpose so well for the past 7 years, and was so incredibly appreciated. Did you know both the National Sleep Foundation and the Better Sleep Council recommend replacing your mattress every 5-10 years (5-7 years if you don't sleep well)? A study at Oklahoma State University found that most people who switched to new bedding after 5 years sleep significantly better and have less back pain. Between co-sleeping with a newborn (who spit up often),  a toddler who would find his way to my bed after having an accident in his (oh, potty learning!), and being a very sweaty sleeper myself (see, embarrassing truths here), it was TOTALLY time for my mattress to get the ol' heave-ho! It was kismet that this partnership with NECTAR fell into my lap, and it absolutely has not disappointed.

NECTAR is one of those neat companies that basically vacuum seals their memory foam mattress and ships it straight to your front door. Think of those handy space-saver suction bags. FedEx dropped off this big blue bag on my front porch and all I had to do was crack that baby open! It was a hefty 75 pounds, but it was far easier to move to my bedroom than a traditional spring mattress. There's no way in the world I would be able to move one of those in/out of my house on my own (I definitely had help getting my old thing tossed out). Once my mattress was off of my bed frame I was able to slide the blue transport bag off of the mattress to reveal a grey zippered tote. Off that thing came and then there she was, in all her glory, a foam mattress rolled up like a taquito haha! Included in the bag was a handy little NECTAR slicing tool - think letter opener. It sliced the thick plastic right open and my mattress unrolled. That's literally all I had to do. That's it. The mattress immediately started to "fluff" up and take its shape. It took about an hour or two for it to be fully expanded, though I was able to lay on it immediately. And to my surprise there were two NECTAR memory foam pillows rolled up in the mattress, too. Y'ALL! THOSE PILLOWS! They are SO big and SO dense and SO perfect. Pillows make or break a sleeping arrangement for me, so these were such a welcome surprise (especially since Linden bit through my other memory foam pillow and tore it to shreds... like a dog... because he's three and it's fun to be a dog. UGH haha) It took the pillows a bit longer to fluff up but once I got home the next morning from an overnight shift, they were fully expanded. There are no words to describe how good I slept after being up most of the night prior tending to a wee baby.

The graphic above shows exactly how the NECTAR mattress is constructed, and exactly why I can sleep a solid 10 hours in it without breaking a sweat. Like I said, I'm a sweaty sleeper - I just can't help being a human space heater. I haven't had a single sweaty night's sleep since using my NECTAR mattress and it's such a welcome change of pace. The feeling of sleeping on a super dense memory foam mattress was very different from a traditional spring mattress. To be honest I wasn't 100% sold on it when I first opened it and laid down. At first I worried it would be far too firm for my liking. Luckily once I got back home the next day and actually slept on it, I "sank" into it perfectly and slept like a log. It was still a bit of a surprise each time I'd get in bed for the first week or so - it was such a different feeling than my old mattress. But each time I woke up in the morning I was well rested and sweat-free. I don't toss and turn and the mattress doesn't squeak since there are no springs. 

I could keep going, I'm sure, but I'll wrap this up by sharing a few specs from the NECTAR Sleep website. Things that make this mattress great: 1) The Tencel Cooling Cover wicks away heat, cools the body, and is bed bug resistant. 2) All of their mattresses are currently $125 off and include 2 of the memory foam pillows like I have (!!!) 3) You can try the mattress risk-free, in your home, for 365 days. 4) Shipping is free both ways - even if you return it. 5) Your NECTAR mattress comes with a FOREVER warranty. 6) The mattress itself is actually really pretty haha! 

I know it can be easy to gush about a product that you get for free, but this mattress is the real deal, y'all. The Queen size is under $800 (under $700 if you take advantage of the sale), there's no risk in giving it a whirl, the cover zips off and can be laundered or dry cleaned (important if you have kids!), and you don't even have to leave your house to pick it up. They stand behind their mattresses forever even though other leading mattress companies only guarantee theirs for around 10 years. I know I won't need to get rid of it any time soon, but I'm eager to see just how long it lasts! Maybe ask me about it in 2027 haha!

Wishing you all a good night's sleep!

xo KB

PS; The NECTAR Blog has a lot of neat and interesting articles pertaining to sleep. From what your sleep style says about your personality, to how our economy could gain $83 billion just by letting teens sleep in.