I remember being a kid and thinking life was complicated. It wasn’t. Having to decide between a half pint of chocolate and regular milk in the lunch line was not a tough decision compared to the choices that lay ahead. But there were a lot of things that seemed more important at the time.

Decisions weren’t the only things that were easier back then. Once upon a time, I could sleep anywhere at any time. Stay up until 4 in the morning? No worries; I was up at 7 or 8 o’clock sharp feeling refreshed enough to go for another day. Hell, waking up at that time was almost automatic, regardless of when I went to sleep. And I slept in all kinds of weird places — random couches, an assortment of beds when jumping between staying with family members, even the floor on nights when parties got a little too raucous.

Last night I realized that those days are completely behind me. I have about three beds I can sleep in comfortably. Everything else is broken. Sure, some beds are still adequate for a decent night’s sleep, but there’s only a handful that don’t leave me with a sore back in the morning. And the most recent example was sleeping in Dave’s Tempur-Pedic bed when the ATB crew was in Phoenix this past weekend to celebrate his birthday.

I wanted to like the Tempur-Pedic bed. I did. And having been given the chance to sample it for the first time, I can even see why a lot of folks swear by them. It does a good job molding to your body so that your spine stays in alignment and all that jazz. And it’s not like it was uncomfortable.

Still, faced with the Shangri-La of beds (especially compared to the couch and floor alternatives), I couldn’t sleep. We were already running on a shorter night from catching up with a friend for a couple hours, and had to wake up early for a tee time — I know, I know, first world problems. But it meant every hour was vital, and I spent most of them wondering if the couch was a better choice after all.

For me, a good night’s sleep is all about comfort. My bed at home is a makeshift queen that’s on an old-school boxspring mattress, but I’ve built it up with mattress pads, down comforters and flannel sheets to make it a sort of padded heaven. In the meantime, I’ve looked at options like memory foam or Sleep Number beds, but have found them lacking.

(Abrupt rant: Why are Sleep Number beds so popular? Once you find out what number you actually like, isn’t it just like every other bed, but 3x the price? I don’t get it. It’s almost as useless as a mattress being able to keep your glass of wine from spilling while you jump on the bed like a 9-year-old.)

That’s why I’m here today with a valuable PSA: Invest in a good mattress, kids. Well, not kids. But for those of you just moving in to your own place, like college sophomores or teenagers with affluent parents, it’s the gift that will keep on giving.