For the most part, people spend about a third of their lives… asleep. Yep! It’s biology, but for some reason, much more care is given to our waking lives than those hours of zzz’s. Yawn. We think it’s time to change that.

It goes without saying that how you sleep—and more importantly, upon what you sleep—is critical. Recognizing this, Leesa offered an SFist writer a chance to test-drive one of their dreamy mattresses to see how an upgraded sleeping situation changed her day-to-day. (And, for that matter, her night-to-night.) The result? Well, she’s finding it harder to get out of bed in the morning. Check out her review below!

Nearly every day at my office, often times more than once, I’ll stand up from my desk, twist my arms over my head, and crack more bones in my shoulders, neck, and back more than is probably healthy. My coworkers can attest. (Hi guys!)

I’ve never gotten to the root cause of it all. My brother, an orthopedic surgeon, says I’m “just creaky,” but I don’t buy it. I do yoga and stretch before I bike. I eat my vegetables. I’m young enough. Though, one thing I know certainly wasn’t helping was my six-year-old mattress.

It was one of those cheap spring-filled monsters that I bought the day before I moved to my post-college apartment. Squeaky and floral patterned like an old housedress, I know this thing had been an absolute curse on my back. After some time, my side of the bed (I always sleep right at the edge) started to cave in. I kept waking up several times during the night, and my caffeine intake spiked. The back cracking increased. A lot.

So yeah, I needed a change.

I’m not a huge online shopper, but mattress shopping is a whole lot easier online than in real life—especially for those of us in a city who can’t schlep things around in a car. And the process is particularly simple when you’re dealing with the team behind Leesa, creators of the dangerously comfy mattress that’s giving new meaning to not wanting to get out of bed in the morning. Ordering a Leesa mattress takes about five minutes—you can even do it on your phone if the spirit moves you while you’re out and about.

In about a week, voila! A vertical box that’s about two-thirds my size arrived at my door.

Following instructions, I pulled the mattress from its box, popped it onto my bed frame, sliced open the plastic wrapping, and immediately began to hear the soft whoosh of the expansion. With a little finagling, I got the rest of the plastic off, unfolded the mattress, and slid it into place.

Giddy with excitement, I immediately flopped down on the bed, no sheets or anything. I lay there on the pillowy top for a few moments, feeling the pressure points along my spine even themselves out a bit. Or, in other words, the not-too-firm-not-too-soft-but-perfectly-springy mattress seemed to actually support my back in a fairly natural way. A friend who was over for the unfurling process sat down on the other edge of the bed, but I didn’t even notice until I opened my eyes. So for all you folks who share a bed with a partner, it seems like another person’s tossing and turning might be less noticeable on a Leesa. (I only sleep in bed with my cat who makes himself known by crawling on my head in the middle of the night, but I digress.)

While I wasn’t graced by a chorus of singing angels during my first night’s slumber on my new Leesa, the more miraculous thing is that I slept...a full eight hours. This might not sound like a huge deal to some people, but believe me, this was a Very Big Sleep Development. Even my cat seemed to enjoy the experience—as he curled up next to my legs and didn’t seem to move the entire night. I also definitely didn’t want to get out of bed when my alarm went off, even after two or three times hitting the snooze button.

That morning, I found myself more alert than normal—or at least as alert as you can be on a crowded train without having had a cup of coffee. And even as the day went on (after eventually getting an Americano), I realized I wasn’t feeling my usual 3PM desire for naptime. Admittedly, I still did crack my shoulders a few times, but I also experienced less lower back pain throughout the day, and for the next few days to come. Also, it’s worth mentioning that I think I was slightly less grumpy at work, but I might just be imagining that part.

Now that it’s been a few days, I can safely say that I’m sleeping a lot better. I still wake up every so often, but it’s usually for dumb reasons like my upstairs neighbor dropping a bag of bowling balls on the floor at 3AM. But I’m generally better rested during the day, and I’ve stopped relying on so many cups of afternoon coffee!

So, dear readers, maybe now you’ll give a little more consideration to what you sleep on? By my extremely scientific and mathematically correct calculations, I’ve already spent nine and a half years of my life asleep, so part of me wishes I had discovered a better mattress sooner. But alas—the future, for now, looks brighter and full of better slumber.

Ready to seriously improve your zzz’s? Grab $100 off the Leesa mattress of your dreams using code Gothamist.

This post is a sponsored collaboration between Leesa and Gothamist staff.

(Maggie Shannon / Gothamist)