According to The Washington Post, the mattress industry is brimming with innovation and constantly rolling out new products to improve sleep. Some mattresses allow you to adjust the firmness or sleeping angle. Others include cutting-edge cooling technology.

Despite all these bells and whistles, many people are turning to the past to solve their sleep issues. That’s where tatami mats come in. This humble, traditional Japanese sleep setup has gained a loyal, relatively small (but steadily growing) following. 

Valued for their firmness and simplicity, tatami mats offer an ascetic alternative to the plush and heavy beds to which so many Americans are accustomed. They are typically 1 to 3 inches thick and traditionally are made of woven strands of rush grass (igusa) covering a firmer core of compressed rice straw.

However people style their tatami, the setup does offer benefits. The firmness of your sleep surface is hugely important, said George Cyril, MD, FAAPMR, physiatrist at HSS. We may associate soft, cushy mattresses with luxury and comfort, but Dr. Cyril said that after a few nights you’ll realize that the lack of support puts unnecessary pressure on different parts of the body. “It can compromise blood flow to certain areas and put you in misalignment,” he said.

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