We all know this:
Sleep is crucial for your overall wellbeing.
And it is not just about getting sleep.
No, it also means getting quality, undisturbed sleep!
And although there are various factors as to why you might not be getting enough quality sleep, sometimes, the main culprit that makes achieving an 8-hour long undisturbed sleep impossible is your mattress.
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Here are 5 sneaky ways how a mattress affects your sleep and your overall health!
1. Spine Alignment
Our spine works really hard during the day and is in dire need of enough rest in order to stay strong and do its job well. Without a quality mattress, you are putting yourself at risk for muscle fatigue, body soreness, and back problems.
The best mattress maintains the same neutral and natural spinal alignment that you have when standing. If your body is allowed to rest in a natural position, your muscles and spine are more relaxed and you will have a quality, undisturbed sleep.
A study by the Oklahoma State University asked a group of people to replace their mattresses every 5 years. After replacing their old mattress, these people reported a dramatic decrease in back pain and better sleep.
2. Increase Appetite
An ultimate sleep resource can help you in having a better night’s sleep. And a quality, undisturbed sleep can actually help you in shedding pounds and achieve your weight loss goals. Sleep deprivations have been associated with an increase in appetite and hunger as well as obesity. Lack of sleep stimulates cravings and appetite for high carb and high-fat foods as well as pushing you to overeat and binge-eat.
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And if you think deeper, you gaining weight and your faulty eating patterns can all be related to sleep loss, all due to your old mattress. Also, an old mattress may keep you awake every night, which gives you an idea to snack or binge in the middle of the night.
3. Memory Impairment
Suffering from poor memory can be caused by different aspects such as old age. However, if you are still young and is not nearing the half of your life yet, then you might want to consider your sleeping patterns. Poor sleep can cause poor memory and cognitive functioning which in turn is because of old mattresses that will keep you awake for hours.
Even when you are sleeping, the brain is busy doing some work. During the deep sleep known as REM sleep, your memories are being formed. So, if you cannot enter REM sleep, then your brains are simply not going to form any memories right away which results in memory impairment.
A study revealed that getting enough quality sleep can help you do better on tests as well as learning new languages faster.
4. Weaken Your Immune and Cardiovascular System
An old mattress may prevent you from getting a good, undisturbed sleep which in turn weakens your immune system. And this is how you become more prone to simple colds as well as various types of diseases and even the severe ones.
Also, as strange as it may sound, lack of a good night’s sleep can also put a toll on your heart functioning. A study revealed that people who suffer from poor sleep have 48% more chances of developing a heart disease, compared to those who get enough sleep.
5. Contribute to Night Sweats
If you are not a woman or a woman but not in the menopausal stage or not taking any medications such as antidepressants, but wakes up in the middle of the night literally bathing in your own sweat, then you might want to point fingers on your mattress.
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Although it is not summer, sometimes, you get too hot while you sleep, potentially due to your mattress. If your mattress is made of materials that hug your body, like dense foams, then the heat that is released from your body when sleeping can be trapped and lead to excessive heat retention and cause sweating. Night sweating can then interrupt a good night’s sleep and affect your overall wellbeing.
You can fix this problem by wearing breathable pajamas or choose bed sheets with light fabrics, but if you can you should replace your whole mattress completely.
