Another night spent tossing and turning? What is the secret to sleeping better? A good new mattress can be the best sleep aid and has no side effects. Start the mattress search now!
How Do Mattresses Affect Our Sleep Quality?
Mattress stores seem to be popping up left and right. How can we choose the best mattress? Normally, we test a mattress before purchasing it is by the “flop test.” The so-called flop test is when an individual flops on top of the mattress, and if it feels right, it’s the one.
But there is so much more to buying a mattress and making sure we will be able to have a good night’s sleep, night after night. One of the best ways is to check out mattress reviews online. Another way to test a mattress is how we feel while we are sleeping and not awake.
The Research Triangle International and Dr. Andy Krystal and Jack Edinger from Duke University did a 4-year trial to see how mattresses affected our sleep and discovered that different support (firmness) of the mattress affected our sleep and our alertness during the day. Tossing and turning is an obvious factor that our mattress is not right for us. We want our mattress to be your best sleep aid.
What to look for in a new mattress?
The mattress should support our backs properly, not too soft or firm. We should not wake up with sore shoulders or our necks hurting.
Let’s consider this, one of the top mattresses on the market can appear to be semi-firm to an adult weighing about 180 pounds, but now, another adult that weighs 240 pounds lays on the same mattress and describes it as medium-soft. The firmness of a mattress changes according to our weight.
Mattress reviews often describe certain mattresses as soft, fluffy, medium-firm, semi-firm, or firm but which is the correct firmness to have a good night’s sleep? Well, trusting the label saying medium firm can be misleading, as we saw above the individual’s weight can change the firmness. We need to judge and try it ourselves. Many online mattress companies give you a 100-day testing period.
Why do we need proper support?
To answer this question, we need to understand what happens when we sleep. As we all know, we need to reach REM (Rapid eye movement) which is just one of the many stages of sleep we need to pass through each night.
That is why a good mattress is the best sleep aid for us because sleeping medicines produce side effects that interrupt these stages of sleep all together, we may be able to sleep, but we are not refreshed in the morning. As we dream, in the REM stage, our body becomes totally lifeless, in the sense that all the muscles are so relaxed that they don’t move.
So we lose the support of our skeletal muscle tone and lose spinal support during REM sleep, so the mattress has to support us 100%. If the mattress is too soft, we will wake up in pain and soreness and be more exhausted because our sub-conscience will wake us up to move to another position, and that will continue, creating the tossing and turning.
So the best way to learn how to sleep better is to understand what happens to our body when we are in a deep sleep.
Picking the right one.
Shopping for the right mattress can be challenging and daunting, but don’t give up. The perfect mattress for you is out there. Look online and check out the mattress reviews and compare the quality of the ones with the best reviews.
Once you have narrowed the list down, find out where they are sold in your area. Go and try them out personally, if you have a partner who shares your bed, go together and lie on the bed, in the same positions as you would at home because the weight of you two will affect the firmness of the mattress. Try and have a little nap.
Some even bring their pillows to the mattress store and lay down with them to see how it feels. It takes some time to choose the mattress that is right for you, but soon you will be sleeping like a baby.
The key to how to sleep better is finding the right mattress for you that will provide you with the support needed to allow having a long and satisfying night’s sleep.
How to Buy the Best New Mattress
A good mattress is the key to a good night’s sleep and decides how to sleep better. If you don’t have a comfortable mattress at home, you may feel tired or achy after you wake up. Many of you may have experienced this issue when you booked cheap hotels where you had to stay overnight with very uncomfortable beds. Hence having a high-quality and comfortable mattress is essential for your back.
Below are some of the tips you can note when you plan to buy the best mattress for getting better sleep:
1. Decide the size
Mattresses are the best sleeping aid. Different families prefer different mattress sizes based on the cot they buy or their comfort. Many even move a lot during their sleep. So, having a bigger mattress can give them a better space to move. King size, Queen size, Double (full), Twin XL (dorm rooms) or Twin are the most commonly found sizes.
2. Springs or Foam
An innerspring mattress is very commonly used by many people from the beginning. The ones that have foam and protect your back, which is heat sensitive and can comfort your body. Tempur-pedic foams and inner springs can add additional support when you sleep. Besides this, you can get other variations of a mattress like hybrids, the ones with more foams over springs. You can even opt for an adjustable mattress with inflatable ones if you need and each part of the bed can be blown separately. These inflatable mattresses offer better support and comfort. When you look at the mattress reviews, you will notice that beds with springs are the most widely sold ones.
3. Decide the shopping in-store or online
Once you know the size of the mattress and the nature of what you need, you can then surf online or look around shops near your home if you want to buy. Generally, when you go to flea markets these mattresses can be bought at a very low price. Sometimes great discounts are also available. However, it is always advisable to buy at a store where you can try it, sit and sleep on it before you decide to buy it. Although it is not mandatory to buy a branded mattress, buying such a one can be advantageous if you need a warranty over the product. Other local mattresses may not have this facility.
4. Choosing the firmness
Some people love softer and ones that you sink into when you sleep, while others may need a firmer mattress which acts as the best sleep aid. Depending upon your taste and comfort, make sure you try them out in the stores before buying. Never go by the description of the product as they may be deceiving. As per acupressure, and other pain healing techniques a relatively firmer bed is good for your back and body. Some doctors may even recommend a suitable mattress for your body aches.
5. Inspect before buying
You can never compromise when it comes to selecting the right mattress. Hence inspect thoroughly for any defects, check if they have any issues. Do not ever rely on the warranties. Why go all the hassle of returning and buying another one if there are issues. You may visit the stores a couple of times before you decide to buy the product as a mattress are the best sleeping aid you cannot ignore.
credit: BUMIPUTRA
Firm Mattress Toppers
1. Type of fillers used
Though there are a number of fillers that can be used in mattress toppers, the most common ones include duck feathers, pure wool, synthetic foams, and memory foams. Each of the above fillers has a different compressive property and therefore you’ll have to see which one suits your body type the best.
2. Difference between a firm mattress topper and quilt
More often than not, mattress toppers have a quilted format and they appear similar to a routine quilt. What makes it different from the quilt though is that you lay down on top of it unlike the quilt, where you creep under it. Furthermore, the function of a topper is to provide padding not warmth; therefore, it tends to have a bouncier feel than a quilt.
A New Mattress Topper– Why you may need one?
There are many valid reasons why you may need a firm mattress topper for your mattress. Some of these include:
- Some mattresses can feel very firm and sometimes even hard. Opting for a firm mattress topper will ensure that you have an additional layer of cushioning, which in turn will give a more relaxing and softer feel to your bed.
- If you have a bed that is based on conventional spring design, you can benefit from the latest bedding technology like that of memory foam. New materials like latex or memory foam and even gels can provide one with a mold-able sleeping layer, which has the ability to adjust itself to the unique curves of an individual’s body. Doctors, these days, are recommending toppers and mattresses made out of these materials.
- The majority of the modern beds add a top layer of some material like latex memory foam to the regular spring-based mattress. When you get mattress topper with latex or memory foam inside, you get the same effect; however, you don’t have to spend money buying the new mattress.
- Last but not the least, a mattress topper adds a luxuriant and warm feeling to your standard mattress and allows you to customize your sleeping environment by adding this additional layer of cushioning. With fillers available in many different forms such as feathers, wool, gel, etc., you’re sure to find something that suits your individual needs.
Which topper will work best for me?
Everyone is made different and so everyone has his own unique sleeping style and mattress preferences; so, to find out the best topper for you, your best bet would be to do a little research on the different filler materials that are used in firm mattress topper and what their cushioning properties are. Then you can see which material is best suited to your body type and body weight.