SleepLab
Schänis is a nice Swiss town situated approximately halfway between Liechtenstein and Zurich. In this picturesque location, Hilding Anders has founded the Good Night’s SleepLab. It is an amazing facility full of advanced equipment, bizarrelooking dummies and various test stations where operators examine mattresses in dozens of ways. We instantly feel that the phrase „good sleep” has more to it than we usually tend to think. We are approached by Roman Deuber who has worked here since the Laboratory’s establishment in 2014, and has agreed to share with us some insights about this fascinating place.
Nice to meet you, Roman, we are in the SleepLab. Does it mean you are studying sleep here?
Nice to meet you. No, actually this is not quite the case. We know the importance of good, healthy sleep in every person’s life, so we try to ensure that our products bring benefits to their users. Actually, we improve the comfort and quality of mattresses to a significant degree by employing complex advanced technologies, and comprehensive tests of various properties. Thanks to our work here in the SleepLab, people all over the world can sleep better. Judging by the amount of equipment here, you are rather tough on your mattresses. That is true. In a way we push every mattress to the limits of its capacity, getting to know its properties and parameters in various categories. You know, a sleeping person does the same things every night. While sleeping, we turn from side to side, compressing the mattress. We perspire and the mattress gets soiled, so we wash the cover. Everyone tests the resistance of their mattresses to different factors at home. What we try to do is reproduce such situations in our Laborator. Our results are reliable thanks to highly realistic conditions. Every product – after successfully passing the tests – is awarded a certificate signed by the prestigious AEH Institute.
What does it mean? What is the AEH Institute?
The test methodology is long and complex. It comprises a number of procedures and tests. Can you see that huge wooden roll behind me? The one rolling to and fro over the mattress all the time? This is one of the components of our endurance test which is aimed at simulating ten-years’ use. In addition, we test the products in such categories as ergonomics, hygiene and thermal properties. Every category comprises a wide range of tests. During the ergonomics test itself, we press various parts of the mattress hundreds of times using special stamps, imitating different parts of the human body. This is just one test, in a single category, and it provides ample data on pressure, load distribution, resistance of the materials used or their ability to retain shape. However, I think it would be a good idea to tell the users more about the thermal properties test.
What do the tests involve then?
The test methodology is long and complex. It comprises a number of procedures and tests. Can you see that huge wooden roll behind me? The one rolling to and fro over the mattress all the time? This is one of the components of our endurance test which is aimed at simulating ten-years’ use. In addition, we test the products in such categories as ergonomics, hygiene and thermal properties. Every category comprises a wide range of tests. During the ergonomics test itself, we press various parts of the mattress hundreds of times using special stamps, imitating different parts of the human body. This is just one test, in a single category, and it provides ample data on pressure, load distribution, resistance of the materials used or their ability to retain shape. However, I think it would be a good idea to tell the users more about the thermal properties test.
Well, I understand that you test the temperature of the mattress in some special way, don’t you?
This is quite an oversimplification. The test takes place in a climate chamber. A special dummy is placed on the tested mattress. The dummy has not only the shape and weight of a human, but also the temperature we have while sleeping. Inside the mattress, we put up to twenty temperature and humidity sensors. Based on the test, we learn how a given product responds to heat generated by the body. We get to know if appropriate thermal distribution is ensured inside the mattress, if it does not overheat, for example, our back or front, depending on our sleeping position.
Apart from temperature, you also measure humidity, don’t you?
Yes, exactly. The most interesting feature of this dummy is that, in addition to generating temperature, it can also produce moisture or, simply speaking, sweat. Just like we do at night. During the test, the dummy spends 7 hours under a duvet, perspiring and heating up the mattress – and we analyse all that in detail. The goal is to reconstruct the reality, the actual conditions of use as closely as we can. The combination of temperature and humidity is usually not advantageous for textiles. A good mattress should cope with that problem, which is why when designing that test we simply had to provide our dummy with the ability to perspire (laughter).
This is remarkable proof of your commitment. This must be the famous Swiss precision. Have you taken into account different needs of your customers?
Adapting to the needs of different customers is one of the foundations of the Group’s philosophy. Hilding Anders owns more than 25 proprietary brands. We are market leaders both in Europe and Asia. Just imagine the enormous number of customers and, even more importantly, their diversity. Our customers are distributed across different geographical zones. People have various habits and customs, they sleep in thousands of ways, and have anatomical differences: some are slim and tall, and others short and heavy. It is impossible to find a perfect formula to satisfy all people over the world. This is why everyone should select a product based on their own preferences and requirements. Consequently, customers should have a great choice, covering many different configurations and mattresses with different characteristics. We offer such a choice to our customers. What is more, SleepLab enables us to convert enormous quantities of data into valuable knowledge. As a result, our products are not only certified, but also constantly improved and equipped with cutting-edge technologies, for example the latest Serene foam which we have tested relatively recently.
Until today, I thought a mattress is just a mattress, I would pick one in less than twenty seconds. I am going to be more aware about my choices from now on.
The choice of a mattress is an underestimated aspect. Quite a big part of our lives depends on that, and yet people still fail to pay enough attention to it. Try out different mattress types, think about your requirements and needs, devote some time to it. The next time you want to buy a new mattress, approach it from the perspective of our discussion today. I guarantee that if you make an informed choice, the quality of your sleep is bound to change beyond recognition. A healthy spine, relaxed muscles, regenerated brain – these aspects are hard to overestimate.
Thank you for showing me around and for your good advice. Can we look around a bit more?
Yes, please do. Follow me, the test of resistance to washing is about to finish.