When To Replace Your Mattress
Knowing when and why you need to replace your mattress can be tricky as there is so much myth out there, no doubt in part propagated by the manufacturers themselves! It’s also additionally challenging though as there are so many different variables too. What kind of mattress are you talking about? A regular mattress for your home bed, a camping mattress or even a mattress topper? Is your current one make of internal springs, memory foam, latex or have you opted for a popular organic filling? The combinations are seemingly endless! While buying a new bed possibly isn’t as frequent a purchase as the mattress itself, and you may well make do with your frame for many more years to come, it can be a bit of learning curve. If you’ve already started to suffer from chronic backache, then you definitely know that you have waited too long to replace your mattress!
To Sleep, To Dream!
There are plenty of false marketing claims doing the rounds out there in dreamland. By all means, try counting sheep if that helps you drift off into a deeper slumber, but do yourself a favor and don’t be a sheep by believing everything you see written in that latest advertising campaign. Those cleverly scripted claims are all intended to make you swap that mattress of yours sooner rather than later, aren’t they?
The 8-Year Rule
It’s a common enough misconception that your mattress should be changed every 8 years but is that really the case? Well, actually, the Better Sleep Council does recommend that you change it every 7-10 years so yes, that’s a pretty good safe bet. In reality, it depends on how you take care of your mattress. We’re not talking necessarily about how much action it sees! Although, props to you if you have managed to wear yours out and break your bed frame too and so you’re replacing your mattress out of necessity! If you are on the larger side, chances are that your mattress will need to be replaced more frequently. As with all things in life, quality lasts longer too so if you bought a quick fix inferior mattress when you first bought your new home together, it might need replacing before 7 years. Your body, or specifically, how your body feels when you actually wake up, is the best indicator of the state of your mattress.
Your Mattress Is A Piece Of Performance-Enhancing Gear!
The way to think about your mattress is the way you think about those running shoes you regularly change and upgrade. It’s a piece of performance-enhancing gear. Only rather than making you run further and faster, your mattress will help you sleep sounder for longer! Makes sense right? You need something that’s designed to be supportive, and that has been manufactured to give you a comfortable and restful nights sleep. Not something that leaves you in any amount of pain or discomfort, grumpier than a bear with a sore head who’s just got out of the wrong side of the bed! If you wake up feeling “meh” then it’s definitely time to go shopping for a new mattress or at the very least to investigate getting a temporary solution such as a mattress topper which might tide you over in the interim.
Hard Or Soft Option?
Knowing which kind of mattress to invest in is going to be your next issue. Again, there seems to be a commonly accepted opinion that the harder the mattress, the better it is for your back but what’s more important is that you pick something out that is right for your own physiology and anatomy rather than just picking the hardest mattress you can find. Consider what your favorite and most natural sleeping position is and make sure that you go for something that best supports you when you’re in that position. It’s all about getting the balance that’s right for you between conformity and support. If you find yourself rolling into a hollow in your mattress, you definitely need to be treating yourself to a new one!
Soft mattresses conform to the body but deliver limited support, medium-firm mattresses can provide a decent amount of comfortability but also with some much-needed relief for targeted areas where you might need to alleviate pressure, and a very firm mattress is going to be the ultimate in support but lacking in that comfortability. Only you know what it is that your body uniquely needs to ensure that you get a good nights sleep.
Telltale Signs That It’s Time For A Mattress Upgrade
If there is a visible dent in your mattress that’s like one of those outlined chalk silhouettes from a crime scene, perfectly etching out the contours of your body, then you know your mattress needs to be given the big heave-ho! Whether your bed is made of foam, fiber, pillow top to springs, it will eventually wear down over time and visibly sag where there are frequent bodily pressure points. You don’t want to have the sensation that you are sleeping on a hammock! That might be OK for a few nights of survival style camping, but at home, you want to be comfortably cocooned and supported all night long.
Neutral Spine Position
If you are waking up with chronic backache, that’s a sign that your spine isn’t being correctly aligned while you are sleeping which again, can be a physical indication that it’s time to change that mattress or to invest in a new mattress topper. If you wake up with an overwhelming sensation of stiffness and soreness which noticeably begins to feel better once you get up and start to stretch, a worn out mattress is most likely the chief culprit.
It doesn’t matter whether your preferred position of slumber is on your back, your stomach or on your side, your spine should still be adequately supported and under no circumstances should you be able to slide your hand between your body and the mattress. You should naturally be able to rest with a neutral spine.
You’re Developing Allergies, Or Those Allergies Are Worsening
Another indicator that it’s time to replace that well-loved but quite frankly dog eared mattress is if you suddenly develop allergies or they become progressively worse even though it’s not strictly speaking allergy season. Your mattress is a breeding ground for dust mites, and over time they can accumulate in your matters no matter how fastidious your cleaning routing might be. While steaming and vacuuming your mattress and flipping it around or over may reduce some of the symptoms, if that’s not the case, then it really is a strong sign that it is now time to bite the bullet and go get a new mattress.
Have you gained a cohabitor or perhaps even put on a few extra pounds?
If you have suddenly gone from being single to having a partner, then it might be that your existing mattress just isn’t adequate to support you both? Likewise, if you’ve put on or lost weight, that could also impact the support that your sleeping surface provides. Either way, it looks like the next purchase on the top of your shopping list is going to be a new mattress.
On a final note from us. Sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite!
Comments