While an ever-growing array of mattress options and online mattress retailers like Leesa and Casper have slightly changed up the mattress buying game quite a bit, there are a few questions that remain pretty central to the whole process of finding the right fit. One of the biggest: should you go with a hard or a soft pick? While the answer may be a matter of personal preference and health, there are a few key pros and cons to each option that you should keep in mind when it comes time to snag a new mattress for your bed. Even though a lot of people consider hard mattresses to be the more uncomfortable of the two options, they actually come with a host of benefits. For starters, the fact that a hard mattress has less give than a soft means that it helps you maintain a neutral position in your spine better. A firm mattress also improves oxygen and blood flow while you’re asleep, which helps promote better breathing and circulation. On the other hand, firmer mattresses can be uncomfortable to sleep on at first, though they tend to get a bit more comfortable over time.
Harder mattresses are also typically bad news for anybody who has problems with their lower back, like arthritis or scoliosis, which is why it’s important to consider things like personal health when determining the best fit. One of the biggest draws of soft mattresses is that they’re generally considered to be way more comfortable than firm options. They’re also helpful in reducing pain or discomfort in people dealing with joint or lower back pain, be it due to medical conditions or aging. Comfort aside, though, soft mattresses often have a tendency to sag easily over time, making them less optimal as long-term options. Depending on the level of softness, a soft mattress can also wreak slight havoc on your spine since it doesn’t provide a lot of support for your body during sleep.Once we reach 30, back pain is more likely to become part of our life in some for or other. It's an unfortunate truth, and for back pain sufferers, choosing a new mattress can be a particularly agonising decision.
Everybody has different demands, requirements, and different ways of sleeping, but here are a few tips to consider that may help you make the right decision. Many people have the mistaken belief that a firm mattress is the best thing for a bad back. However, if the mattress is too hard, the spine and muscles will stay tense all night, while a mattress that is too soft will cause your spine to droop like a hammock. Both cases can have painful consequences that are bad for your health. A good mattress should support your spine evenly in a natural position and allow your muscles to relax completely. The mattress should ensure that the weight of your body is distributed evenly when you are lying down. If the mattress is too hard, your body will only be supported in a few places rather than being supported evenly. If the mattress is too soft, it will fail to provide suitable support or it will support you in the wrong places. If you tend to sleep on your back, then your weight is distributed more evenly on a larger surface and a firmer mattress is best for you.
The spine needs more support to stay in the correct, natural position. Side sleepers place more pressure on their shoulders and hips. In this case, a hard mattress is less good, because it hinders the circulation of blood in the areas of greatest pressure, which will cause them to wake up and turn around. The right mattress should be slightly softer, but still provide consistent support for every part of the body. "Skydivers" should have a mattress that responds evenly to the body's shape and weight distribution. A combination of a harder core and softer upper layer is best – it will provide support for the spine and prevent it from curving, while the softer upper layer provides more comfort for the joints and muscles. When you lie down, your mattress should allow the body's weight to distribute evenly across every point it comes into contact with the mattress. Support should mainly be felt in the lumbar region and in the neck and shoulders With most mattresses, the body's weight is focused on one point, e.g. the bottom.
Take care to ensure that your mattress gives you even support for your entire body. This way, your spine will be in the correct position when you are lying in bed. Don't forget that all Dormeo mattresses come with a free 60 night comfort guarantee. If after 60 nights of sleeping on it you find it's not for you, just let us know and we'll refund you the cost of the mattress.A great night's sleep starts at the surface level. If you're sleeping on a mattress that creaks, feels uneven or too hard, or if you wake up with unexplained pains all over, it may be time to finally make the upgrade. Luckily, the online mattress industry has boomed in recent years, with companies seriously prioritizing the quality of their materials and significantly streamlining the shopping process, while keeping their customers' sweet-dreaming satisfaction at top of mind. Check out our list of the 10 best mattresses you can buy online now. 100 Secrets to a Better Night's Sleep – Starting Tonight The Best Mattress Protectors to Safeguard Your Bedding Investment
10 Lap Desks That Create An Impromptu Workspace Anywhere Baby Products for 2017 10 Toddler Beds You'll Wish Came in Your Size Our 30 Favorite Home Decor Destinations to Shop Online 10 Crisp White Duvet Covers For Sweet Slumbering 50 Beautiful Bedroom Decor Ideas to Create a Serene Sleep Space 20 Bed Pillows to Get the Best Sleep Possible 11 Chic Shoe Cabinets to Keep Your Kicks Organized 15 High-Quality Bed Sheets You'll Be Dreaming About All DayWhat to Do When Your Mattress Is Too Soft or Too Firm Why Mattress Firmness Matters Remember the story of Goldilocks and the beds? She tried three different beds, trying to find one that wasn’t too hard or too soft, but “just right.” Turns out, she was really on to something. Of course, “just right” bed firmness is a subjective thing about which opinions will vary wildly, and—as we saw with Goldilocks—most people would have to lie down on the bed before they could even say what “just right” means for them.
So how do you find your “just right” when it comes to mattresses—and what can you do if you realize that the mattress you have doesn’t fit the bill? First, let’s take a moment to drive home why you should care about the firmness of your mattress. The short answer can be distilled down to one word: alignment. Diving little deeper on that, your spine needs to be aligned while you sleep. Lying in an unaligned position for eight hours a day, every day, can contribute to serious back pain as well as negatively affect your sleep quality. Mattress firmness, in turn, plays a big role in determining how aligned you are. What’s Better, a Firm Mattress or a Soft Mattress? Firmer mattresses provide more resistance for your body, which can help support you but can also apply too much pressure to certain points of your body, leading to painful pressure points or unaligned positions caused by your body compensation for any local discomfort. A soft plush mattress, on the other hand, can cause your spine to collapse into the mattress, which leads to its own alignment issues.
Ultimately, there’s no straightforward answer about how to choose a mattress or whether a firm mattress is better or worse than a soft one. Spend some time doing a little research and a thorough mattress comparison before making a decision. Each person’s preference will vary based on a multitude of factors, including height, weight, age, and whether or not you have back pain or other health considerations. Your sleeping position will also play a role: Side sleepers tend to need softer mattresses that don’t put too much pressure on the shoulders or hips. Back sleepers are better off with a medium firm mattress that supports the low back without pushing too much on the spine. Stomach sleepers require a firmer surface that prevents the body from sinking into the mattress and collapsing the spine. To make it all even more complex, your firmness needs may very over time as injuries, pregnancy, or weight fluctuations change your sleep needs. How to Deal with a Too-Soft or Too-Firm Mattress
If you come to the realization that your mattress is too firm or too soft, the best thing to do is to buy a new mattress. Of course, finances or other circumstances don’t always allow for that. In a pinch, here are some makeshift solutions for remedying your current mattress firmness: If your mattress is too soft, try slipping some plywood boards between the mattress and the box spring or the bed frame. This will add some extra support. Try a mattress pad or mattress topper. Pillow-material mattress toppers can help soften a too-firm mattress, while thick pads or firm mattress toppers can add some more support.Some mattress materials, like ones made from 100% memory foam, can become softer in warmer rooms, so try adjusting your thermostat to see if it makes your mattress more to your liking. If your mattress is too soft and it’s two-sided, try flipping it. The unused side will often be firmer. A better solution for finding your best mattress is to choose an adjustable latex mattress.
As we outlined above, everyone requires different levels of firmness—and what’s more, you need different levels of mattress firmness for different parts of your body, and all these needs are subject to change throughout your life. Because of these variables, choosing one level of firmness for your whole mattress just doesn’t make sense. That’s where adjustable mattresses come to the rescue. In the case of Reverie, each of our latex mattresses is composed of individual DreamCell™ foam springs that come in three levels of firmness: firm, medium, and soft. Our Sleep Specialists help customers determine the precise configuration of these DreamCells to best support each area of their body—so their shoulders can rest on a soft surface while their low back presses against a firm one, for instance. In addition, these DreamCell™ foam springs can be easily reconfigured at any time (we’re talking under 20 minutes) to respond to any changing sleep needs. The individual natural latex cells also allow for different firmness levels on each side of the bed, meaning back sleepers and side sleepers can rest side-by-side, each with the support he or she needs.