India, Sept. 8 -- I was sceptical when Duroflex first told me about the Airboost mattress. I have used enough mattresses over the years to know that a new material does not automatically mean better sleep. So when the brand offered to send one over for 40 days of testing, my only goal was to understand if this was really going to feel different from the mattress we already use. The timing was good. My husband has ongoing back discomfort, while I had started feeling the effects of spending long hours at my desk. After eight hours hunched over a laptop, my back and neck were beginning to complain, and I was waking up with the occasional backache.

Then there was the heat issue. We are both hot sleepers, but our temperature preferences are c...