Super-sizing mattresses seems to be all the rage. Why are we surprised? After we super-sized our meals, we had to super-size our dinner plates, and then our coffee cups too. Go take a look at the cups you got when you first set up house – they probably hold half the amount of coffee of the mug in your newest set. All of the couches being sold in furniture stores today are so super-sized that anyone under six feet tall cannot reach the floor when sitting on them.

Mattress super-sizing is happening in two directions. The average life of an older mattress was fifteen years. Anyone who is replacing one from that long ago will be in for a shock. Mattresses are so thick that you cannot use your old sheets. You will have to buy all new ones – the deep pocket kind. Some short people will even have a hard time having their legs reach the floor, since the mattress is so much higher up.

New mattresses are also being built with pillow-tops on one side only, so they are being sold with the added feature that “you no longer have to turn them over”. This is because they are so heavy that most people can’t flip them! Not rotating them matters, however, since that shortens their life span, because you are always sleeping in one spot. Also, due to the fact that mattresses are so full of padding, which wears out quicker, they are only guaranteed for ten years now.

The second super-sizing that happened is in the size of the bed itself. New Moms and Dads who have little ones creep into bed at night are tired of fighting for room, so they are upgrading from the most popular queen size bed to king size beds. Couples sharing a bed but with different sleep patterns may opt for a king split. You’re in the same bed, but since you each have your own mattress, you can choose a comfort level that you each prefer. Most importantly, the other person’s movements don’t affect your sleep.

The most important thing to do when buying a new mattress is for both of the people who will be sleeping on it to go try it out, since it must be comfortable to each of you. You will not know how it feels for a whole night if you don’t lie on it for a while. When you do try it out, don’t do it for only five seconds. Plan to spend the afternoon and lie down for ten minutes or so – bring a book and your teddy bear.

You change your car every three or four years, your computer and your cell phone even more often than that, but you sleep on your mattress for eight hours a night and keep it forever. If it costs you an average of $1,000 to buy a new one, that’s only $100 a year over a ten year span. A good night’s sleep makes a huge difference in your life, so perhaps you should be thinking of buying a better night’s sleep instead of a new electronic gadget.

Dormez-vous, 3379 Sources Blvd. at Brunswick Blvd. Phone: 514-684-4927. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frere Jacques would be happy shopping here for the choice of fifty to sixty models of mattresses on the floor and for the sales help who get six weeks of training to help take the confusion out of the selection process. Now partnered with Sleep Country, Canada’s largest mattress retailer, prices are even better. The brand names (Simmons, Sealy, Serta, Stearns & Foster, Primo, Temperpedic, Select Comfort) are all displayed for you to lie down on and try out. Head boards, foot boards, sleigh beds, adjustable beds and brass beds are all here, and look for the Coin des Petits area in some of the stores. Other locations: 6870 Jean Talon St. E. (514-252-4927); 7216 Newman Blvd. (514-595-4927); Laval, 1070 Desserte W. (450-969-4927); 6444 Somerled Ave. (514-482-9927); 550 Sherbrooke St. W. (514-845-9927); Longueuil, 2029 Roland Therrien Blvd. W. (450-448-4927); 4226 St. Laurent Blvd. (514-844-7927); 1070 Autoroute Chomedey (450-969-4927) and more.

Laval Bedding, 950 Berlier St. at Industriel Blvd. Phone: 450-663-5921. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you’ve ever wanted a made-to-measure mattress, this company has been making them for years. You can choose one with a pillow top, and even have it made on both sides, if you still want to be able to flip it regularly. Memory foam mattresses are available, even in a round bed, or you can have them put a memory foam pillow top on a regular mattress. If regular size mattresses do not fit your irregular-sized body, then this quality mattress factory can make one up to fit. A twin set starts at only $225, and an extra-long 80″ twin box spring with firm mattress would only be about 15% more.

Cameo Convertibles, 7905 Transcanada Highway at Cote Vertu Rd. Phone: 514-337-2933. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sometimes you only have room for a sofa bed in your apartment, and you want it to be as comfortable as possible – both as a couch and especially as a bed; the mattress that is the most critical part. This company has been custom- making them for forty-seven years, and knows how important the mattress is to the finished product. Their extra firm inner spring mattress is constructed with 13 gauge steel coils, which are more resistant, and there are 312 of them on a queen bed. For ticking, they use the same silk-like fabric you would find on a regular mattress instead of the commercial duck cotton that others might use. Yes, it does come in pillow top or even memory foam topped. At this manufacturer you are buying direct (read: savings) for every kind, style and price of sofa (and chair) bed you can imagine. The couches can be made into singles, junior doubles, doubles or queen size beds. You choose your own fabric to match your decor and pocketbook, and they will turn it into a well-made piece of furniture as well as a comfortable bed. You can also order made-to-measure couches, sectionals and chairs. Other location (note new address): 1150 Union St. (514-861-0537).