Sleep in Luxury with Origin LumbarCloud™ Mattress 

We’ve been talking about upgrading our daughter’s mattress to a bigger size like for quite a long while now because she’s been asking when she can have a big bed like ours. It’s been probably about a year or so. You know, since she grew up and started having a mind of her own.  

So we had promised her an upgrade some time when she turned 15 or 16 and well, that day has come! We decided on the queen-sized Origin LumbarCloud™ Mattress

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Mattress just out from its packaging and resting

The mattress comes sealed like a huge bolster in a box and the delivery people would help to set it up. Thereafter, the mattress needs time to rest to get to its original state which takes, I was told, about 6 hours.  

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Just set up and shifted in place 

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Mattress looking more puffed up after 3.5 hours

Designed in Germany, the Origin LumbarCloud™ Mattress, which has won 20+ international awards, is specially designed for sleepers with chronic back and joint conditions, having up to 3000 springs for optimal spinal alignment and ComfortPlus™ Titanium Springs for extra back support.  

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The Origin AntigravityGel™ provides weightless, pressure-free sleep and the Origin LumbarRelief™ helps with full-body recovery and relief. The premium mattress is equipped with the unique LumbarCloud™ Pillowtop for therapeutic support and pressure relief. Since our daughter has some back issues, even though it’s not back pain, we thought that the features of the mattress is a good fit for her. 

Apart from all that technology that goes into the making of the mattress, it is also made of graphite foam, which is 10x more cooling than memory foam. In our crazy hot weather, it is certainly something that we appreciate!  

It also comes with an anti-slip base on the underside of the mattress… 

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Something we realised when we tried to slide the mattress on the platform in her room and it just refused to budge 😛  

Our mattress was delivered at 6.30pm due to traffic delays, so we waited as long as we could before putting on the sheets at almost midnight.  

Almost 6 hours later… 

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Finally set up for bed! But someone has left his BEAR there to chope his place at night. 

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Another look at the super comfy 35-cm thick mattress in daylight 

Overall, I’d say we can definitely feel the support of the Origin LumbarCloud™ Mattress – it doesn’t sink in, but it is still very comfortable. You’d have to try it yourself since everyone has a different idea of what makes a comfortable mattress. Some prefer the mattress to be very firm while some prefer it very soft. I’d say after having a one-night sleepover in my daughter’s room, this is not on either extreme. You can always take up the 120-night trial Origin offers to try it out for yourself. There’s also free same-day delivery and a 15-year warranty on the mattress. 

Speaking of sleepovers, they are the rage in my house now, but it started about mid-September, when my husband went overseas for a business trip and I had my children bunk in with me in my room so they kinda got hooked on having sleepovers in different rooms. So they have been bunking in with us or in their rooms, but mostly just their rooms. But guess who’s been having the indefinite sleepover in her room since the mattress arrived?  

I’d say this pair of siblings really enjoy each other’s company, especially with all the post-exam late-night chats. But now he’s just bunking in with her because he likes her mattress more than his own, something which he has declared with certainty. And of course, he has been asking for one of his own, despite enjoying the sleepover sessions because who can resist having a great mattress? The Origin LumbarCloud™ Mattress is the Luxury Mattress of the Year 2023 in UK and Australia, but it certainly is the mattress to have in my home!  

This post is done in collaboration with Origin. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions expressed are mine. 

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CircleDNA Review – Say Hello to Me

When you are in your 40s, you’d think you already know all about yourself. But well, my assumption that that’s true is only well, partially right. The first time I came across CircleDNA was online during the covid time. At that time, I remember thinking to myself, wow, that’s cool and that would be a great way to find out more about myself. But then more pressing matters always came up so this year during my birthday month, when CircleDNA asked if I would be alright to do a review of their Premium CircleDNA test, I jumped at the opportunity to finally get tested.

How it’s done

It’s actually really simple. When you have decided on the test you want to do (there are four to choose from), a package will be sent to you. All you need to do is to follow the instructions in the test kit, download the CircleDNA app to register the kit, swab and arrange for FedEx to pick it up then wait very patiently for the results. It takes awhile from the time you order it to the time you actually get the report, probably about 20+ days.

The results

When your results are ready, you’ll be able to see it on your CircleDNA app. You can view the detailed report or click on the Summary first for an overview.

The Premium DNA test offers 500+ reports over 20 categories.

After clicking on a section for instance, Diet, you’d be able to see your optimal diet type as well as other dietary sensitivity details:

If I click on each item, there would be further details. Besides the result, you can click on the Recommendations tab to find out what you can do about your sensitivity etc.

What I particularly like is the Diet, Nutrition and Sports and Fitness sections. For someone like me who’s always trying to go on diet and exercise to combat my yoyo-ing weight, I finally have some idea what I should work on.

And well, it seems that my yoyo-ing weight is written in my DNA because under the test “Weight Regain”, it is clearly stated that I’m at Elevated Risk. Sigh. I guess I have it tough then. But it also explains why over the course of the past decade, my weight has been fluctuating madly between 46 – 53kg. I’ve also noticed that as I age, the time I take to lose the weight increases. The effort level required also increases with age. But now, I have a better understanding of my DNA so I can take better steps to achieve my weight goals.

Under the Sports and Fitness section, you can find out more about what sort of exercises suit you better and will therefore take out some guesswork on your part. The Nutrition section also tells you what you’re lacking so you can work on giving your body the nutrition it needs for greater health in the long run.

The Common Health Risks section is also good for you to take proactive steps to ensure that you take better care of your health. For instance, I have an elevated risk of high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. With this knowledge, I can take steps to ensure that it just remains an elevated risk rather than reality.

Some people don’t want to do a DNA test because they think that it is best not to know too much about ourselves. What do we do with all that information? What if it’s information we cannot handle? Personally, I feel that the information obtained from our DNA tells us what’s written in our genetic code but it doesn’t mean that your destiny is set in stone. Instead of viewing it negatively, you can take steps to attain better health and nutrition and get the most out of your time, effort and exercise.

What sets CircleDNA apart

  1. All kits include a non-invasive, FDA-approved saliva collection swab and test tube, with free delivery both ways.
  2. The CircleDNA test uses a unique Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) technology which conducts a full scan on all your protein-coding genes, providing you with comprehensive and accurate results (99.9% analytical accuracy).
  3. Encrypted Secured Data: Data collected is not sold, leased or rented to any third party. CircleDNA adheres to leading international security standard ISO-27001.

There is supposed to be complimentary 1-1 phone consultation regarding the results but I have not managed to book a slot, so I cannot comment on that at the moment of writing this review. It would definitely be useful I guess if you have doubts to clarify.

So is it accurate?

Well, based on my own results, I would say it is largely accurate. For instance, it did very accurately show that I have a dust allergy, a higher pain sensitivity and it even showed that not enjoying thrill is in my genes:

In a nutshell, I’d say there are some things I would definitely trust the DNA test for: ancestry origins, details about my health based on my genetic makeup; I wouldn’t argue with what science says about my physical traits.

Overall, I really love the comprehensive DNA test because I have finally found out more about my ancestry as well as how I can take steps to be in control of my health. Now that I know more about myself, I wouldn’t have to beat myself up every time I see my weight fluctuate like the stock market. Well, some things are in my genes and I just have to make greater effort to make things work the way I want. I think it will improve my quality of life since I have the knowledge of my body to improve my health and achieve my fitness goals!

Disclosure: A CircleDNA Premium Test kit was provided for purposes of review. All opinions are mine. No monetary compensation was received.

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