The Mattress Obsession: Pillow Talk or Profits?

Calm down, sex fiends… this is an honest observation. Has anybody else in Northern California noticed the hyper-frequency of mattress selling on the TV and radio? I can't be the only one. Was it always like this, and I just never realized until I'd been away from it for so long? 

When I start the day with 10 minutes local TV news for traffic and weather, I probably see three mattress adverts in that time.  The three largest competitors each have their gimmicky trademark jingles and one even has the family pet as a mascot. 
My commute to work is about 4.8 miles in a relatively small city. I drive past two mattress retailers on my way, randomly situated near a post office and the Mexican supermarket. En route, the radio adverts  for "getting a better night's sleep!" dominate the air waves. 

Does this part of the world have a disproportionate obsession with comfortable sleep?  Sure, it's vital and all that, but why all the hype? I expect more car commercials, more prescription drugs, but everywhere I turn, the almighty mattress rules. Seemingly benign - yet somehow approaching sinister. Was there a bedbug epidemic I missed? Is there really that much advanced technology that goes in mattresses, now? I hear more about things to sleep on than tablets or smart phones. 

And so, I recall the mattress situation in the UK. I pretty much hated every mattress I had there. That's a decade of mediocre - or just plain uncomfortable- sleep. Another thing I noticed when I moved there - no such thing as a Queen-sized bed. Not formally, anyway. I'd ask in the department stores about a Queen sized mattress and they'd correct me. Is that supposed to be offensive to HRH or something? I started to notice that beds were either marketed as 'Double' or 'King'.  And what they classed as a King was about the size of our Queen. The California King size was unheard of. If you were in a hotel, a King might be two twin beds pushed together. Fittingly, over there the mattresses are probably manufactured to be smaller since the bedrooms are tinier. In my London flat, what was classed as a third, single bedroom might have fit a small tot's cot. 

Today I sleep on the best set of mattresses I've had in years. Perhaps the quality of the mattress is the key to the quality of life. Better sleep, better awake, happier, more productive. The mattress rage could replace therapy and put me out of a job!

Good luck to the somnambulist - there's got to be something for you - if nothing else, you can take up counseling sessions.