On Bedding : A Few Minutes with ‘The Sleep Doctor’

January 1, 2013  by Howard Whitman in Bedding, Product   

 Known as “The Sleep Doctor,” Dr. Michael Breus , Ph.D. certainly has substantial cred to justify that title. A clinical psychologist who has specialized in sleep disorders, Dr. Breus is a Diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine and a Fellow of The American Academy of Sleep Medicine. His 2011 book, The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan: Lose Weight Through Better Sleep, details the connections between sleep and metabolism, and he has appeared on a variety of TV talk shows, including “Oprah” and “Dr. Oz.”

Dr. Breus has applied his expertise to a mattress collection, The Dr. Breus Bed, now at retail. He recently spoke with Home Furnishings Business about his beds, their benefits, and their retail potential.

HFB: Let’s say I’m a new customer walking into a store.  You’re a retail sales associate. How do you guide me to your beds?

Dr. Breus: I would say that probably the most salient points of the beds are, warm people sleep cool and cool people sleep warm. So one of the first questions that I teach RSAs about, is to ask people ,“How did you sleep last night?” Not what price they want to pay or what size—we’ll get to those questions later. I really want them to get into a conversation about health. And there are some easy questions to ask:

“How many times did you hit the snooze button?” That’s actually a telltale sign of how sleep-deprived somebody is. If you hit the snooze button more than once, your body doesn’t want to get out of bed, which means you haven’t gotten enough sleep yet.

I ask people questions like, “How long did it take you to fall asleep?” Somebody will say, “Oh, less than five minutes.” That’s actually not a good scenario. Your body should take somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes to fall asleep. So if it’s not taking that long, again it means you’re sleep-deprived and your body’s forcing you into sleep very quickly.

We ask consumers if temperature is a problem for them. Also, “Do have any pain when you sleep?” So again, we’re talking about physiology-based questions. “How old is your mattress?” sometimes is a very interesting sign. I don’t believe there’s a particular number of years a mattress should be held onto by a consumer. I think your body tells you when you need a new bed. So when you wake up with aches and pains, it’s probably time to think about a new bed. I will say, I think there’s an upper-level limit, but I don’t like people holding onto their beds more than seven years.

HFB: Price is going to be a part of this conversation, especially in a tough economy.

So how do RSAs get past that and sell the benefits you’re trying to bring to this industry?

Dr. Breus: One of the things that I always talk to with RSAs is that we have to give people an understanding of what the value of sleep really is. For me, I think it is immeasurable, but I’m a sleep doctor, right? I understand that people have a fiscal responsibility that they have to know and understand. These products were designed to help you sleep better and sleep longer and deeper for an extended period of time.

This is not a product that you’re going to buy again in two years, three years, four years. It’s really an investment in sleep, so that’s how we have people talk about it. Price is really the last thing that they come to. It’s really about, “How important is sleep in your life?” And if sleep is important in your life, then this makes sense. It’s like eyeglasses to me.

This absolutely has been effective so far. There are definitely consumers out there who say “I’m not spending more than $599 on a bed.” I understand that. I’m responsive to that. That’s not where these products lie. Will we ever get there? Maybe. I’m not sure. Here’s my problem: The materials in these beds are so specific, and I spend so much time finding the right (ones), that if I actually get the right material in the bed, the raw materials cost more than $599. So I can’t get down to that price unless I cheapen the materials, and I’m just not going to do that.

HFB: How has the response been at retail for your line?
Dr. Breus: It’s been excellent. We’ve been thrilled with what’s been going on with people.  … We’ve been very thrilled with the response—and it’s interesting, people are much more interested in selling health as opposed to selling a puffy rectangle.

And I like that idea. I’m here to try to change the industry, with the industry. I want to educate the industry and all of the RSAs out there. I believe that everybody who owns a sleep shop or a furniture store that sells mattresses is actually a healthcare professional. This is a piece of healthcare equipment, that’s how I look at it. I always say, “If you were going to run a marathon, you wouldn’t do it in flip flops, right? You’d do it in good shoes.” The same holds true for a bed. The people should be matched—the right bed for their sleep needs, and they will perform better and be healthier.