Is your mattress stopping you from getting a good night’s sleep? Are you waking up with lower back pain or neck pain on account of an old ratty mattress?

There are plenty of ways to promote better, healthier backs such as frequent exercise and correct posture, but are you giving enough thought to your mattress? These tips can help you pick out a great mattress that can help alleviate back pain and promote healthy deep sleep.

THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE

Which bed did Goldilocks sleep in in the popular children’s fairytale? The Wee Bear’s bed, of course. Perhaps one was too soft, the other too firm, but Wee Bear’s bed was just right.

When searching for a new mattress to get cosy, restful sleep, be like Goldilocks and look for a mattress that is just right for your needs.

JUST THE RIGHT COMFORT

The first and most important consideration on a personal level is to find a mattress that’s comfortable enough for you. No matter what you may have heard about soft or firm mattresses, an uncomfortable mattress will most certainly lead to challenges sleeping and possibly discomfort and exacerbate back pain conditions.

Try to think of a particular mattress that left you feeling invigorated and well-rested, perhaps from a hotel stay on holidays in the past, for example. Look for a mattress with a firmness similar to what you’ve experienced in the past (and liked, obviously).

BODY WEIGHT

Your body weight plays an important role in determining how adequate one particular mattress will treat you. If you’ve put on a stone or two during lockdown, you may benefit from a firmer mattress that better accommodates the extra weight without sinking in too much.

On the other hand, light sleepers may wish to avoid too firm a mattress as the rigidity of these mattresses may not provide the right amount of comfort to promote deep, healthy sleep.

SLEEPING POSITION

Your normal sleeping position matters an awful lot, and we’ve written about this in our previous blog posts. Nevertheless, Better Backs promotes side or back sleeping only. Avoid sleeping on your stomach and pair your sleep with a high-quality pillow. A good pillow and a good mattress are amongst the best investments one can make, considering around a third of our entire life is spent in bed!

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Lonesome bachelors and bachelorettes may have the benefit of having the whole mattress all to themselves, but couples, families, and pet owners that love to snuggle in bed should consider these needs as well.

There’s no point choosing a mattress that’s either too firm or too soft if your partner won’t be able to sleep at night, so some compromise will need to be made. Some mattress manufacturers provide bespoke mattresses with varying firmness for couples or families that sleep with newborns or toddlers.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MATTRESS

If you’re in the market for a new mattress, it’s helpful to know where to start when it comes to firmness. In the sleep industry, mattress manufacturers and retailers often use a rating system ranging from 1-10, with 1-4 being extremely soft to medium-soft and 5-10 being medium to extra firm. Most mattresses are somewhere between 4 and 7 out of 10 firmness.

We didn’t mention this in the beginning because, although helpful, the most important considerations are normally more subjective in nature – your personal preference for comfort, your body weight, and your sleeping position.

BETTER BACKS

Get a good night’s sleep and get your back in great shape with professional chiropractic services at Better Backs.