Inside Futon Life This Month:

• Cover Story: Why Your Brain Needs Sleep - From The Better Sleep Council
• Publisher's Forum
• Retail Perspective: State of the Industry at Retail
• Back to Archive

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Cover Story

Why Your Brain Needs Sleep
The Better Sleep Council Delivers The Sleep Think Link

Neurologists Say Sleep Improves Memory And Learning

Alexandria, VA -- Recent research reveals that "sleeping on it" is more than just a good idea. In fact, neuroscientists now say that sleep is absolutely critical for key brain functions including learning, memory and performance. A new survey of 1,000 adults conducted by Bruskin/Goldring Research for the Better Sleep Council (BSC), found that few understand the important role sleep plays in normal, daily brain functions and many actually short-circuit their brain power by getting too little sleep.

Neurological and sleep experts concur that sleep is essential for the brain to function optimally. However, BSC's survey reveals a disturbing finding. Although the majority of those polled report that their typical weekday requires mental alertness, fully one in three say they don't get enough sleep. What's more, 53 percent of respondents admit their mental capabilities suffer when they lose sleep. The implication: millions of sleep-deprived adults are struggling to accomplish daily tasks in a diminished state, coping with dulled thinking and impaired concentration.

Clearing the brain's cluttered desktop

In recently published studies, neuroscientists found that sleep allows the brain to take care of the business of memory consolidation.

Drs. Bruce McNaughton and Matthew Wilson, the principle researchers in animal studies conducted at the University of Arizona, link deep sleep to memory. "When you're asleep, he brain is processing information accumulated when you were awake. It's no longer storing new input; it's organizing information," explains Dr. McNaughton. "Your brain is like a cluttered desktop at the end of the day. At night, when you're asleep and no more information can be put on the desk -- or in your brain -- your brain can then file away the information."

According to Dr. Wilson, sleep is essential for memory formation. When a person is sleep-deprived, the brain's ability to move information from temporary memory to long-term stores is impaired. As a result, the information is lost or forgotten.

In a separate study, researchers found that sleep improves people's ability to learn repetitive skills such as riding a bike or typing. Drs. Avi Karni and Dov Sagi of the Weizmann Institute in Israel tested young adults and found that day-to-day improvements in learning were directly connected to a state of vivid dreaming known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. When the subjects were deprived on REM sleep, their learning ability was impaired.

Memory and learning experiments conducted in Canada further underscore the importance of sleep. Canadian researchers compared the performance of students cramming for an examination without sleep to classmates who slept after studying. The students who slept retained more information. "Sleep is a time when the brain can rehearse recently learned material," says James D. Walsh, Ph.D., Director of St. Luke's Hospital Sleep Medicine and Research Center. "If you're sleep-deprived, you'll remember less of newly presented information."

Women experience more stress than men when sleep-deprived

Of survey respondents who said lack of sleep affected them more mentally than physically; 40 percent cited increased stress as the greatest problem. In a gender gap, women named stress as the culprit in higher numbers than men, 51 percent to 29 percent, respectively. Compounding the problem: sleep deprivation and stress can become a vicious cycle. "If you're sleep-deprived, you're more likely to be distracted and irritable, and experience more stress. And stress, in turn, can interfere with sleep," says Dr. Mahowald.

For many, the consequences of sleep deprivation -- higher stress, shortened tempers, lower motivation and slower reflexes -- often constitute a normal day. But the implications are serious, causing decreased productivity, impaired performance and increased accidents and mistakes.

The solution: the public needs to re-adjust their attitudes and recognize sleep as an essential biological need, not a luxury. Instead of pushing harder and accomplishing less, adults need to call time out and rest. Everyone should feel they have the right to go to bed early or sleep late when they feel tired. "Getting a good night's sleep in a restful sleep environment is one of the most productive things anyone can do for themselves to improve their personal and professional quality of life," says Andrea Herman, Director of the Better Sleep Council.

The Sleep-Think Link

You may be asleep, but your brain is hard at work. Researchers believe the brain stores new information into memory -- and clears out the day's clutter during the night.

The following information was compiled from interviews with neurological and sleep experts including: Studbansu Chokroverty, M.D., Professor of Neurology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, New Jersey; Bruce McNaughton, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology and Physiology, University of Arizona; Mark Mahowald, M.D., Director, Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center; James D. Walsh, Ph.D., Director, St. Luke's Hospital Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Missouri; Matthew Wilson, Ph.D., Researcher and Assistant Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Among survey respondents, mental fatigue is cited as the most serious consequence of sleep deprivation, including impaired concentration, performance and motivation -- as well as irritability, increased stress and reduced reflex reaction time.

Sleep and Memory Research

Recent studies show, for the first time, that dreaming and deep sleep are important to learning and memory. Drs. Avi Karni and Dov Sagi found that during sleep people improve skills learned by repetition. The research revealed that the stage of sleep where dreaming occurs, rapid eye movement (REM), is important for consolidating memory. The research was conducted at the Weizmann Institute in Rechovot, Israel.

Animal studies conducted at the University of Arizona in Tucson show that sleep helps process and reorganize short-term memory of actual experiences into long-term memory.

Nearly half of the population (47 percent) mistakenly believes that the brain rests when the body sleeps. The opposite is true. Drs. Matthew Wilson and Bruce McNaughton found evidence that sleep allows the brain to go to work, using the time during sleep to "file and store" activities that occurred while awake. "Most people incorrectly think the brain is resting or recuperating during sleep. Actually some parts of the brain are more active when you're asleep," confirms Dr. Mark Mahowald, Director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center. The brain uses sleep as time to organize and store accumulated information rather than processing input from the external world as it does during waking hours. Sleep is instrumental for remembering and learning new information or skills. When sleep is disrupted, the brain's ability to transfer short-term memory into long-term memory is impaired.

Since the brain can retain new information only for a limited time, information may be lost or forgotten when the brain is deprived of sleep. Experiments in Canada demonstrated that students who slept after studying for an exam retained more information than those who stayed awake overnight.

As a result of this research, the following are some tips to help ensure you get the sleep you need.

• Keep regular hours. Try to go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning.
• Exercise regularly. Experts recommend accumulating at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week -- not too close to bedtime. On the average, people who exercise regularly tend to sleep better.
• Cut down on stimulants. Consuming stimulants, such as caffeine, in the evening interfere with falling asleep and prevents deep sleep -- which is important for organizing the day's information.
• Don't smoke. Smokers take longer to fall asleep, awaken more often and experience disrupted, fragmented sleep.
• Drink only in moderation. Drinking alcohol before bed interrupts the sleep stages and results in fragmented sleep.
• Unwind early in the evening. Try to deal with worries and distractions at least an hour before going to bed.
• Create a restful sleep environment. Sleep in a cool, quiet, dark room on a comfortable supportive mattress.
• Develop a sleep ritual. Make the transition to bedtime by doing the same things each night just before bed.
• Do you need a new bed? How long a sleep set lasts depends on its quality and care. The performance of a poor quality set can deteriorate quickly, while top quality sets can be expected to perform well for several years. Generally, you should carefully evaluate the comfort of your sleep set after eight to ten years of nightly use.

We suggest conducting a comfort comparison test at your local mattress retailer. Don't be shy about taking off your shoes and lying down on the mattress -- that's the only way you'll find out how it really feels. In the meantime, test the condition of your current sleep set by conducting the following bed check:

• Has your sleep set been in nightly use for more than 8-10 years?
• Can you feel or see uneven or sagging areas?
• Is the cover soiled or torn?
• When you wake up, are your muscles sore? Do you still feel tired?
• How does your sleep set feel compared to those you tested and liked at your favorite retail store?

Tips For A Wise Buy

• Comfort. A mattress doesn't have to be as hard as a board to be good for you. You'll sleep best in a bed that offers you superior comfort as well as good support. Trust you body to tell which bed feels best.
• Space. Select a mattress that gives you enough room for easy, free movement. Couples should have a queen or king size mattress to ensure both individuals have enough space to feel comfortable.
• Sets. Matching mattresses and foundation are designed to work together to enhance comfort and support. The foundation acts as a giant shock absorber, taking a lot of wear and tear of nightly use.
• Value. Shop for the best value, not the lowest price. "Bargain bedding" is no bargain when it comes to getting a good night's sleep. Buying the best you can afford is a healthy investment in yourself.

Publisher's Forum

By Joe Tatulli

In the world of home furnishings there is no other issue that gets more press than the symbiotic relationship between the manufacturer and the retailer. The issue always seems to revolve around finger pointing by one side as to the total inability of the other side to understand the finger pointer's point of view. Obviously each side has a set of issues that relate directly to the day-to-day operation of their business. Issues, I might add, the other side never has to deal with.

The retailer can't possibly understand how a manufacturer's parts mill screwed up and over sold a million board feet of oak parts orders to another factory they have been doing business with for thirty years. The mill, therefore, has to short our manufacturer's June order by 100,000 feet, and lets them know about it on May 26. They only realized their mistake the day before when Herb, their yard foreman (who had been out for three weeks), realized his replacement had miscalculated when he reported the current inventory in the yard and Kilns.

All the retailer knows is that the order they placed, after carefully planning for the busy season, is delayed or back ordered. The manufacturer must now scramble to replace the hundred thousand feet they were shorted from another local mill, who knows the first mill screwed up, and who charges the manufacturer a premium for lumber they realize the manufacturer is desperate for.

Unfortunately, since the prices have been shaved to bone because of retail price wars, the manufacturer looks at his margins and decides to not buy the extra wood now because after its all said and done he would loose money on the deal.

Then (lo and behold) a major, national, mega-retailer calls, with a letter of credit, and orders a quarter of a million dollars worth of frames. The manufacturer calls the mill, buys the wood, makes the frames, sells the frames and the retailer who got shorted sees the frames they should have gotten at the local mega-retailer and justifiably (they believe) cries "wolf."

Wow, it sure is a complex world, and I only made this up. Imagine what actually happens out there in the real world.

During our retail survey I talked to all kinds of people with varying degrees of knowledge and sophistication. Even the best of retailers struggle with getting product on time and in good condition. Smart retailers keep their options open by developing relationships with more than one vendor. They also ask a lot of questions and form alliances with other retailers for networking. Bottom line: Smart retailers anticipate and expect nightmare scenarios like the one above and they compensate for it.

On another note, an issue has come to our attention via Jacques Déry of AM-PM, in Canada. Déry has called us on the carpet concerning the use of the word "wall-hugger" in our most recent Futon Primer. We said, in that article, that a true wall-hugger must be four to six inches away from the wall. Déry says his frame is a "true" wall-hugger because it can be placed directly against the wall and convert from sitting to sleeping without moving the frame at all.

"Our patented mechanism allows the customer to place the frame actually touching the wall, and still the seat-back will not touch the wall when it converts," said Déry, "This is a true wall hugger."

We spoke to several of our advisors and came up with the following suggestions for future specs concerning the use of the term "wall-hugger" which we maintain is a generic term that has been used in the industry since the early eighties. The AM-PM frame is a "true" wall-hugger with zero clearance for conversion. Other frames could be considered "true" wall-huggers if the frame can touch the wall and the back-rest not touch the wall during conversion. The base of a "true" wall-hugger must also not move during conversion. A wall-hugger with a two or four inch tolerance will be defined as such. Several frames on the market with wooden and metal bases and metal mechanisms would be two inch tolerance wall-huggers, if the frame must sit two inches away from the wall to convert without the back-rest touching the wall on the way up or down.

These suggestions may never make it into anyone's marketing materials, but they allow us to better identify what's happening out there and also keep us out of hot water with manufacturers who have unique products in the "me-too" world of futon frames.

State of the Industry At Retail
- A Futon Life Exclusive

By Joe Tatulli

Our last retailer's survey was complied in 1992 for publication in 1993. Since then the futon-industry-at-large has gone through some major changes. The most significant of these changes has been the unprecedented growth in the number of retailers selling futon furniture. These retailers run the gamut from small, mom and pop start-ups to the huge mass merchants like Sam's Club and Costco and corporate catalog retailers like Spiegel, J.C. Penny's and LL Bean.

Everyone will agree that this growth has been great but it all comes at a price. Most of the retailers we talked to were excited about their business and its potential for the future. At the same time they were concerned about several key elements linked to both their prosperity and their survival. In most cases these concerns had a direct link to their suppliers. As in most industries that experience projectile growth suppliers can adjust more quickly than sellers. Retailers, therefore, sometimes feel victimized or at least neglected when crunch time comes, just before and during the Autumn rush. It is our goal to bring all these issues to light in the context of this growth curve, lifting out not just the problems, which are a part of any industry's manufacturer retailer relationships, but hopefully some suggestions and solutions.

Overall, the retailers we spoke to were upbeat and eager to talk about the place where the rubber meets the road on the retail floor.

The Survey

We decided to gather information on a select group of topics from a relatively small sample. We were able to speak one-on-one with retailers from coast to coast. Some of these folks were very willing to talk to us while others were less than eager to answer our questions. In fact several outright refused to tell us anything. We spoke to retailers with one store and others who had four to thirty stores. Some had futon specialty stores while others were more main stream furniture or bedding stores. After it was all said and done a consensus in the product section of the survey was not apparent. What was apparent though, was the fact that this industry's retail trade is very fragmented in what and how it sells.

The product section of our 1995 retail survey asked the following questions:

1. What is your hottest selling futon frame and what is its price point?
2. What is your hottest selling futon mattress and what is its price point?
3. What is your hottest selling futon cover fabric and what is its price point?

The results did not define a clear answer for the first question. None of the retailers listed the same frame, though several groups of two or three mentioned the same vendor. Generically, the frames of highest dominance were the hardwood bi-fold and the black metal bi-fold. Price point was a little more defined. The average price point for the entire sample was $ 340.00 the median average was $300. The highest price listed was $599.00 and the lowest was $149.

The hands down winner in the mattress category was the eight inch cotton and foam combo. Price points were much flatter than the frame category. The average price was $170.00 with the median at $159.00. The highest price was $349 the lowest was $89.00, with eighty-six percent of the prices coming in under $200.00.

Once again the story on covers is similar to the frames. No clear winner was evident from the responses we received. Prices listed went from a low of $39 to a high of $179.00. The average was $103.00 and the median was an even $100.00.

Other questions were asked to determine an average square footage for a futon specialty store or the size of a futon department in a traditional retail outlet. The average square footage for all respondents was 4800 square feet. The average square footage for futon floor space only was 3200 square feet. When we coupled this with the average gross sales per unit for 1994 of $457,000.00 we arrived at a dollar per square foot of $134.41. Comparing this to the traditional retail furniture industry's median DPF of $120.00 for 1993 (as complied by Furniture Today, January 30, 1995) we are looking pretty good. Considering the fact that 49 out of the top 100 retailers polled by Furniture Today didn't respond with the info necessary to calculate this number we also feel we are in good company with our calculations.

In the category of average ticket for a single sale and largest single sale we got the following results. The average sale was $445.00 with the median at $400.00. The highest average was $750 and the lowest was $200.00. For highest single sale ever the average was $1,730.00 with the median at $1,200.00. The highest-sale-ever reported was $4,500 with the lowest at $470.00.

All prices are based on full/double sizes

What They Said

We asked each retailer to respond to the following three questions. What is your biggest gripe overall with the state of the industry? What is your biggest gripe as it relates to the manufacturer-retailer relationship? and Where do think the futon industry will be in the year 2000? The answers were quite revealing. Many retailers combined their answers to questions one and two. You must keep in mind that we didn't solicit the manufacturers point of view in all of this. They have some equally vital issues too.

"My biggest problem right now is the negative image problems being created by the shoddy, low-end products being sold by the deep discounters and the chain stores," said Dave Garretson of Shelter Goods in Rochester, NY. "We are constantly answering objections based on this low quality perception," he said.

Garreston's issue was echoed by several other retailers.

"There are too many fly-by-night discount retailers who sell price not quality and value," said Irvin Sugimoto of Futons Etc. in Hawaii.

"As a manufacturer and retailer I see it from both sides," says Nancy Taylor of Dream On Futon in Bellingham, WA. "Many times we get a price increase from the manufacturer with no lead time to adjust our retail pricing strategy. We need more lead time before these changes go into effect," she said.

Ray Manasco of Sit n' Sleep, in Salt Lake City, UT stated that retailers need the advantage of some kind of generic guidelines, other than standard sizes, for futon mattresses.

"We have a real hard time educating our customers when it comes to the actual contents of a futon," said Manasco. "What we need are some simple guidelines to designate just what is in a futon. Let's say a futon is designated as an eight inch cotton and foam. We need a way to differentiate one being sold for $89.00 as opposed to one we sell for $159.00."

Manasco suggested a simple code like 8 - 2/1P - 75 which would tell retailer and consumer alike that this futon is an eight inch thick futon with two one inch foam panels, that weighs a total of 75 pounds. The foam portion of the code could relate flat panels (P) or convoluted panels (C) with the first number (2) relating to the number of pieces of foam and the second their thickness in inches (1). This may or may not happen but the issue remains: retailers need a better way to differentiate themselves from their competition in a given geographic area.

The real issue being voiced here is the issue of the price-only perception being compounded by the many new competitors at retail. "As a salesman I like to see my customers get a good product at a fair price, but all to often I hear about people who are turned-off to futon furniture because of a bad experience," said Wayne Holt of Futons & More in New York. Holt added, "Getting a sale at any cost will cause you to lose that repeat customer. It's going to be interesting to see who will be left on top of the futon mountain and who will be in the foothills."

Another topic that concerned many of our retailers was the "exclusives" issue. Obviously this topic could fall into the category of manufacturer-retailer relations, but some retailers addressed it as a problem for the whole industry. Some claimed that competing retailers were having their own suppliers recreate a frame they saw in the other person's store, while others claimed that they were simply being lied to by their suppliers who were merely changing their company name on the box and supplying a local competitor with their exclusive. Others applauded their suppliers who, in some cases, went as far as creating different arm styles for different retailers in a given city. This allowed the retailer to offer their customer a unique product and differentiate themselves from their competitor with something other than price only.

John Buster, who owns several retail outlets in the Boston area, detailed his concerns about domestically produced products. "We really have lack of sharp domestic choices. Some of the manufacturers are doing a great job but we see quality wax and wane depending on the season," he said. Overall, though, Buster is happy with the progress the industry has made in the past four years. "We are still seeing our business grow because this product is basically sound. Think about what we are selling: substantial comfort in a dual purpose sofa-bed at a price that offers real value," he said.

Buster related a story about taking two futon furniture sets to his lake-island getaway, by canoe. "What other piece of furniture can be shipped by canoe? We took these frames out to the island, set them up, and with the flick of the wrist converted them from sofa to bed and back. What you have here is the ability to go from home office to bedroom and back again. Throw in the covers and we've created a new architecture."

"So many people in this business are jumping in with absolutely no idea of what they are doing," said Bill Mennitti of Futon Factory Outlet in Phoenix. "These guys are selling a metal frame with metal slats and a four inch pad. Hey, there's no way the consumer is going to be happy with that six months down the road. We need to get the word out about this before we shoot ourselves in the foot," he said.

Other retailers, like Sandra Cadotte of Dragon's Lair Futons in Ann Arbor, MI raised the issue of qualified representation and sales training coming from manufacturers. This need has been addressed by many manufacturers and suppliers and they obviously have hit this nail on the head. These retailers hope that other quality frame and futon mattress makers will get on board with better sales tools and a live human being in their stores to answer questions and help them deal with day to day issues.

Gerald King of Environs in Richmond, VA said getting parts was a problem. This problem could be solved if his suppliers' rep came to the store for a regular visit.

Much of this criticism stems from the very nature of current state-of-the-industry. Manufacturers need deep pockets and perfect projections to be able to deliver products on time. A great majority of the traditional sofa business revolves around the retailer carrying a floor model and fabric swatches. The customer comes in, orders a sofa, and waits six weeks for delivery. With futons the retailer needs inventory to sell. Projectile growth plus hundreds of new retailers plus "I need it now " can make for some difficult business decisions. Don Thompson of America The Beautiful Dreamer, in the northwest corner of the country, cites poor coordination all along the supply line as the key problem to solve.

Small to medium size retailers may have to explore bank financing or other creative ways to help finance an earlier than usual inventory purchase. Planning ahead and developing a carefully thought out relationship with a reputable manufacturer is the key to this ongoing supply line dilemma.

Other problem issues raised by our sample of retailers were: false information used in advertising (mostly about cotton); lack of any quality standards; incomplete and delayed shipments; no definitive chair size standards; and an overall inexperience in product distribution.

2001 A Floor Space Odessy

We got some very interesting answers to the question of the industry's future. Almost all the responses were positive, which caused us to conclude that when you give people an opportunity to complain they do, but when you ask them what they really think they eagerly reveal the secret of their success.

The most prophetic answer came from Carlo Merli of Futonia in New Orleans, LA. "Unfortunately my name is Merli, not Merlin, still I foresee continuous growth, maybe to the point that all mattresses will be called "futon" i.e. waterfutons, springfutons or foamfutons."

We aren't sure about the later part of Carlo's prediction but the front end is our most universal consensus. "Specialty stores will dominate," said Karen Blank of Heartwood in Cambridge, MA. "We're convinced that business will drop off for the mass merchants and people will come back to stores that have trained sales people who know what the advantages of these products are," she said. "Hopefully the futon industry will be more publicized; more people need to know about the great products we sell," said Ray Manasco. "When people go out to buy a sofa-bed they need to know about this alternative," he said. "Specialty stores will be back in force," says Dave Buechner of The Home Store in Atlanta, GA. "Those who survive will do well. Price points will rise from today's average of $299 to $399, to $599 to $699. Right about where the rest of the furniture industry is with a mid-priced sofa."

Buechner also shared his thoughts very eloquently on the current state of the industry.

"This industry has lost its direction. We started out as a product category which was part of the back-to-basics, "natural alternative" theme of the late seventies and early eighties. Lately, as the industry has moved towards a wider acceptance, there has been a degeneration in pricing and quality. We have lost our theme." Buechner stated the challenge before us now is to chart a new direction as an industry: manufacturers and retailers alike working towards a common goal of growth within the context of a style. "The industry needs to explore the demographic and psychographic profile of the people who are buying this product now. If we can create a sense of environment on the retail floor that appeals to this group they will be better able to envision these products in their home. The clues for this "style" must come from the futon industry. We need to have a message that goes beyond price only. People don't buy price they buy value," he said. "If this industry works together to improve the quality at all price points and everyone works hard to develop the concept of "good value" then we will all make out in the long run," says Art Diamond of The Futon Shop in San Francisco. Diamond believes price points will go up too. "Raw materials will go up with availability and inflation, and prices will also rise because of quality improvements. All of this will cause retail price points to rise as well," he said.

Dave Garretson adds, "Futons are here to stay, but all of us are not. The business will be done by far fewer manufacturers and retailers. Most of the volume will be done by larger chains, with one or two specialty stores per market handling the better stuff," he said. The future is always difficult to predict, but we believe Garretson and other smaller specialty retailers may be pleasantly surprised to see the chains and mass merchants getting out of futons. We were not able to speak directly with any super-large mass merchants, but their typical behavior is to jump in when a trend is in the commodity stage and get out or at least back off when the market flattens out.

Matt Kallman of Futon Furnishings of Portland, ME and West Hartford, CT had a more sobering view of the future. "We've been in business for almost eight years and only a handful of resources have been available to us. It just seems foolish for poor relations to exist between the vender and the store," he said. Matt also raised the issue of moving the Futon Expo to an earlier date and having it in one, centrally located city such as St. Louis every year. This would allow East and West Coast shops to travel equal distances to see the industry's offerings.

"Forget the parties and judging of booths and just do business," Kallman said. We aren't sure everyone would agree with Kallman concerning the show, in fact, we here at Futon Life have always been in favor of a moving show, at least for the next few years. This will allow more and more retailers to see this category by driving to the show as opposed to flying in and incurring the expense of air fare, hotels etc..

Nancy Taylor's response was short and to the point. "Futons will become a household word." We agree and are all working hard to make that happen.