Scientists don’t fully understand why we sleep. What they do know is that sleep is incredibly important. It helps maintain and heal our bodies while it also keeps our minds sharp and our mental faculties working correctly.
Disrupted or disturbed sleep can have a range of long-lasting consequences. For this reason, people take all sorts of measures to improve the quality of their sleep. How much does your mattress matter? Can it improve your sleep? Let’s find out.
Why do We Use Mattresses?
Being comfortable is the key to a good night’s sleep. Mattresses provide us with a soft surface to sleep on, offering us support through the night while also working to retain heat. These days, there are various different types of mattresses available, from the basic to the advanced and expensive. Just check out some mattress stores and see for yourself. Let’s look at how mattresses affect our sleep and discuss how to pick the best one for you.
How Does a Mattress Affect Sleep?
A mattress isn’t simply a surface to sleep on. It acts as a support mechanism that keeps your body stable during the night. Our bodies are covered in pressure points composed of small blood vessels. If pressure is applied to one of these points for an extended period of time, the brain will receive nerve signals encouraging us to move or roll over, relieving pressure on these areas.
A good mattress should be soft and malleable enough to reduce pressure across all of these pressure points. By offering consistent and comfortable support, a mattress should allow you to sleep without waking to move or change position. However, a bad mattress will be uneven and will put more pressure on certain parts of the body. This can lead to disturbed sleep, which can ultimately result in health complications.
Types of Mattresses
There are a number of different types of mattresses available. Each can offer its own unique advantages and disadvantages, and some people might find particular types are more suitable than others.
Traditionally, mattresses were made using a system of inner springs that worked to support the sleeper. Spring mattresses are still commonplace, but we’re starting to see an increase in the popularity of memory foam mattresses. Memory foam mattresses can mold themselves to fit the unique shape of the sleeper and offer far greater levels of comfort and support.
Mattress hardness is an important factor that must be considered. Generally, sleep experts recommend that medium-firm mattresses are the best for improving sleep. These can offer the perfect balance between comfort and support. They keep the spine aligned during sleep and can promote a healthy night’s rest.
Conclusion
It’s impossible to overstate how important it is that we get healthy sleep every night. Sleep has numerous benefits for us, both physically and mentally. Your mattress is vital and can significantly influence the quality of your sleep. Ensuring you have a good mattress is one of the most important things you can do to improve your sleep.