This is a story that hits close to home for me! Heck, it should hit everybody close to home. Who doesn't want or need MORE sleep? From the right mattress.. to the right pillow, blankets and sheets -- everything you put in or on your bed counts.

Whether you're a traditional box-spring mattress kinda person.. or you're looking for air, water or foam -- your mattress is a major part of making sleep-time good. The experts say you really do have to goto the store and spend some time lying on a mattress... and you have to do it with the right pillow. Here's how it breaks-down according to the folks at Select Comfort: 80% of your sleep quality comes from the mattress, 20% from the pillow -- everything else is icing on the cake.

There are back, side and stomach sleepers. Stomach sleepers should place their heads on the corner of their pillow -- the part with the least loft. The whole idea is to straighten out your spine while you're asleep.. to allow it to stretch, elongate. Some experts say ideally, tummy sleepers should use no pillow at all. Those who sleep on their side.. should go for a pillow with more depth.. the broader your shoulders, the deeper the pillow from top to bottom. The idea here, is to raise your head, therefore straightening the spine. Now for those back sleepers. You guys should look for a pillow with a center channel that allows your head to fall back. The edge of your pillow should fit under the back of your neck, providing it support. You can, of course, find all of this information on the world wide web. Along with more suggestions on finding the perfect mattress, too.

In doing this story, we learned there's a lot of science that goes into many of the items you find in or on your bed. Pillows and mattresses are just the beginning. Now-a-days, manufacturers are using new materials to help keep you warm and in some cases, keep you cool while in bed. Outlast is one example (remember the menopause pj's????) You can find Outlast in mattresses, mattress pads and other bedding -- along with pj's.

For those who are making an effort to "go green". We even found sheets made out of bamboo. And yes, they were very soft. On the topic of sheets. Our experts say thread count and the type of cotton are the two most important factors in choosing sheets. Your budget also affects this purchase, but you can get high quality sheets without breaking the bank. You really have to shop around AND make sure you're buying Egyptian or Pima cotton. Again, there's tons of information on the web about buying sheets.

I could go on FOREVER about sleep and bedding. The bottom line -- it's got to be COMFORTABLE. We're getting you on track with our 'Sleep Story'.. Thursday night at 11 on 13NEWS -- so, here's to a good seven to nine hours in la-la land wrapped-up in the comfort of your own bed!

ps: check-out my story on the WVEC.com for some helpful links on shopping for mattresses, pillows & sheets