We spend a third of our lives in bed and whether this time is spent sleeping soundly or tossing and turning can depend quite heavily on the mattress you have invested in. Lying on any part of your body for an extended period of time, reduces the flow of blood through the blood vessels on that part of your body thus depriving your skin of the oxygen and nutrients it needs. Your nerve and pain sensors then send a message to your brain telling you to turn over. Rolling over restores the blood flow to the area but also briefly interrupts your sleep. In an ideal world, your mattress should reduce the pressure points on your body and in turn give you a better night’s sleep. However, every body is different and finding the best bed or mattress is a very personal thing. The mattress market — it’s personal The most important thing to consider is your personal comfort. Look for a mattress that fits your body (it is supposed to conform to the spine’s natural curve and distribute pressure evenly) and feels comfortable.
Chronic back pain is one the most challenging medical conditions to treat and/or cure – and yet it sends more people to the doctor than sore throats. Sitting all day at a desk or standing in heels wreaks havoc on spinal alignment and most of us don’t exercise enough to undo that damage. Sleep can help heal the abuse we throw at our backs but most of us don’t sleep on a mattress that adequately supports our backs and joints. And when we don’t give our backs the rest they need, mornings can be painful. If you and your mattress have lost that loving feeling, let’s talk about the ways a mattress can hurt your back – and the types of mattresses that can help back pain management and support. Mattress support refers to how well a mattress can maintain an equally level surface for the lighter (head, hands and feet) and heavier (hips and torso) parts of your body. A very soft mattress may be supportive initially buy may fail to support your body equally as time goes on.
In extreme cases, a soft mattress that begins to sag (which often occurs in the center third of the mattress) can result in lower back pain in and out of bed. An important thing to note is that some degree of dipping (in that middle third of your mattress) is a natural occurrence as areas that support the heaviest parts of the body compress over time. While a supportive mattress is important, pay attention to how it conforms to your shape as well. Conformability describes how a mattress molds to the unique curves of your body. A mattress with good conformability attends to heavier and lighter areas equally, which relieves pressure point pain and protects your back from pain. A mattress that lacks conformability can result in lower back pain by forcing it into an unnaturally flat position. Your body is in alignment when the spine is (mostly) straight when lying on your side. When you lie on your back, your spine naturally forms an “S” shape. A supportive, conforming mattress allows your back muscles to relax, which improves healthy blood circulation and reduces tossing and turning.
Mom always said the firmer the mattress, the better and for many years I slept on a mattress that felt more like the sidewalk than a bed. Thanks to those years, my chiropractor and massage therapist enjoy job security. In general, mattresses fall into three categories: Does your mattress offer you the support, conformability and firmness you need to reduce your back pain? Many people confuse firmness with support when they’re shopping for a new mattress – and conformability often never enters the conversation. To minimize pain and discomfort and help your body relax into healing, regenerative sleep, you need a mattress that conforms to your sleeping position while supporting all areas of your body – not an easy task. So how do you find the best mattress for you? Grab your partner (if you don’t sleep alone) and start mattress shopping. By shopping, we mean lying on a lot of mattresses. Talk to lots of sales people – this is their business after all – but be prepared to test mattresses for yourself.
You know how your body feels on a bad mattress, so it makes sense that you’ll also know what feels good. Try these 3 simple rules when shopping: What’s the true cost of a good mattress? If you spent $2,000 on a new mattress and slept comfortably on that mattress for 7 years, the cost of healthy sleep would be $1.27 per night – less than the cost of Starbucks coffee in the morning… If you’re ready for a new mattress, we’d love to help you find the right one for you. Visit our Find a Retailer page and we’ll locate a store close by where you can lie on our mattresses and talk to a trained sales professional.For something so simple (even babies do it), sleep isn’t such an easy thing. Both too little and too much time dozing has been linked to a host of health problems, from obesity and heart disease to dementia and diabetes. And sleep position can play a role in snoring, heartburn, and even wrinkles! Read on to see if you should switch it up in bed (remember, we’re talking sleep here).
Pros: Snoozing in savasana pose is a boon for spine and neck health, because the back is straight and not forced into any contortions. Plus back sleeping helps the mattress do its job of supporting the spine. In a perfect (and kind of uncomfy) world, everyone would sleep on their backs without a pillow, as this position leaves the neck in a neutral position. Using too many pillows, however, can make breathing more difficult.Back sleeping is also a winner for the more cosmetically inclined. Spending all night with the face out in the air—and not smooshed up against a pillow—leads to fewer facial wrinkles ((The influence of the sleeping on the formation of facial wrinkles. Cons: Instances of snoring and sleep apnea are much more frequent when a person is sleeping in the supine position. In fact, back sleeping is so closely linked to sleep apnea that doctors prescribe side sleeping as a treatment for the condition. When we sleep on our backs, gravity forces the base of the tongue to collapse into the airway, which obstructs breathing and creates oh-so-pleasant snoring noises that keeps the neighbors up at night.
It’s also worth noting that a supported spine doesn’t always necessarily mean a good night’s sleep. A study comparing the sleep habits of good sleepers and poor sleepers noted the people with worse-quality sleep spent more time on their backs than the good sleepers (Sleep positions in the young adult and their relationship with the subjective quality of sleep. Pros: Side sleepers, unite! Whether they’re curling up in the cozy fetal position or lying straight on one side, the vast majority of people report sleeping on their sides (although since everyone is unconscious during sleep, this information can never be entirely accurate).Doctors encourage sleeping on the left side during pregnancy because it improves circulation to the heart, which benefits both mom and baby. Side sleeping is also a pregnancy winner because sleeping on the back puts pressure on the lower back (which can lead to fainting) and stomach-sleeping is impossible for obvious reasons ((When it comes to pregnant women sleeping, is left right?.
For those not expecting, sleeping on the left side can also ease heartburn and acid reflux, making it easier for people with these conditions to doze off.Cons: At the same time, sleeping on the left side can put pressure on the stomach and lungs (alternating sides often can help prevent organ strain). And as almost all side-sleepers know well, this position can result in the dreaded squished-arm-numbness. Snuggling into bed with the arm behind the head is a common sleep position, but it may adversely affect muscles and nerves. Resting the head (or the whole body) on a single arm can restrict blood flow and press down on the nerves, which results in “rubber arm” or painful pins and needles. In this position, the shoulder supports a lot of the body’s weight, which can constrict the neck and shoulder muscles ((Sleep position and shoulder pain. Pros: Stomach sleeping eases snoring and some cases of sleep apnea, but that’s pretty much the only good thing about going belly-down at night.