The average human spends approximately 1/3 of their life either asleep or attempting to get to sleep!
Sleep is vital for optimal human function and deprivation of sleep is linked to increased risk of death, increased risk of illness and reduced cognitive performance and mental wellbeing. Dr Matthew Walker is one of the world’s leading experts in sleep science and outlines the benefits and health risks associated with sleep quality in this fantastic TED talk
So, a valuable aspect of sleep hygiene is the surface upon which you sleep and the effects it has upon both the duration and quality of the sleep you experience. If either is impaired, then the science is clear … IT IS NOT GOOD …
I thought it might be useful to discuss mattress selection as this often-overlooked area of sleep hygiene can result in some profound changes in the quality of your sleep patterns and therefore correlate to improved health and wellness.
The first place to start is the process of how we select a mattress. It’s pretty awful!!!
Considering that we spend so much time sleeping it really is worth getting this right. Think about it for a second. When we are selecting a pair of footwear for running, we typically have a gait analysis, try several pairs of trainers on, run in them to evaluate comfort and then we make our informed decision.
When selecting a mattress most people might have a cursory perch on the end of a mattress in a bed store or sprawl across it for a few seconds remarking ‘oh that feels soooo comfortable’ spending often less than a few minutes making this choice. Even less informed would be simply choosing what you might think works form the internet and hoping for the best based upon mattress ‘tech speak’ around mattress technology which has tenuous evidence to support it’s claims.
The good news is that in today’s market there really isn’t any reason why your decision can’t be more informed than this. And this is because several of the large mattress manufacturers offer extended trial periods. Effectively you can purchase an appropriate mattress, trial it for anywhere between 100-365 days !!! And if the mattress isn’t well suited you can simply return the mattress for a full refund.
I have personal experience of this. I purchased a mattress from one of the major mattress providers who provide one of these extended trial periods. I won’t mention which one specifically as this isn’t very relevant. I bought this mattress as my original mattress was coming to the end of it’s lifespan. However, I then noticed that I was experiencing an achy, stiff low back upon rising which quickly resolved steadily by mid-morning. Interestingly I also noticed that across 6/7 work trips on different mattress surfaces that these issues resolved only to return when I slept on my mattress at home. I noticed that my sleep was becoming impaired, and I was needing to sleep with a pillow between my knees for comfort.
I was approaching 350 days and contacted the manufacturer as I knew the mattress was within it’s trial period and they initially offered a mattress topper to see if this made a difference, which it didn’t. I established that the reason for my ongoing symptoms may have been that the mattress density was too soft for me specifically. So upon further feedback they arranged free collection and a full refund. I have subsequently used this to purchase another, firmer mattress and within 1 week my symptoms have fully resolved. My sleep quality has been restored to normal and I no longer need to sleep with a pillow between my legs for comfort.
So. My advice would be to take advantage of these extended trial periods. They really do allow you o make a fully informed decision on the correct mattress density for you (and your partner) rather than investing significant funds in an unsuitable mattress with no form of recourse.
Equally, don’t forget the vale of adequate sleep quality in our health and wellness and the relationship that a good mattress can have to us all gaining a better nights slumber.
I hope you have found this article useful and if you need some further information then check out this article on mattress selection from The Sleep Foundation to which Dr Matthew Walker is a scientific advisor