The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) and mattress manufacturer Serta are joining forces on an industry partnership to promote sleep education among consumers. As part of this program, Serta’s flagship Perfect Sleeper will be redesigned with input from the NSF and will be the "Official Mattress of the National Sleep Foundation." Additionally, the new Perfect Sleeper mattresses will come with an NSF educational "Guide to Sleeping Well" booklet designed to help consumers get the most out of their sleep every night. 

"More than 40% of Americans report problems sleeping every night or almost every night," says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. "One factor that most people overlook when it comes to improving their sleep is the importance of the mattress. We recognized a tremendous opportunity to bridge this gap, which led us to our partnership with Serta."   

The NSF chose to work with Serta, the second largest bedding brand in the industry, after an exhaustive "request for proposal" process that began last year. The Foundation sought an established partner to collaborate on a new sleep education program that would be paired with a quality mattress to be enhanced with input from the NSF. 

As part of the partnership, Serta will distribute an estimated 750,000 educational materials each year to help customers improve their sleep for life. The NSF’s guide will be a needed "instruction manual" for a very sleepy population, covering the basics of healthy sleep, ways to improve sleep, disordered sleep, and when to seek help for sleep problems.

New Serta Perfect Sleeper mattresses carrying the "Official Mattress of the National Sleep Foundation" designation will start rolling out in 2010 and will be available nationally through all Serta retailers by 2011.