If you find yourself tossing and turning or just really unsatisfied with your quality of sleep at night it may have something to do with what you’re sleeping on. A mattress can impact a person’s sleep and can be the difference of tossing and turning or enjoying your slumber.
Lying on any part of your body for an extended period of time puts weight on your blood vessels with decreases blood flow and deprives the skin of oxygen and nutrients. Pain sensors and nerve cells in the skin send messages to the brain to roll over or change sleeping positions, in response to this cut off of oxygen and nutrients. This restores blood flow to the area however it does interrupt your sleep. A solution to this is a mattress that reduces the pressure points on your body.
Each person’s body is different and therefore each person benefits from a different type of mattress. The price tag only tells you what it is worth in terms of material quality but what you really want to look for is the firmness level. A mattress that is too soft will cause you to sink and one that is too hard will put added pressure on the back of the head, shoulders and sacrum. The medium-firm mattress you want to aim for varies from person to person so it’s always best to test out the mattress before purchasing.
Some beds come with adjustable features for raising the legs or head, which are beneficial in some medical conditions that one would have trouble breathing such as COPD or night time heartburn from GERD. Adjustable beds can be used as well to relieve pressure on soar joints.
Memory foam mattresses are commonly thought to be better than a regular coil mattress, however they are pretty much the same. The main benefit for a memory foam mattress is for those sharing a bed as they reduce motion transfer meaning you will feel the other person’s movements less when they are changing positions or getting into or out of bed.
The general lifespan for a mattress is about 10 years. If you keep it longer than that you may start to notice a decline in your quality of sleep. You may also see an indent of 1.5 inches or more (to measure indent, place a straight board across the bed and measure the distance from the lowest point to the board). If you experience severe back pain it is possible you may need to change your mattress more frequently than that to achieve the most optimal comfort at night.
Any pain or discomfort in between sleep-less nights can always be adjusted here at the Madison Sports Injury Centre with a treatment from our Chiropractor. Remember to shop for medium-firmness and book an appointment with us today if you need a quick fix-up before your mattress is ready to go.