There are a lot of things that can affect the quality of your sleep. Some people have a hard time getting to sleep because they’re overwhelmed by feelings of stress and anxiety every night. Other people find that they can’t get to sleep because they have pain caused by chronic or acute conditions. While some forms of insomnia require professional assistance to overcome, others can be cured just by making a few basic changes to the way you live.
For instance, it’s always going to be harder to get a good night’s sleep if you’re tucking yourself into an uncomfortable bed each night. A good mattress isn’t just there to make you feel cozy when you’re going to sleep. It also gives you the proper muscular and skeletal support that you need to rest without any aches and pains during the night.
How Your Mattress Affects Your Sleep
From causing back pain to affecting your sleeping patterns, a mattress has more of an impact on your health than you might think. For instance, did you know that sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress can make it more likely that you’ll struggle with feelings of stress and unhappiness the next day? When we can’t settle for the night because of an uncomfortable mattress, we struggle to get into the deeper stages of sleep that allow the various portions of our brain to recuperate.
A lack of deep sleep has an impact on your amygdala – the part of your brain that’s responsible for managing your emotional response. When it doesn’t work properly, you respond to every emotional simulation in your day to day life more aggressively. Even the smallest issue becomes a huge problem.
Aside from having an impact on your emotional and mental health, the wrong mattress can also be problematic when it comes to joint and back pain. If your mattress is too firm or too soft, then it can cause spine and joint problems because your body won’t be properly aligned. The right mattress provides you with flawless support for your posture, so you can get just the right amount of curve your spine needs while you sleep.
Can Your Mattress Affect Your Long-Term Health?
When you continue to use a poor mattress for a long time, you may even find that your overall health is affected. People who can’t get enough sleep or regularly wake up in the middle of the night may have a higher risk of facing obesity than their peers. This is because of the lack of energy that you feel with sleep deprivation can often lead to over-eating. What’s more, because your brain isn’t working properly due to exhaustion, you won’t be able to make informed decisions about which foods you should be eating when you’re hungry. This could mean that you’re more likely to opt for fattening substances.
If your mattress continues to contribute to sleep deprivation over time, then your immune system will begin to suffer too. Gradually, you’ll stop being able to fight against problems like common colds and respiratory diseases. Additionally, if your mattress is too old, then it could be packed full of dirt, dust mites, and dead skin cells. This makes you more likely to experience lung and throat irritation over time.
Ultimately, the wrong mattress doesn’t just affect your quality of sleep. It stops you from being in your best health too. If you want to overcome sleeping problems once and for all, then the first thing you’ll need to do is find a mattress that suits your needs.
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