"We've been looking for an opportunity to get into this market, but up until five years ago, we didn't see there was a desire or a need for the upper-end product," said Adrian Jones, director of sales for Hypnos USA, which has its U.S. factory in Gallatin, Tenn.

Does paying a small fortune for a bed ensure the perfect snooze? It depends who you ask.

Chicago attorney Charlotte Wager, 42, has spent more than $13,000 in the past three years to buy Hastens mattresses for herself and two of her children. Wager said she likes the beds and their 25-year warranty so much that she's considering buying two more for her older children.

"You want to be able to go to bed at night and rejuvenate and rest and recuperate," Wager said. "And to me, the mattress is an investment in that."

Michael King, a mattress buyer for the Macy's department store chain, attributes the fivefold increase in the price of top-end beds sold by his company to consumers' heightened awareness of the importance of rest.

"They're investing more in their home in general and they're thinking about sleep in a different way," King said. "It's connecting health and sleep in one, instead of just looking at sleep as something they do every night."

The luxury bed sector is poised to become even more important for big-name mattress companies. They see a handsome profit on lower-priced luxury alternatives that can still cost thousands.

The trend has been in the works since the early 1990s when Lexington, Ky.-based Tempur-Pedic International Inc. introduced its memory foam bed.

"Once the mattress manufacturers realized that consumers would pay thousands of dollars for a mattress, we saw other companies rush to enter the market with their own versions of premium bedding," said Morningstar analyst John Gabriel.

Sealy's treasurer Mark Boehmer said the Trinity, N.C. company expects about one-third of its future growth to come from its higher-priced offerings.

At Serta International, a Vera Wang-branded line announced last year has helped the private company post double-digit growth. The mattresses, which include aloe vera "enhanced" fabric, sell for up to $4,000. And this month, the Hoffman Estates-based company also will begin selling its "Serenity" collection — springless beds made with latex that will cost up to $3,000. Plans are also in the works for more expansions to the No. 2 bedding brand's premium and luxury lines.

"(Customers) aren't as sticker-shocked as they might have been three to five years ago," said Maria Balistreri, vice president of brand management.

But to people like Wager, it's all about the slumber.

"It's more than just a bed," she said. "What you're buying is a peaceful night's sleep."