Sleep is vital in maintaining a healthy body and mind. It is something we all need, but many of us have difficulty in achieving or maintaining it on a regular basis. A lot of these problems stem from our lifestyle and can be resolved with simple changes to our daily routines or habits. However, regularly poor or inconsistent sleep can also be caused by having an inadequate mattress. Here are some ways an unsuitable mattress can affect your sleep.
Too Firm
There are some people who prefer to sleep on a soft mattress, whereas others prefer a firm one. However, if a mattress is too firm it can cause joint pain. All of your body weight will rest on a mattress. If it is too firm could lead to chronic joint pain. This is caused by excess pressure on your shoulders, knees, hips, and back. However, if your mattress is firm, there are tips for extra comfort you can try, including breaking it in. You can always try using a mattress topper or changing the frame that it rests on, to see if you can get it to soften.
Lack of Support
If a mattress does not provide the correct amount of spinal support you will not have a good sleep. In fact, you will wake up with back pain – some people will regularly experience this – which is a sign that your bed is not providing adequate support for your spine. This can lead to long-term issues, aside from sleep deprivation, such as a loss of spine curvature and muscle strain.
Trigger Allergies
An ideal sleeping environment is somewhere peaceful, dark, and cool. You use the same mattress to sleep on, in this same way, every night. This makes your mattress an ideal breeding ground for mites and other allergens, especially if your room and mattress aren’t regularly cleaned. Mites feed on the skin you shed. Their fecal matter and dead bodies can trigger allergic reactions each time you lay on your mattress. Typical reactions include sneezing, a runny nose, or difficulties breathing. Furthermore, they can exacerbate health conditions like asthma and hay fever, making obtaining good sleep problematic.
Night Sweats
We all have an ideal temperature at which to sleep. Some of us like to snuggle deep into our duvets, keeping warm, whereas others prefer to have a cool room, using their duvet to keep them from getting too cold. Others like to control their body temperature by keeping one foot out of their duvet whilst the rest of their body is covered. All these variants show that temperature is an important factor when trying to get a good night’s sleep. Your mattress, like your duvet, can affect this.
If your mattress is not made of breathable material, it will retain your body heat, transferring it back to you because it cannot release it any other way. This, in turn, will increase your temperature and could even result in night sweats. Waking up, drenched in sweat, will obviously not be conducive to your sleep.
Stress and Anxiety
Yes, an inadequate mattress can cause stress and anxiety. Taking all the above factors into consideration, they all amount to one thing: you are not being able to sleep or are suffering from sleep deprivation, and research has shown that lack of sleep can lead to poor mental health, affecting your concentration levels and appetite. A good night’s sleep can also help ward off health conditions, such as depression, or certain anxiety disorders. With sleep disorders on the increase, doing what you can to help maintain positive sleep hygiene, like investing in a mattress that’s right for you is a good start.
Out with the Old
It is recommended that your mattress is replaced roughly every six to eight years. However, this is only a guideline. If you’re unsure about whether your mattress needs replacing, consider whether it
- affects the quality of your sleep,
- has dipped in the surface, making it look uneven
- makes a noise when you lay down and move on it
- causes you pain or discomfort when you awake, like joint pain
- induces allergies
If it causes one or more of the above then it is more than likely time for you to consider purchasing a new mattress. This is even more important to do if you are simply not getting a good night’s sleep every day.
Who would think something as simple as a mattress could affect the quality of life? Unless a mattress is causing pain, many of us would more than likely not consider how our mattresses could have such an impact, but they do. Purchasing one is one of the most important purchases you will make for your home. A bad mattress can not only affect your health, but it can also affect your daily routines, and this is all because of a lack of sleep. So if your mattress is making you miserable, consider looking for a better one today.
