Note from Peggy Howell: I recently invested in a mattress called The Big Fig Mattress. After a few weeks, I am quite pleased with the mattress so I asked the company to send an article for the NAAFA newsletter. Their article follows:

The Big Fig Mattress is the first mattress built from the ground up specifically for bigger figure sleepers.

What does “bigger figure” mean, exactly? Bigger than what?

Bigger than the body types typically portrayed in other mattress companies’ photos? Yep.

Bigger than the body weight that most mattresses can comfortably support for 20 years? You bet.

The Big Fig Mattress is built specifically to support a single person's body weight of up to 500 lbs, or a couple with a total weight of 1000 lbs. After a period of research and development, the Big Fig was released in January 2017 by a family-owned mattress company with 90+ years of experience building high quality, hybrid innerspring mattress systems. The Big Fig Mattress is made in the USA.

Every piece of the Big Fig Mattress addresses an individual need or pain point of a plus size sleeper: High density foam to prevent mattress sag, 50% more coils than the average premium innerspring mattress maximum support, firmer foam around the edge to extend support to every corner, ThermoGel & perforated foam for a cool and comfortable night's sleep, 16 real tufts to prevent internal shifting of materials overtime, a foundation that supports up to 5X the weight of a standard box spring, a heavy duty bed frame conservatively rated to support up to 2000 lbs, and a 20 year warranty with proven durability: the Big Fig Mattress has been rigorously tested to last 20 years with published results (view test results at www.bigfigmatress.com).

At Big Fig Mattress, our mission aligns with the Body Positivity movement, a vision based on self-love, body acceptance and positive life choices. We believe that the mattress industry has ignored bigger figured consumers with an attitude that each mattress "works for everyone" while ignoring comfort and durability issues. Every person is entitled to a comfortable long-lasting mattress designed to support him or her, and every person is entitled to the truth about the mattress in which they invest.

We want to reach people that are most likely to benefit from the Big Fig Mattress, and help them achieve a better night’s sleep.

We look forward to gaining your support, and encourage you to test out the Big Fig Mattress through our 101 Night Trial. Stay positive, value your identity, ignore negativity, and always, always, get a good night’s rest.

Contact us: affiliates@bigfigmattress.com, 1.888.344.6547

The last two months I wrote about how conditions outside of you can affect how you feel physically. For instance, watching the news can inflame you emotionally, which can contribute to feeling lousy physically. Try watching less news and see if you feel better. Today we'll see how feeling satisfied is also an anti-inflammatory.

We often speak figuratively. I might say "my hip is killing me". But is that really true? No, it’s a bit dramatic. What's true is that I often have discomfort and sometimes sharp pain. What's also true is sometimes and in some positions, I have complete comfort. I have trained myself to focus on the moments when nothing hurts. Right now as I write this column I am sitting in a comfortable position and nothing hurts! I feel satisfied about that. I also feel satisfied that I know to focus on the times when I am comfortable. Moments of satisfaction that you find intentionally are soothing and empowering. The more you feel satisfied, even on small things, the better you will feel emotionally and physically.

Sometimes you may need to distract yourself from your pain or discomfort. Focusing on pain often makes it more stubborn. Purposefully distract yourself from the pain and feel satisfaction about that distraction technique. I suggest engaging with something (audio, visual) that you know will feel good. (Distracting yourself with Facebook or commercial TV will often not be useful as you distract yourself from physical pain into anxiety or anger.) Be selective. Be aware of what you are feeling. Your emotions can guide you to a better feeling place.

The trick to engaging with your body, your world and your emotions in this way is to start early. When you first wake up you have a moment to choose how you want to feel and what you want to focus on. Do you love your pillow? How about your bed? Your bedroom? Maybe it's wonderful to have privacy or peace and quiet. Find a way to feel satisfied early in the day and take it from there.

Next month we'll look at an interesting way to re-direct thoughts about pain itself.