Mattress Choice
Better Brands. Better Prices. Better Dreams.

What is the difference between driving between two points on a map and a road trip? Perception. Even though you may be stuck in a metal box on an asphalt road – with the right friends and attitude, driving can be fun.

Same goes for sleep. With the right mindset, hitting the sack can be the greatest part of your day.

If you were anything like me 10 years ago, I saw sleep as a necessary evil. You had to pay the toll or face a day of wretched exhaustion. It was a chore.

However, sleep can be a fantastic ride – if you’ve got the right machine. Just as those who commute every day learn to enjoy the ride and buy comfortable cars – you too can enhance your journey with the best possible bed.

Want to verify the quality of our 3 brands, try this little test.

Call the front office of

The Fairmont Waterfront (604) 684-3131
The Four Seasons (604) 689-9333
Shangri La (604) 689 1120

And ask what kind of bed they keep in their best suites.
Chances are, they’re the models we carry.

And now, we’re having a Truckload Sale where these very same brands are going fast at up to 60% off.

You can have a five-star sleep for an unbeatable price – but hurry, sale ends soon.

There’s nothing quite as luxurious as sprawling out on a $2500 bed. No. Wait. There is something sweeter – when you get that bed for only $1200.

Don’t worry. We won’t tell. Your friends, family, and even your partner doesn’t need to know you got it for 60% off.

We can keep the secret.

Mattress Choice is now selling the best of the best brand name beds for up to 60% off at our Victoria Truckload Mattress Sale. It’s a deal we can keep between us.

You’ll hear a lot of grandmothers profess that you should never wake a sleeping child.

Sure, they may look restful, but every parent of rambunctious toddlers knows very well that sleep is an equation. They need a certain amount of hours a night. In most cases, thankfully it’s 12 hours. If their daylight activities are interrupted by, say, a long walk back from the park. You will need to pay for that nap down the road. They won’t want to sleep at their bedtime, or they’ll be up at 6 am, looking to play, or, even worse, they’ll be up several times in the night – disturbing your sleep – looking to play.

I’m not sure where the ‘don’t wake a sleeping child’ concept came from – but it’s a bad idea. If you have more than one child, you need to keep a certain, albeit artificial sleep schedule if you ever expect to sleep yourself.

Some ricochet off the walls with a cup of coffee or two. Others can sleep on the stuff. Some bodies shut down at the sight of sugar. Others need it like a car needs fuel. Body chemistry is as individual as our fingerprints.

The only thing you can do is monitor how food groups affect you. Do white starches make you break out in hives? Does caffeine make you bounce up and down on your hands? Does meat add notches to your belt and strike friends from your contact list? What about dairy? Does it make your phelgmy? Have you ever experimented to find out?

What about booze? Does it make you look ten years older and feel five times worse?

It’s never a bad idea to mix it up. Take out one element for a couple of weeks, and see what happens. Add an element, double up on other. Everyone’s body is different. Get fine-tuned with what your genetic makeup is comfortable with – and what is working against you.

The same goes for sleep. What keeps you up at night? Having a hard time sleeping, take out caffeine first. If that doesn’t work, try alcohol, then dairy, then gluten. It could be your diet that is keeping you from resting.

The only way to find out is by testing. Keep a log book. Write down your moods, how well you’re sleeping, and how happy you feel on a scale of 1-10. You might surprise yourself – maybe it’s your diet. Or maybe you just need a new bed.

It’s very rare that someone builds their entire career by making one home run. That’s the stuff of movies stars and make-believe.

Most people get ahead by keeping a professional mindset. In other words, they sweat the details, and they don’t make careless mistakes.

It’s a culmination of all the little errors that makes or breaks someone professional reputation. If you forget to lock up once, that’s an unfortunate, yet forgivable error. Twice – and you are a hazard.

Little mistakes grow into big problems. And not surprisingly, most of these little oversights happen when we are tired.

Not sleeping well can be a detrimental to your career as showing up drunk to work. In fact, studies have shown that sleep deprivation produces many of the same side-effects as drinking on the job.

We’re three years into a recession. The job market is tight, business has flat-lined: almost everyone will agree that the best thing that you can do is stay where you are – under the radar.

Keep a sterling record. Show up on time. Don’t give your coworkers any reason to point a scape-goating hoof your way.

The best way to keep alert and aware in a sensitive workplace is to be well rested.

Think of your mattress as an investment in your career. And you’ll never look back.

Plenty of people choose to keep their summer homes looking like ski lodges or frat houses – utilitarian furniture, mismatched salt and pepper shakers, velvet paintings – and that’s fine. But there is one item that should not be overlooked in your vacation getaway: your bed.

Think about it. You are going to your summer home, or your place on the lake, or your ski chalet – to relax and escape the anxieties of the city. For 16 hours a day, you can watch the waves and take a deep, clean breath. But what about the other 8? There is no better place to drift away than in a warm, comfortable bed.

While you may skimp on the rattan loveseat, don’t do so on your bed. A week away to a relaxing retreat is worth a half-year of work. So make sure it’s perfect day and night, and stock it with the best possible mattresses.

Worried about delivery headaches? Don’t. Talk to us, we can figure out a way to get them set up and ready for you. You won’t have to lift a finger.

There is something to be said about the placement of objects.

Even the most amateur interior designer can sense when something is amiss in the layout of a room. It’s all about ‘vibe.’

Everything has significance. A chair in a corner asks to be sat upon. A blind half-drawn wishes to remain that way. Plants are planted where they’re planted. There is a subtle flow to everything in a home, and the bed is no exception.

How you position a bed can make the difference between an inviting bedtime experience and a night of tossing and turning. Is it symmetrical with the nightstands? What do you have on the walls? What is the proximity to the door of the en-suite bathroom?

All these little things can make a big difference.

A few things to keep in mind for other amateur feng-shuists are:

1. What direction is your bed facing?
2. Can you see the door when you are sleeping? Supposedly there’s something there.
3. What is your colour palette and how’s that working for ya?

Disclaimer: our amateur feng-shui staff offer no answers – only questions.

Seriously. What is up with the amount of sleep that teenagers need? It’s not uncommon for a teen to go to bed at 11 and be comatose the next day at noon. That’s over 13 hours.

There are a few theories floating around about why this irresponsible bunch needs the shuteye that they do. Growing pains. They are doing a lot, and therefore need the sleep. And, they’re just plain lazy.

If you have a teen that loves to sleep her life away, get her the best sweet sixteen present a parent can buy – a comfortable bed.

Parents like to skimp on the beds of their kin – don’t ask us why, but it’s true.

Perhaps with a comfortable Beautyrest mattress, your teen could get all the rest they need in a mere 8 hours – as opposed to a whole Saturday.

More time with them, less time with a grouchy kid. It could be worth your while.

Ever thought that you were lucid dreaming only to find out that you were having a dream about being able to lucid dream?

Whoa! I know. It can get trippy.

The strange part is when you realize that you are having a dream within a dream. You think that you are awake and in bed, but really you are only dreaming of that. In your dream, you feel like you have unlocked the secret of lucid dreaming, only to realize, in your waking state that the whole sequence has been not in your control at all. You only believed you could affect your dreams, when in fact, the whole thing was predetermined by your dreaming mind.

We’ve written posts before about how to lucid dream. You can condition yourself to do it.

Here are a few tips. Make a point of always asking yourself if you are dreaming; this will help you appreciate your dream state when you are actually there. Make a habit of reading writing. It’s hard to read text in a dream. So it will help you differentiate whether you are dreaming or not. When you are conscious that you are dreaming – that is when the lucid control begins.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to work on my lucid dreaming. Like any plan, if you are going to do it properly, you need the right tools. Climbing a mountain takes a massive amount of gear. Sleeping better takes only one essential item – a good bed. So, armed with a high-quality Beautyrest, two excellent pillows and good sheets, I started my mission. Every day I ask myself if I’m dreaming. I do it while I brush my teeth in the mirror. I ask myself if I’m dreaming and try to read a headline of a newspaper, or a page from a nearby book. I’m always questioning whether I’m here or there, and sometimes I don’t even know.

Maybe the King of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland was right. Maybe we are all just a part of someone else’s dream (the King of Spades in this case), so it’s best not to wake him. Maybe all of life is just a dream. Maybe we are in a coma, without our knowing, and all of this is just illusion.

Either way, there is only one way to live on this great spinning ball. Enjoy every day, and every night as well.

They say you are on your way to understanding another language when you start to dream in it.

After hours of conjugating verbs and smashing your way through broken conversations with whomever is forced to hear you speak, you are slowly getting it.
Suddenly the words on billboards and the sides of trains are beginning to make sense. Fragments of conversation from those passing by are suddenly translated. Exponentially, the world of haze comes into focus and you begin to understand more and more.

The true test of linguistic gains is the sack. If you are dreaming about irregular verbs, then your brain is making space for them.

They say the best way to learn a language is in bed. But I’m not sure they’re talking about dreams. Either way, and for either case, you are going to need the best bed you can get to keep your, um, language skills coming back.

Can’t stop worrying about work? Do you toss and turn in the night – fearful of whether you will be able to pay your mortgage, or your taxes, or your kids’ education? If the anxieties of your day are creeping their way into your dreams – then it’s gone too far. And it needs to stop.

Dreams are supposed to be magical, wondrous escapes. They offer us a chance to slip away from all the worries of the world and recharge. We want our dreams to be imaginative and fun – not nightmarish and gloomy.

If your dreams have somehow turned against you, then there are two things you can do.

1. Invest in a new bed. With a better mattress comes better sleep and with better sleep you get better dreams. It’s simple, but it makes sense. And no one produces finer beds than Simmons, Sealy and Serta. That’s why at Mattress Choice, we keep only the best of the best brands – so you can get the dream machine you deserve without slipping off into reality on an inferior model
2. Get the Control Your Dreams App. It’s now available in English. With this magical app (available on iPhone and Android) you can choose your own nocturnal adventure and whisk yourself away on a whimsical escape that has nothing to do with work, taxes or the bland problems of your waking life.

http://designtaxi.com/news/352186/App-To-Control-Your-Dreams-Now-Available-In-English/

Heartburn is another term for ‘acid reflux‘ – this is the unpleasant sensation where acids from the stomach make their way up the esophagus, burning all the way. It’s a lousy way to spend an evening.

A lot of people attribute heartburn to foods, and it is related to high fat, highly processed meats. However, there is another cause – eating in a reclined position.

If you are in bed – don’t eat. Not only do you get crackers and crumbs and stuff in your sheets, making for a rather unpleasant sleep, but you also run the risk of heartburn as well. When you are laying in a horizontal position (or similar such incline), it makes it all the easier for that nasty stomach acid to make its way back up. So do yourself a favour, sit up at a table, and enjoy your empanada before dinner – ideally a full hour before – to give yourself time to digest.

In a word of SMS text messages, email pings, ringing phones, status updates, pokes, tweets, follows and likes, putting our attention on anything for more than five minutes seems like miracle. Its incredibly hard to stay focussed in today’s hyperspeed environment.

Incidents of autism in children are higher than ever. Some speculate that this has something to do with the constant flip-flopping of a TV society (not to mention the rapid-fire change of the Internet).

So, what is the result of all this constant cognitive scrambling? People today have less attention span than ever before. Here is an interesting article from The Atlantic titled: Is Google Making Us Stupid?

What would we think then, if we were to come across someone from another century? If Ben Franklin walked in the door, would he seem incredibly, monk-like focussed compared to our constantly distracted selves. Or would he come across as hopelessly, almost certifiably, obtuse, in that he couldn’t handle more than one thing at a time? I’m thinking the former. He would probably blow our minds with the level and consistency of focus he could maintain in his thoughts.

One thing to keep you brain healthy is to do a ‘power down’ every night. Turn off your computer, your TV, your smartphone and whatever distractions you have – and just let your brain relax. It will help you sleep and make you more refreshed in the morning.

On the Mattress Choice website, we have other sleep tips that can help even the most stubborn insomniac.

The secret to making the most of your life is having a very clearly defined idea of your favourite things to do.

It’s quite simple, really. You analyze everything you do, and put it into categories, based on whether you would like the experience to be an ongoing part of your life, or not.

Take riding the bus. You might hate riding the bus. Standing next to smelly commuters while being jerked one way and then the other. If you don’t enjoy it, find a way to get it out of your life. ie buy a car, or move closer to your job.

On the flip-side, say you enjoy sitting in the sunshine drinking beer. Have you ever really boiled down what it is about the experience that you like? It probably has something to do with the location, the temperature, the kind of beer, the company around you, and most importantly, the time of day.

It’s one thing to sit on a beach at noon, and a whole other thing while the sun sets, or rises. Everyone has their preference for the optimal ‘relaxing in the sun’ experience. You’d be surprised there are just as many people who enjoy the intense mid-day rays as there are those who love walking in the sand at dusk.

The trick to life, is finding that optimal time, and then basing your life around it. If you enjoy twilight, work early, and get home in time to enjoy it – structure your life around it. If you prefer sunsets, book your vacations on the Western side. All it takes is a little planning, and a little introspection into exactly what it is that makes you happy.

At Mattress Choice, we see this all the time. People want to pick a bed that they are going to rest their heads on for the next eight years, but how much have they really thought about their comfort preference beforehand. We carry the best of the best brands (Simmons, Sealy and Serta) for a reason, we want the maximum amount of variety, all under a quality name.

Think carefully about what it is you do and don’t like in a bed, and we can help you through the process of getting exactly what you need. No two people are the same, and what makes one person happy, might make another roll on their side. So let us help you find the perfect bed, to maximize your nights, and your life.

Say you’re in the market for a new bed. This isn’t one of those decisions you make spontaneously. It’s not like you’re at the Shell station getting gas and a bag of Spitz when you’re like, wow, I really need a mattress, let’s get one to surprise the fam.

No, the mattress hunt begins long before. It comes from clutching your back morning after morning and hearing complaint after complaint that the springs are hurting, and the middle sags, and there are stains and “I haven’t slept well in weeks,” and all of the other lead up conversations that kickstart a new mattress hunt.

No, mattress hunting is not a casual affair. It’s a full-on safari. Serious mattress shoppers take weeks to find the bed they love. They test here, they test there. They listen to the radio. They carefully unfold the glossy fliers smashed up like accordions in their letterboxes.

It’s a big deal picking your dream machine for the next 8-10 years. It’s gotta be good. But not too expensive. Value. Great value is what everyone is looking for.

Either way, here is a suggested itinerary for those looking to take on the hunt with any seriousness.

1. Start with a competitor. We’re serious, we want you to see the value we offer. Try out their beds. Feel how they feel. Take a few notes. Note a few prices. Then, come to us.
2. See what we can offer. Mattress Choice offers the deepest selection of the best brands. We won’t try to get you into an inferior model. We want you sleeping on a world-class mattress. And we want to get you the best possible price. So we offer a Lowest Price Guarantee (there is more info on the website).
3. Find the cheapest retailer you can, and try their beds. They won’t compare to the luxury you have experienced on a Simmons, Sealy or Serta.
4. Compare your notes online. By all means, we have intended to be a mattress shopping resource in Vancouver Island since we started over 2 years ago. You’ll find tons of mattress tips on our blog – and plenty of other places online as well.
5. Come on back. IF you can find a comparable offer elsewere, let’s talk. But we are confident that the wonderful bed you tried at the Mattress Gallery showroom will be the ultimate bed for you.

So, if you are in the market for a new mattress, hopefully this step-by-step shopping guide can help you with the process a little.

So you can’t sleep. You’ve tossed and turned for hours and all you can think about is how you have to get up for work soon, and that this has been the worst night ever.

Some people have strategies on how to fall asleep with insomnia makes the mosquitos sing and the clock ticks loud. You’ll hear everything from the warm glass of milk, to counting sheep, to reading a boring book. But what if that doesn’t work? (As it often doesn’t.)

The solution may be more of a consistent attack on your sleeplessness. A multi-pronged approached on all fronts.

To help you get to sleep, here’s a little checklist of things to do, in this order.

1. Flip your pillow over. Take in the cool side. Let it calm you.
2. Go to the bathroom. Keep your pressure gauges low.
3. Sleep in the opposite direction. Your partner might not like your feet in their face, but hey, baby, you need to sleep!
4. Try the milk thing. Why not?
5. Change up the sheets. A little sand on a fun Friday night might be no thing. But that same scrapy feeling on a Sunday might not exactly help you drift off to dreamland.
6. Think about something really boring. Think about this list if it helps.
7. Go in the other room and watch infomercials.
8. Take two aspirin.
9. Count backwards from 100.
10. Give up and look for can’t sleep help kits online. You may just find this one.

If none of this works, you’ll need to do what the others say and nod your head to the ‘I told you so’ rhetoric of these smug self-help guides. ie Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol 8 hours for sleeping (a little late now fellas). Or, don’t do exercise too close to bedtime, or, get yourself a better bed.

This is the best plan of all. Think of it like a pre-emptive strike. Mattress Choice is now offering Beautyrest Queen Mattresses for $998 and the rest of the Clearance stock on sale for up to 60% off. It’s the perfect time to get a comfortable bed, and forget this list ever happened.

Mark this on your calendar. April 15th is the last day of our 60% off Clearance Sale.

All of the floor models we have had since 2011 need to go. They must go. They absolutely must leave the premises and the last day we are passing this deal to you, as a consumer, is April 15th.

If you’ve been waiting for your dream bed, now is not the time to sit in the weeds and wait for a better deal to come along. Those others, in the weeds, are getting tired of sleeping on lilly pads and reeds and that Beautyrest Queen you’ve had your eye on for $898, it’s starting to look mighty tempting.

So that leaves two weeks from today. That’s barely enough time to go and test a few and think it over. So if you are serious about getting the bed of your dreams and Year-End Clearance Prices. Now is the time.

Mattress Choice can be found at 3510 Blanshard St. near the Saanich Plaza in Victoria B.C.

So you’ve checked online. You went to the Consumer Report websites, and the Yelp review pages and the Google review pages and the here’s what to buy and what not to buy blogs, and the best mattress sales in Victoria listings on the internets. You’ve done that.

Then, you’ve gone from mattress store to mattress store in Victoria looking for the best possible bed. You’ve tossed and turned and belly-flopped and asked a endless stream of questions, but still, you’re not quite sure.

Finally, you’re down to a few options. But you want your partner with you. So you make a reservation, in the way you’d book a room, and you get your plan in action.

The bed hunt has been long and arduous, but you see the light at the end of the Simmons sign. The quest for the perfect bed is almost over.

$898 for a Beautyrest Queen. You can’t find a better deal than that, and you can only find it in one place: Mattress Choice at 3510 Blanshard.

Relax, put your feet up (on a brand-new Beautyrest), and take a long, deserved sigh of relief, because after all that tossing and turning – your mattress hunt is over.

If you are a busy businessman/woman, and you have a family: bedtime is the only “me time” you’re going to get.

Life can be all-consuming. Meetings, projects, obligations. Not to mention all the garbage that needs to be put out, and bedtime stories that need to be read, and diapers that need to be changed. In the modern world, the modern parent sees nothing but work and family. Work is work. Dealing with family is work. Chores are work. All is work.

So, after all of that, there leaves little room for any me-time.

“Me-time.” Who coined this word? Someone without kids, that’s who.

Forget about the idea of me-time. This is something made up by the Body Shop to make women feel better about buying soap and scented candles. It’s a product of Oprah and new age woo.

The reality is – if you’re a modern man or woman in the modern workforce, there’s no steak and scotch waiting for you when you get home after working all day. There’s only diapers to be changed, dinner to be cooked and screaming children to be consoled. Job #2 starts the minute you walk in the door.

If you’re a stay at home mom, the job never ends. The kids keep tearing apart your closet and drawing on the walls. The food disappears. The work never ends.

Forget the idea of me-time. The only break you’ll get is when you sleep.

So if your me-time is going to be limited to 8 hours a day. (Not too bad, considering that’s a third of your time.) Then invest in the best possible bed you can get – get a Simmons, Serta or Sealy mattress from the best mattress store in Victoria – Mattress Choice.

Maybe today was a great let-down.

Say, there was this place, where you really wanted to work, and they said, give us a call, we’d love to talk to you. And then they never called you back, or responded to your emails, or did anything after that. Real swell.

Or, say, you did a bunch of work, and then the people you did the work for didn’t want to pay you, even though you worked hard, and did a good job.

Bummers are as much a part of life as the good days. Don’t let it get to you. The best part of the day can always be the last part – when you crash out on your welcoming bed and let the worries of the world subside.

With a good night sleep, nothing is as bad as it is today.

For the best night’s sleep, we recommend a Beautyrest Queen – now on sale for $898.

Following in Victoria’s footsteps, BC has officially banned teens and children from using tanning beds.

Citing the potential risk of cancer, the government has followed the path of tobacco, making it illegal for youth to use, even with parental consent. The decision is based on overwhelming medical data that links UV tanning salons to melanoma.

The only exception will be tanning used for medical reasons (such as skin conditions).

Tanning beds have been banned in Victoria for a year.

If you have a grouchy teen that needs here sun to fight off SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and look good in the winter – may we suggest getting them a new bed, a proper bed, instead.

Mattress Choice is now selling Queen sized Beautyrests from $898. With a new bed, your teen will look rested and healthy, and forget all about the blues of the winter months.

Read more about this story here: Tanning Beds Banned in BC.

It must be a European thing. Or South American.

But when you look at furnished apartments overseas, the definitions get a little bit foggy.
For instance, this is what they consider a Queen bed in Buenos Aires. It’s two singles pushed together.

Now, from what I’ve heard, this is standard practice in Europe. The idea is that it gives you more options depending on how you feel about your partner that night. It seems a little strange.

Other things that are a little different in renting apartments are:

1. The whole measure of ‘bedroom’ is a North American thing. In Montreal they rent flats in terms of total rooms. Same with Europe and South America. In Quebec you can rent a 3 1/2, which is 3 rooms (one of which may be a bedroom) and a bathroom. In Buenos Aires, the size is determined by the number or ‘ambiens’ or rooms. The standards change from country to country (even province to province). It’s like that Mitch Hedberg joke – “It’s up to me to choose how many bedrooms I have, isn’t it?”
2. In Europe and South America the first floor is one level up. What we’d consider the second floor.
3. In some places (Montreal in particular) all leases expire on the same day (I think it’s July 1st). So you’ll see everyone moving, en masse, on that weekend. People all over the city will be carrying mattresses down the street.

You need a new bed.

But it’s a typical West Coast day – pouring rain, grey and not the best day to go from one Victoria mattress store to another finding the mattress you need.

If you don’t feel up to bed-hopping on a such a winter’s day, you can always research online. A great place to start is on the Mattress Choice website. Check out the FAQs and the Better Sleep tips. Look at the Manufacturers’ pages. It will give you a plethora of information to guide your shopping experience once the sun comes back.

Another good resource is this very blog. You will find useful posts here about pocket coils, thread counts, what to look for in a comfortable bed, and deals and offers on now.

Just because it’s raining outside doesn’t mean you can’t start your mattress shopping now!

If you’ve ever eaten too much shellfish, you may have had some crazy dreams. It might be a matter of a mild food allergy, or even slight food poisoning – but there is something about sickness that can bring on the wildest nightmares.

But what about other foods? Does what you eat affect the way you sleep? Some research was in store.

Atkins – Cosmos released an article a few years back about how the Atkins diet creates bad dreams.

Chin Moi Chow, a sleep researcher at the University of Sydney did a study on the Atkins diet and found that eating only meat and vegetables, and eschewing carbohydrates led to more frequent, but more horrific dreams. She asked her subjects to recall their dreams, and how the dreams made them feel. Those on the Atkins diet had twice the recall of dreams as opposed to their counterparts, and they slept more easily, however an unwanted side effect was the nightmarish quality to the dreams they had.

Vegans swear that eating meat produces violent and gory dreams, while a plant-based diet produces only the sweetest sleep.

What are your findings? Everyone’s body reacts differently to diets and food. Try doing an experiment on yourself. Keep a dream journal and test how they change as you remove or add one element at a time (ie dairy, caffeine, meat, etc.) You might surprise yourself.

Speaking of dreamy food visuals. Here’s a fantastic short film from PES.

When life hands you grenades – make guacamole.

Mattress Choice now has its very own QR code.

What is a QR code you ask? Well, it’s a way to send someone directly to your website without having to type in the URL. They simply scan the code with their phones, and BAM, they are transported directly to the Mattress Choice website.

Try it for yourself. Here is how to do it on an iPhone.

1. Download this FREE app: QR Reader for iPhone.
2. Launch the app and scan this code (or any QR code).
3. You will automatically be taken to the Mattress Choice website.

QR codes are a fairly new phenomenon. Here is a website devoted to all those people scanning QR codes.

When it comes to movies about dreams, you have to love Inception. How cool is the idea that you can go into someone’s dreams and plant the seed of an idea? That Aha moment – it was placed there. And the great idea you had, was predetermined all along – by someone else.

Capturing the feeling of dreaming is not easy. Few of us even remember our dreams, but for some reason, there is a common ‘feel’ to a dream that we can relate to, but only when we see it expressed convincingly on screen.

The psychedelic art direction and irregular editing of Black Swan paint a canvas that offers us a glimpse into the fractured mind of madness, but here are some examples of how filmmakers have been able to transport us into the ephemeral world of dreams, by using other mind-melting tricks of movie magic.

http://www.toponlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-best-movie-dream-sequences/

The best mattress store in Victoria to talk about your dreams is our very own Mattress Choice. We can put in on the best possible bed to maximize your dreams. Just ask Dr. Floyd in the Mattress Choice website to find out what they mean.

Imaginative children’s storyteller, Dr. Seuss, would have been 108 today.

Here are a few facts you might not know about the good doctor.

1. Did you know Dr. Seuss once wrote published a book full of naked ladies? It was probably one of his least successful books, but it’s out there.

2. The Lorax is his latest book to become a full-length feature film. Some of the voice actors are none other than Zac Efron of Disney’s High School Musical and Danny Devito from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It’s not getting the best reviews from critics though.

3. Seuss’ works had deep social and political messages. The Lorax was about environmental raping and pillaging by big companies. The Star-Bellied Sneeches warned against the dangers of conformity, groupthink, and mindless materialism (this link says racism – but I’m leaning towards fanaticism). And the Cat in the Hat was about the virtues of autonomy, efficiency and skepticism – who knew?  Here are some others: What Dr. Seuss’ books were really about.

4. Dr. Seuss came up with his crazy rhyme schemes by listening to the boiler room while on a boat in the navy.

5. His real name was Theodor Geisel (and he wasn’t actually a doctor).

Wild and full of wonderful things, Seuss’s colourful tales were drenched in dreamy imagery, unusual rhymes and psychedelic characters. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if his vivid imagination didn’t come from a great night’s sleep.

So, how does the cost of a premium brand-name bed in Canada compare to a similar model in South America?

After doing a little research, it looks like Simmons Beautyrests (which they also make in Buenos Aires) run around CAD $1400.

In Canada, Beautyrests can cost around $2900. Twice that price.

However, for the next few weeks, Mattress Choice is offering an incredible deal. They are knocking $2000 off this price. You can now buy a Beautyrest for as low as $898, this is a fraction of the prices even in South America!

To put things in perspective – beer is CAD$1/litre in Buenos Aires. Rent is about CAD$500/month for a two-bedroom in the city.

Probably the only thing you can get cheaper in Canada is a Beautyrest – and that’s only for a few weeks, and only from Mattress Choice.

Everyone always says: “Don’t wake up the sleepwalker.”

Does anyone have any real, hard evidence that this will actually do anything harmful?

It seems almost like an old wives tale.

Besides, have you ever seen anyone sleepwalk on a Beautyrest?

So what’s the deal with plants? Sometimes they have their flowers open for business. Other times, no dice.

What is it? Are they protecting themselves from the elements? Are they taking a little breather?

If humans sleep, animals sleep, why wouldn’t plants sleep? It makes sense. It’s a chance for them tot shut down all the crazy photosynthesis action for a while and just chill.

That’s one thing sleep is good for – chilling – recharging – getting back to cetnre. Humans and plants included.

Sooner or later, if you have a blog about mattresses, you are going to mention Brian Wilson.

The guy was a genius. He wrote dozens of chart-topping songs. He started the Beach Boys. He was an icon in pop and surf cutlture.

However, for a while there, he didn’t get out of his bed.

He might have been depressed. Or, he might have loved his Beautyrest. We’ll never know for sure.

When he performed a comeback tour in a bed – well, that may be one part publicity stunt, or, it might have just been the boost he needed, a crowd of adoring fans.

No one is quote what prompted him to remain in bed for the better part of two years: drug addiction, depression, trauma caused by his father’s death and the birth of a new daughter. Some blame the tampering of his psychologist.

Rumour has it that Paul McCartney said that Brian’s Pet Sounds was better than Revolver. What do you think? It got him up.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking here – stay in your sweet new bed and you’ll write the greatest album of all time. You didn’t hear it from us, that’s for sure. But you gotta admit – there might be something there.

In Argentina, it’s hot. This last week it has been 34-38 degrees every day. In the early afternoon, the sun is directly overhead and there is nowhere to hide. Walking across the street can be a sweat-summoning, unpleasant experience. So you won’t find many stores open between noon and 4. Instead, most of the people in South America opt for a siesta in the shadows.

Basically, it’s a nap.

Interestingly enough, sombre is Spanish for shade. Whereas sombrero is Spanish for hat. So there’s a connection there. Of course, when most of us North American types think of sombrero, we have images of a mustachioed man sleeping against the dark side of a cactus with their wide brimmed hat pulled down low. So, really, it’s not that far off.

Taking a siesta during the hottest hours of the day is a great way to conserve energy for the vibrant nightlife that Buenos Aires is notorious for. To tango into the wee hours, you will need the refreshment of an afternoon snooze.

Studies have shown that even if those of us in cooler climes were to take a brief twenty-minute ‘power nap’ during lunch, that we would be more rested and ready for the remainder of the day.

Consider keeping a Beautyrest at the office for just this occasion. It’s one thing to catch some z’s on the couch in the corner, and a whole other thing to do your naps right.

In BA mattress stores they put chairs on the beds

Men prefer a firm mattress. Girls like a softer one. Pregnant girls like really soft beds.

Keep this in mind when you are mattress shopping in Vancouver. Bring your spouse. While you may fall in love with the softest pillowtop in the showroom, he might not be as excited to toss and turn every night in heavenly quicksand.

The Beautyrest is a nice compromise. It eliminates motion transfer with hundreds of individual pocket coils. This way, when you are rolling over, she doesn’t feel a thing.

So forget diamond rings, candy and chocolates. What a girl really wants is a nice, soft bed. So if you really want to show her you love her – agree to the softer bed, and let her sleep happy.

Melatonin – Found in animals and plants it is a natural solution to addictive chemical remedies.

Warm Milk – more than an old wives tale

Valerian – root used since Greek and Roman times for insomnia, stress, hysteria and stress.

Ginseng – This gnarly root helps with Type II Diabetes, sexual dysfunction and of course sleepiness. It also goes great with sushi.

Chamomile Tea – Does the trick. Wait to cool.

Lemon Balm – Seems to work. Tastes nice too.

Passion Flower – Used by the Aztecs.

Hops – Filling a child’s pillow with hops will help them fall into a deep, natural slumber.

Malt – A single one of these will do the trick. But don’t have too many or you’ll wake up feeling like mud.

Exercise – Just make sure you do it before 8 pm or so.

Meditation – Most people could fall asleep just thinking about doing it.

Acupuncture – As crazy as sticking pins in your body to sleep may sound, it works. Just ask those guys sleeping on beds of nails in India.

For more examples

http://www.bestnaturalsleepaids.com/

With the advent of social media, businesses are looking for new ways to promote themselves online, bring traffic to their websites, and, hopefully, generate more sales. There have been a fair share of social media disasters, such as Kenneth Cole running with every trending topic on Twitter, including the Egypt Riots last year. And more boring campaigns than one would care to forget.

At Mattress Choice we (try) to keep our social media interesting by writing about dreams, sleep tips and events in Victoria, BC. Not too many gimmicks there, just a lot of fresh content.

But we must, however, tip our hats to 105.3 Kiss FM for their ‘so simple it’s brilliant’ Facebook advertising campaign.

All they did was buy a lottery ticket for a jackpot to the tune of $200,000,000. Then they asked everyone to like the picture of the ticket, with a promise to share the winnings with all those who liked them. So simple! And so cheap! And they got 1000s of hits out of it.

That’s how you do it.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes is a great new(ish) band out of the California. They are kind of a mix of folk and rock with a little country thrown in, and they are getting the hits. You would probably recognize Home and 40-Day Dream if you were to hear them on the radio (most like the Peak 100.5 FM – where they get a ton of airplay in Vancouver).

At Mattress Choice, we like them because they sing about dreams.

How could you not love these lyrics?

I been sleepin for 60- days and

Nobody better pinch me

Cause I swear I’ll go crazy

She got jumper cable lips

She got sunset on her breath now

I inhaled just a little bit

Now I got no fear of death now

Just the idea of a 40-day dream. Doesn’t that sound nice? I’m guessing they slept on Beautyrests if the dreams were that good.

Saving money for a mattress can be difficult when most mattress stores expect you to shell out thousands just for a comfortable night’s sleep. But what about when you just need a good, top-quality bed from a premium brand for less than $150?

Is that too much to ask? Of course it’s not.

At Mattress Choice we always keep a mattress sale going for those who have a few more flies in the wallet than bills. And that’s okay. Everyone deserves a good night’s sleep. And you can’t ask for a better bed than a premium brand name Simmons, Sealy or Serta. Those are the three top brands out there, and Mattress Choice sells nothing but the best.

So, how does one go about saving $149 for a new bed?

1. Skip Starbucks. When you figure that a tall coffee can run upwards to being a $5 a day habit – within one month, you’d have yourself a new, comfortable bed. And with all the extra sleep you’d be getting, you wouldn’t even need caffeine in the morning to get you going.
2. Walk. If you can save a bit of gas here and there, you’re going to get a better sleep. Not only is walking good for the heart, it will also help stave off the irritating clutches of insomnia. The money you save on gas and parking will get you a bed within a month.
3. Eat at home. Drink at home. It’s good to know what’s in your food. Ever notice that well drinks at the bar always use the cheapest gut-rot liquor that money can buy? You would never buy that at home, so why drink it when you’re out? Same goes for excessive grease and lard and fat and gross disgusting crap that you find in greasy spoon diner food. Combine that with the fact that it’s marked up 500 percent and you have to ask yourself where your money (and health) is going. What’s the point? Cook for yourself. Drink your own supply. And save enough for that sweet new bed.
4. Go to Mattress Choice. We offer the best deals on new beds. Ask us about our $149 special. You can find us at 3510 Blanshard Road, in the Saanich Plaza next to Save-On-Foods.

Studies have stated that there is a difference between the dissociative states of trance, hypnosis and dreaming.

All three imply alternate states of consciousness but there are key distinctions that mark each state as separate.

Trance, as attained by meditation, repetition of sounds or actions, dance, and ritual – can been seen in religious and tribal ceremonies. In a trace, one loses track of their ego and immediate sense of self to fall into a state of mind that is open to perception beyond the limitations of one’s personal biases and everyday heuristics. There are light trances where you are aware of what is around you, and deep trances where you are oblivious to the outside world.

Hypnosis implies suggestion. Here you have reached a state of altered consiousness, only to be vulnerable to persuasion. The hypnotic state has been defined as a “state of heightened suggestibility.”

To read more on the difference between trance and hypnosis, click here.

Where do dreams play into this? Dreams are states of altered consciousness, and a trained mind can treat the dream-state like the trance it is, and take control of one’s dreams, to make them lucid. Much like a trance and hypnosis are the abandonment of the self and an openness to the influence of the universe. Dreams allow one to bury their personality and see the world with closed yet open eyes.

If you’ve bought a bed from us and you love it  – we want to hear about it.

We are not shy about asking our customers to share their pleasant, and not so pleasant (more like wonderful) experiences of shopping at Mattress Choice.

On our Google Maps page we have ten reviews so far, and that’s pretty exciting: Only one bad apple in there.

Most people have been rather favourable in their reviews about our little ol’ Victoria mattress store.

We encourage you to write something nice about us too. We write sweet things about people all the time. We try to promote local Victoria businesses in this blog. So if you have something even half-decent to say, please share.

Mattress Victoria reviews.

And if you just have something mean to say – just remember what you’re mother told you and please keep it to yourself. We’re trying to run a business here and we don’t have time for childishness that could cost a nice customer the chance of a five-star experience (and an unbeatable bed).

Mattress Choice is different from other Victoria mattress stores in that it focuses on only three brands: Simmons, Sealy and Serta.

By stocking only premium beds from the world’s three biggest brands, we can ensure that every bed in our showroom is of the very best quality.

There is a make and size of bed that is right for every body. Some people like soft beds, others prefer pillow-top. The way Beautyrests eliminate motion transfer between partners is a must for others.

However, you may want a soft bed, of a certain size and other mattress stores in Victoria might not have it in a brand-name variety. So you are forced to pick a lesser quality mattress simply because they did not have the depth to handle your personal preference level in a brand-name bed. In other words, they spread themselves thin over multiple brands.

At Mattress Choice, we carry only the best of the best brands. This way, you have a better chance at finding a particular style of bed – but you will know that it has the big brand status to back it up.

Mattress Choice is running out of space.

We have all these 2012 premium mattresses from Simmons, Sealy and Serta coming in, but there are still a few 2011 beds taking up space. All floor models must go. So we’re slashing prices on last-years’ stock to get them out the door. Up to 60% off some beds.

Here are a few of the deals we have this week at Year-End Clearance prices.

$149 brand-name mattresses

$898 Beautyrest Queens – he usual price is $2798 (that’s $2000 off!)

Mattress Choice can be found at 3510 Blanshard St. in the Saanich Plaza near the Save-On-Foods.

Our helpful sales staff can help you get the perfect bed at Year-End Clearance prices. But this offer is limited to first-come, first served only.

Have you ever been in control of your dreams?

Most of us in our lifetime will experience lucid dreaming. It’s that wild sensation where we cross the bridge between passive engagement to actively controlling the experience.

Scientists have been studying lucid dreams for years. One of their discoveries is that you can actually train your mind to enter into lucid dreaming.

Here’s how to do it in four simple steps.

1. Pinch yourself. Constantly question whether you are dreaming or not. If you are always doing this while awake, you will start doing it in your dreams as well.

2. Look at yourself in the mirror and find a piece of text to read. When we are in dreams, it is hard to see ourselves. It is also difficult to read something.If it becomes a habit, you will carry this with you into your dream state. This will help you distinguish if you are dreaming or not.

3. Get a dream journal. Keeping the practice of writing down dreams will make you more aware of when you are dreaming.

4. Fantasize. Before going to bed concentrate on what you want to dream about. This is called “incubating” an idea. And it works.

When you become aware that you are dreaming, while you are dreaming, you will find that you just might get into a situation where you can control what happens next.

January is the busiest time of the year for gyms, personal trainers and people selling diet plans and supplements.

Christmas wreaks havoc on the body. All the cookies, eggnog, candy and jubilation take a toll on the waistline and it’s not uncommon for some people to gain ten pounds in two weeks.

With heads still groggy on New Years Day, we resolve that we will get in shape this year. We stop drinking, smoking and the cleanses begin.

Of course, they usually only last a week or so until we revert back to our old habits, but it is good to take a break from the pollutants we put in our body for a while and give the organs a break.

One thing to remember if you are starting into a new exercise routine this month – get the rest you need.

If you haven’t seen the inside of a gym in months, your body will be hurting after the first session, and sore muscles need rest to heal.

So make sure your January plans include plenty of sleep on a good mattress. Your body will thank you for it.

January is a horrible month.

The holidays are over, the gifts have been unwrapped, the weather is miserable, we’re back at the grind, and there isn’t a sign of a break until Easter. That’s 3 months away.

It’s cold, dark, and to make matters worse, all those bills from our Christmas spending start rolling in.

But if you are thinking January 3^rd is rotten, just wait. Sorry, folks, but the worst has yet to come. By the end of the month, we are failing on our resolutions, buried in work and debt and the lingering glow of the holidays has been long extinguished.

The most depressing day of the year is the Monday of the last full week of the month. This year, it’s January 23^rd.

They call it Blue Monday. Sounds like a good day to stay in bed.

Mattress Choice offers the best of the best brands: Simmons, Sealy and Serta.

By only stocking premium brand-name beds from the three biggest manufacturers of quality mattresses – Mattress Choice is able to offer a deeper selection of models – all with the Big S stamp of approval and quality.

You may like a soft bed. You may prefer a firmer mattress. Whatever your comfort preference level, Mattress Choice’s helpful sales staff can get you the bed that’s just right for you.

If you are looking for the best place to buy a mattress in Victoria, look no further than Mattress Choice on 3510 Blanshard, next to the Save-On-Foods in Saanich Plaza – #110.

It’s the best deals of the year. All floor models must go.

Beautyrest Queens from $898.

That’s $2000 off.

Mattresses from $149.

Only mattress Victoria store Mattress Choice has a mattress sale like this.

And it’s only for one more day.

Sale ends Dec 31, 2011.

Sleep away your holiday stress on a Beautyrest Queen.

Regular price $2898 – now on sale for only $898!
That’s $2000 in savings.

If that wasn’t enough, there are also brand-name beds for as little as $149.

Hurry though, this Victoria mattress sale only lasts until Dec. 31st.

If you are in two minds as to whether you should tell your kids about Santa Claus or not, remember the famous letter written in 1897 to the New York Sun by Virginia O’Hanlon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus

It’s one thing to tell a white lie to your children and another to have your kids jaded too early in life. Some parents may worry that it will make children distrust them, but no one likes the kid who tells others that Santa’s not real.

Like the editorial states, Santa Claus is real, in the sense that he is the embodiment of Christmas Spirit. He’s the childlike, magical belief that the world is full of wonder, romance and unseen joy.

It may be childish to encourage beliefs of a man in a red and white suit. But a little childishness is exactly what this world needs.

Looking for a romantic escapade for the holiday season? Or a seasonal outing to enjoy with the whole family? The Butchart Gardens Magic of Christmas may be just the event you have been searching for.

It’s a magical evening of lights, music and holiday cheer in Victoria’s most elegant gardens.

For more information, click here.

http://www.butchartgardens.com/planning-your-visit/the-5-seasons/christmas.html

Or Call 1-800-663-3883

Roy Orbison was an enigmatic character. Blessed with an angelic baritone, the 50s swooner hid behind a mysterious demeanour of dark glasses and black suits. He never moved while performing and was reported to have suffered from intense stage-fright.

Like the other crooners of the time, Orbison’s ballads were primarily of heartbreak and loss. But an interesting aside was his preoccupation with dreams. The theme of many of his hits were of his experiences in the land of nod.

His biggest hit about dreaming was the song, Only in Dreams. His lyrics in this song were strange and psychedelic, with lines such as:

The candy-coloured clown they call the sandman.

This song was actually prominently featured in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, with Dennis Hopper in the greatest villain role of all time, singing the lyric over and over.

It was this movie that revived Orbison’s career in the 1980s, proving that the power of dreams is timeless.

One thing about foam that should keep you up at night is the worry of toxic gasses.

Because it is made of oil-based products, there are chemicals involved. The effects of these gasses are debatable, but common sense should prevail.

Sometimes it’s best to just trust in your senses.

Do a quick little test next time you are near a foam mattress.

1. Get your face right near the bed
2. Take a deep whiff

You  might notice a distinct chemical odour coming from the foam.

Do the same thing on a mattress. You shouldn’t smell anything with a  mattress.

However, for those with fond memories of foam, there are other options.

One way around the chemical smell of foam is to get a foam bed made of all-natural materials.

Ask our staff, there are all-natural foam beds available at Mattress Choice

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Today’s workforce moves at lightening speed. The Internet, Smartphones, and WIFI everywhere has had the opposite effective it was supposed to. Technology was supposed to save us time. Instead it has piled up workloads, made competition more fierce and turned up the heat on expectations.

In a whirlwind world, it’s important to know how to organize your time so you don’t lose your mind.

Here’s a recent article about some time management tips that work for me.

Also, don’t forget to get the rest you need to tackle a busy day, week or year. A good mattress is essential to this equation.

To see the time management tips that work for me, check out my recent article on Ezine: Time Management and Healthy Sleep Habits.

There’s a Year-End Clearance Sale happening right now at Victoria’s Mattress Choice. They have premium brand-name beds from only the best on the best brands (Simmons, Sealy and Serta) on sale for up to 60% off.

This Victoria mattress sale only happens once a year. So unless you want to toss and turn on your lumpy old mattress for another 12 months, you’d better get your dibs on a quality bed while supplies last.

Mattress Choice can be found at 3510 Blanshard, down near the Saanich Plaza.

What if your memory was so powerful that you could recount exactly what you saw, in vivid detail?

Artist Franco Magnani has such a gift. He is known as a “memory artist.”

He can paint his hometown of Pontito strictly from memory.

In a recent exhibition, he displayed 50 of his paintings, accompanied by actual photographs taken by Susan Schwartzenberg – from the same perspectives. They were identical.

What makes this exhibition so astounding is that he has not seen his town in over 30 years.

Magnani describes his gift as the ability to remember in a

Read more about Oliver Sacks’ meeting with Franco in this article:

http://byliner.com/oliver-sacks/stories/the-landscape-of-his-dreams