Here's another gem from today's newspaper.

"Gradual changes over time cause mattresses to become less comfortable and less supportive. The National Sleep Foundation says a good mattress lasts 9 to 10 years, but a study by Oklahoma State University showed that most people who buy a new bed every five years sleep better and experience less back pain.

Consumer Reports recommends buying a new mattress 'if you wake up tired or achy, you tend to sleep better at hotels than at home, your mattress looks saggy or lumpy, you're over age 40, or your mattress is 5 to 7 years old.'

They say all but the cheapest mattresses are fine, just look for one with coil counts over 300."

I've also heard that bed pillows and mattresses fill up with dust mites and dead skin cells so the mattresses get heavier and heavier.

This has me thinking. My current mattress is probably more than 40 years old, and seems to be fine, but I wonder how much better it could be if I replaced it.

And what about the ones in the guest cabins? Many guests tell me how well they sleep here, with the sound of the river and cooler nights, but those mattresses are at least 25 or 30 years old. The bedrooms in the Brown Palace are too small for Queen size beds, so replacing the mattresses there wouldn't be as costly as it could be. If I bought new mattresses, they would last me the rest of my life, even if I live 30 more years.

I'll put it in my wish list for when my ship comes in. Maybe buying 4 to 5 mattresses at a time I can get a good rate.