Developing a tool to assess mattress satisfaction: The Boston Mattress Satisfaction Questionnaire (BMSQ)

Rebecca Robbins ^1,2* Matthew Weaver ² Laura K Barger ² Stuart F Quan ² Charles A Czeisler ²

• ¹ Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
• ² Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Adults are advised to spend approximately one third of their lives sleeping, yet there is a dearth of scientific research on mattresses, a common sleep surface. We develop and conduct initial validation of the Boston Mattress Satisfaction Questionnaire (BMSQ).The BMSQ was designed with sleep scientists and clinicians (n=5) and mattress industry professionals (n=2) to assess two broad domains: mattress satisfaction (MS) and mattress characteristics (MC), including mattress type, size, age, and extent to which the mattress is paininducing. MS is measured with questions assessing mattress comfort, firmness, temperature, and overall satisfaction on 10-point scales from 1 (least) to 10 (most satisfied). We administered the BMSQ to a large, population-based sample of US adults. We also asked demographic questions. We conducted exploratory factor analysis, then dichotomized BMSQ responses (low: <=5; high >=6) for multivariable logistic regression to explore the demographic characteristics associated with mattress satisfaction.Among participants (n=1,055), 47.7% were male and 52.2% female. Average age was 49.4 (s.d.=17.5 years). The 4 BSMQ items demonstrated high inter-item correlation (0.8) and Cronbach's  of 0.95. BMSQ-MS variables were inversely correlated with perceptions of the mattress being pain-inducing (p<0.001) and mattress (p<0.001). BMSQ variables had a weak correlation with mattress size (p<0.01). Regression revealed higher mattress satisfaction among those 75 years old (v. 18-24 years); Hispanic and Asian individuals (compared to White, non-Hispanic); those earning >$20,000 annually (compared to <$10,000); and those reporting foam, hybrid, air-filled chamber mattresses (compared to all-spring).Our findings suggest that the BMSQ may be useful for assessing mattress satisfaction.