Improved spinal health through innovative research into mattress design

Project dates: 03/04/2017 - Ongoing

Sealy Australia are working with the QUT Biomechanics & Spine Research Group (BSRG) to discover the critical factors that affect a person’s spinal comfort when lying down and therefore the quality of their sleep. The BSRG were excited to announce this initial three-year partnership in 2017 and gratefully acknowledge the important on-going support of Sealy.

As part of the first study program from 2017-2020, young and healthy adult volunteers (aged 18-30 years) were assessed to determine how their body shape, alignment and perceived comfort changed when they lie in different positions on mattresses of varying stiffness. The study outcomes established a new understanding of the biomechanical elements that are important indicators of lying comfort.

The next arm of this collaborative work (2020-2023) sought healthy mature adult volunteers (aged 55-70 years) and also included professional sleep assessments during home mattress trials to understand the multi-factorial aspects of sleep biomechanics and sleep quality determinants.

The existing datasets will be extended in the next phase (2023-2025) to describe sleep biomechanics for people in middle adulthood (age 30-55), thus creating the most extensive and detailed multi-age dataset of its kind in the world. This will have a key translation into industry relevant outcomes to define human-based guidelines for which sleep surfaces should be designed.

In supporting these research projects, Sealy is drawing upon the world leading capabilities offered by the QUT BSRG team – we are a team of experts, bringing together engineers from Medical Engineering at QUT as well as specialist Spinal Orthopaedic Surgeons.

“The BSRG aims to apply our skills to real world scenarios. This joint research project provides an exciting avenue for discovery, giving us the opportunity to contribute to an international industry leader that has a mission to improve consumers’ health and well-being,” said Associate Professor Little.


Funding / Grants

  • A collaborative research agreement with valuable research support provided by Sealy Asia-Pacific. (2017 - 2026)

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