Memory Foam vs Spring MattressesI’m going to cut straight to the chase with this page on my website, and start by telling you the main reason spring or “coil” mattresses are still manufactured is because they’re cheap to construct and to buy. The technology used within a spring mattress hasn’t changed that much in many years, and the support you received from a new one bought 10 years ago will be the same if you buy one now. However, I’m not about telling you what’s good for you and what isn’t. My job is to make sure you get both sides of the story and I think this page will be very useful for those of you who are not sure if moving from a spring mattress to memory foam is the right choice for you. So, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons you can expect with both types. Of course, I will try not to be biased, but I can’t help starting with memory foam. There is far more choice with a memory foam mattress simply because of the abundance of technology available to manufacturers.
Plus the levels of firm to soft are far more accurate than that of a coil spring, not to mention the different layers foam mattresses can have. Starting out with a foam mattress before you suffer from back, neck or shoulder pain could stop this from happening all together because you get the natural support you need from the word go! If you do have trouble with various aches and pains whether they’re mild or severe, a foam mattress will definitely help because it supports important pressure points across the body. Unlike a spring mattress, the technology within is like having billions of tiny springs supporting your frame and it will contour to your natural shape much better. Think of it like buying a suit that’s been made for you rather than buying “off the peg”. Foam mattresses will last much longer and the warranties available are more extensive because the materials used are far superior to that of a spring type. Largely, you’ll be doing the environment a favor especially if you look out for the CertiPUR-US certification.
One of the biggest complaints about foam mattresses is the fact they produce additional heat. However, there are brands on the market like the DynastyMattress 12-Inch New Cool Breeze GEL I have reviewed that pretty much eliminate this problem. Depending on the way of packaging, you may have to wait for your mattress to expand before you can use it, and in some cases there will be an odor. Finally, yes, foam mattresses will cost you more. But, they last longer if cared for properly and could avoid problems in the future due to aches and pains caused by a poor sleeping surface. First of all, as I have mentioned a spring mattress is cheap. The main reason for this is the technology used to construct them is pretty basic. When you first buy a spring mattress, there is no need to wait until you can use it because they “spring” to their original form instantly. Since spring mattresses don’t rely on heat to adjust to your body, you won’t get the problem of being too warm when you sleep.
They are well ventilated. You won’t get the “outgas” odor that’s sometimes synonymous with foam mattresses because of the materials used. If you don’t like the idea of waiting for your mattress to conform to the contours of your body, a spring mattress might be the answer. This is a personal issue though, and most people get used to this characteristic of memory foam fairly quickly (plus new foams and layer set-ups are being developed every day, making the problem slowly go away). If you suffer from various aches and pains, don’t expect a spring mattress to help. This is because the coils within simply push weight back at the same pressure at which it’s received. This leads me on to another con with this type of mattress… Body weight will not be distributed evenly so it’s impossible for a spring mattress to help support various pressure points around the body that can cause spine or joint problems. It’s virtually impossible to find a mattress of this type with anything more than a 10 year warranty due to the materials used and in many cases they will start to sag after a year or two because of the way they’re designed.
Maintenance of a spring mattress will take up much more of your time because they not only need to be rotated often, but flipped as well.Why is it that kids (or people who don’t seem to have back problems) can sleep in the strangest, most bizarre positions, but never seem to have any pain? How is that they can sleep in totally unnatural positions and still sleep just fine? And why is it that even when I try to sleep in a perfect position, on a great bed, with tons of pillows, I can’t sleep. What the heck is going on? After many years of sleepless nights, I figured out the answer. Exclusive Bonus: Download a bonus step by step guide here to getting pain free (2 tips not mentioned here). Alright, so you’re going to have to trust me on this next one – your spine wants to be perfectly aligned all day. Standing, sitting, walking, sleeping – your spine really only has one optimal position, although it’s obviously built to accommodate flexibility and constant motion.
When you mess up that natural, optimal alignment for too long (like when you sit at work for 8 hours and get terrible lower back pain), pain results. Here’s a common misalignment of the spine, where the shoulders are hunched and the head pokes out (computer caveman syndrome anyone?): And here’s another common spinal misalignment that is frequent in many of us who sit a lot. Tight hip muscles cause the lower back to overly arch: So what do any of these have to do with your sleep? It’s important to know what proper spinal alignment is versus dysfunctional alignment – so that when you sleep you can quickly remind yourself how to get into a properly aligned position. The real question is how to keep the natural position of the spine while sleeping. Depending on how tight your hips are, if your legs are too straight, it will pull the lower back into an arched position. If your legs are too bent, tight hamstrings will pull the lower back into an overly-rounded position.
The key is to find the sweet spot in-between. For many of us with tight hamstrings, tucking the legs up too close to the chest will result in an over-rounding of the lower back. For those of you with neck/upper back pain, it’s really important to pay attention to your shoulder and neck alignment. Generally, the main problem that people have with back sleeping is that the lower back starts to ache. Usually this can be because of tight hip muscles like the hip flexors & psoas. It’s pretty easy to figure out if they’re tight: Just bend your knees to a 90 degree angle – when your legs are pulled up, is there less pain and does your lower back feel less arched? If so, it’s probably tight hips. The easy fix is to simply add a pillow beneath your knees, which will let the lower back settle a bit. The problem here is very similar to the problem that people have with sleeping on their back – but in reverse. Here, you want to put a pillow or flat towel under your stomach/groin to help push that lower back up into alignment a bit.
Usually you can immediately feel the relief. If you’re having problems with your back or neck, I highly suggest sleeping on your back. There are a number of reasons for this: first – just from personal experience, sleeping on your back is generally the easiest way to aggravate the fewest number of things (well, except for snoring ). When you sleep on your side, you have to worry about your back alignment, neck alignment, your hips twisting, etc. When you sleep on your back there is less than can go wrong and fewer variables to experiment with to get comfortable. Second, when you sleep on your back, you are naturally laying flat which is letting gravity re-align the body a bit. It’s offsetting the fact that you might have just been sitting in a caveman computer pose for 10 hours (here’s how to fix that back pain). Also, if you have neck pain, I’ve found that back sleeping is also easier than side sleeping for some people. People with neck pain tend to have protruding necks (in my case – from staring at a computer screen for 10 hours a day).
Usually when they go to sleep the neck continues protruding and stays in the poor alignment, reinforcing the pain. It took me years of waking up to throbbing neck muscles and spasming trapezius muscles, with a crap night of sleep, to realize this. At the end of the day, deviation from your body’s natural alignment will cause pain in the long-run. The key is to maintain better alignment throughout the day, and while you’re sleeping. If you’re at work, make sure to focus on sitting properly to prevent back pain. If you’re in pain when you’re sleeping (or when you wake up), take the same precautions – for a few weeks, awkwardly force yourself to get into a more aligned position when you sleep. Missed sleep sucks, and I’ve been there with the back pain. You just need to be patient and experiment. I also have a free back pain E-course for you in the private insider’s list. Just click here (or click the image to the right) and it’ll bring you there.