Time To Get A New Bed
Human beings need about 8-9 hours of good sleep every night to fully recharge our batteries. This means uninterrupted REM sleep - dreams, and deep ‘sleep like the dead’ types of rest.
When our sleep cycles are interrupted we lose out on much-needed rest, and as a result, a number of less than ideal things happen to our bodies. We get sick easier, we become forgetful, our minds become cloudy, we gain weight more easily, and our looks suffer. Sound like a few things you'd like to avoid? Your mattress may be to blame.
A worn-out bed can wreak havoc on your life without you even knowing it. If you toss and turn all night and find you’re always needing the caffeinated helping hand of an afternoon coffee to get through the day, you’re in need of a better nightly sleep.
How can you tell if it’s time for a new bed?
Waking Up Hurts
We’ve all been there. Waking up to a crick in your neck, a sore lower back, or muscle pain in your shoulders can mean that your mattress isn’t providing your body with the right support that it once did. Mattresses lose their structure and support qualities over time, so if you’ve had your mattress for over 5 years, you’re likely approaching the time to consider buying a new one.
Similarly, tossing and turning can be signs that it’s time to look at purchasing a new bed. We all toss and turn to find comfort throughout the night - most of us while sleeping - but if you can’t seem to get comfy enough to fall asleep in the first place, it probably means that your mattress isn’t working for your body anymore.
These pains aren’t permanent - they tend to go away during the course of a regular day, but they signal a problem with your regenerative sleep cycle and can be accentuated by a bad mattress.
It’s Falling Apart
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that if your mattress is literally falling apart, it’s time to consider replacing it with a new one.
This can mean many things, including fraying seams, rips, and tears - but also lumps and deteriorating padding in the form of bad depressions and impressions in the mattress itself. If you wake up to find that there's a noticeable depression where your body was, you absolutely need a new mattress because the padding under your body has shifted and fizzled into nothingness over the years. Lumpy mattresses are typical of poor quality products but arise in just about every mattress over time. They can't be repaired, so if you see them, it's time to move on.
Similarly, you may also notice that you and your spouse continually roll into each other during the night at the center of the bed. This is another sign of a deteriorating mattress that needs replacing ASAP to ensure that you're both getting the proper amount of quality rest.
Bugs, Smell & Bacteria
When most of us think of crawling into bed, we don’t usually imagine brushing the remains of bugs from the sheets. You should never see evidence of bugs and other infestations in your mattress - and we don’t just mean bed bugs.
Old mattresses can be havens for many different kinds of mites that feed on dead skin cells, and when the human body typically sheds upwards of .20 ounces of dead epidermis per week, a study released from Ohio State university notes that an everyday mattress could house up to 100 million mites inside.
As well, your mattress shouldn't smell. If it does, this is likely a sign of bacterial build-up and fungi that contribute to smelly mold and spores that can spell coughing, itching, and even eczema for their users. In extreme cases, smell mattresses can contain staphylococcus, a soil microbial flora; enterococcus, a bacterial organism found in the human intestinal tract, and even norovirus, the ‘Winter Vomiting Bug.’
Morning Allergies
Dust Mites can wind up everywhere - and not just inside your mattress. People who experience morning allergies right after waking up are likely suffering from a dust mite infestation in their mattress and pillows - even stuffed animals and carpet. They're microscopic bugs that feed on mold, dead skin and bacteria. Symptoms of morning allergies can include:
- Watery and itchy eyes
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Coughing and other respiratory problems
- Itchy skin and rashes
- Sore, scratchy throat
Dust mites and morning allergies don't necessarily mean you have to run out and buy a new mattress, as dust mite covers and dust proof covers may help you to pull some extra life out of your outgoing mattress. If you find you're still comfortable at night, you may wish to hold onto the mattress - but we expect you won't want to, knowing your morning sniffles are due to bugs.
You’re Getting Older
Realizing that we’re all getting older every day is a good way to approach buying a new mattress. If you’ve got a particularly soft mattress at home and you find that it’s giving you the gears every night, purchasing the first soft fluffy mattress you lay down on is probably a bad choice.
As we age, our bodies need different support in different places, and a new soft mattress doesn’t always correct the feeling of discomfort and morning aches that you’re already feeling. Try a firmer mattress than you’re used to this time around to offset your pain so you can get a good night’s rest.
You Sleep Better When you’re Camping
If you find yourself sleeping over on the couch at a friends house, or going camping only to find that sleeping on the ground leads you to enjoy one of the best sleep in recent memory - you need a new mattress. When the best sleep of your life is in a bed that's not yours, it's time to start your shop. This means that the substituted mattress or sleeping arrangement is giving you better support than your own bed, and that's not good.
Your bed should be a place of sanctuary and of solace, so if sleeping on a mountainside or in a rocky field sends you into a deep REM cycle and your mattress does not, the time has come to investigate something that not only offers you better support but something that may help you to invigorate your health and happiness.
In short, if you’re not in total bliss from the time you crawl into bed until the time you wake up in the morning, you’ll want to consider giving yourself the gift of a new mattress. Your health will benefit, and your increased energy and optimism will thank you.
Happy shopping!