Edmonton company helps obese get sleep
Marty Enokson slept on the floor for 20 years with only a slim piece of foam beneath him and a light sheet and quilt thrown over.he knew the floor could support his bulk in ways that regular mattresses and bed frames couldn’t.
After all, his latest foray into the mattress world was buying a new one for $1,700 that came with a promise it could handle his 300 pounds, far lighter than his original 502 pounds before he had bariatric surgery in 2009. It lasted all of six months, Enokson said, before the springs completely compressed and the sides caved. Promises by the sales person meant nothing when Enokson tried to return it and was refused a refund.
Now, the 45-year-old is eager to snuggle down on his own customized mattress, made specifically for obese people weighing 250 pounds or more by an Edmonton company that gives a proportion of the retail sales to support the Canadian Obesity Network.
Dr. Arya Sharma, scientific director for the Canadian Obesity Network, believes there is no other such mattress in the world like the one designed by Edmonton mattress manufacturer Araam Inc.
“I think there’s a huge market for this because like it or not, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of Albertans or Canadians who weigh more than 250 pounds,” Sharma said. “It’s a good example of how an organization like the Canadian Obesity Network and obesity experts can partner with local industry to create products that are meaningful. We’re quite proud of this.”
The mattress is made in three parts, then put together so clients can tailor each section to fit with their body shape, since some people carry their weight around their bellies, others in their thighs and buttocks. Clients may choose from two types of memory foam for a cushiony, soft feel for their head. The middle portion could be made out of a durable latex material that is very resilient and buoyant and bounces back as soon as the person gets up. And someone with leg rashes and sores because of heat and dampness in skin folds might be better served with a gel, since the gel is in a honeycomb structure that keeps a person cooler during sleep.
“I’m not a tiny guy. I’m still a heavy man,” Enokson said. “The studies show if you’re not going to get a proper sleep, you’re going to gain weight. When you don’t have a bed that can support your weight, you’re not getting comfortable sleeps.
“Everyone believes that a large person is large because they’re lazy and they’re fat and they’re sloppy and they don’t do anything. That’s so not the case,” Enokson said.
“I think we need to accommodate more. I just think it’s very, very innovative.”