8 Surprising Ways Your Mattress Affects Your Sleep

Posted by emma megan on November 10th, 2017

When you wake up in the morning after a night of restless sleeping or a difficulty falling asleep, you're going to look for the culprit. And if you don't have a snoring bedmate and didn't imbibe a late cup of coffee, then it very well could be your mattress is at fault. The thing is, a good night sleep is made up of a bunch of different factors, and many of them come straight from your mattress. 

What's more, they can have surprisingly far-reaching implications. If those factors are negative, they build up and over a little bit of time can turn you into someone you don't recognize. An achy and tired grouch. But once you know all the ways your mattress is affecting your sleep, for better or for worse, you can be sure to pick out a mattress that will make those difficult nights full of tossing and turning into a thing of the past. 

1. A mattress can affect your sleep to change your stress levels. 

You know those racing thoughts that won't leave you alone when you're trying to sleep? Or maybe you are more familiar with a general nervousness or irritability that follows you from the bed throughout your day. 

A good mattress like nectar sleep mattress doesn't just affect your body, it improves the mind too. According to a 2009 study, 59 people slept almost a month in their usual beds every night before switching to a new, medium-firm mattress for the next month. The comparison in their answers about their mental health showed a decrease in stress in the second month, even going so far to reduce headaches. 

Turns out, with a supportive, yet comforting mattress, you are able to increase sleep quality, decrease pain, and lead a more stress-free life. 

2. A mattress can set off an allergic reaction. 

"Snug as a bug in a rug" should be nothing more than an idiom when you're talking about your bed, and not a comment about the dust mites in the mattress or linens. What happens is your dead skin cells collect on the mattress and become a feast for the microscopic mites. The problem is you might be a clean freak or more importantly one of the 20 million Americans who are allergic to dust mites. And if you have asthma, then it can send you into dangerous fits of wheezing or coughing. 

What can you do about it? First of all, you can put an allergy-proof slip of your mattress so they don't get into your sheets and pillowcases. You can wash the linens with boiling water to purge them. And according to the Bette Sleep Council, you can clean the mattress with a vacuum to extract the mites. 

If you are in the market for a new bed, you can look for mattresses that are hypo-allergenic, including either latex or an allergy barrier treatment that block mites and other allergens from making your bed their home sweet home. That way there's no allergy-related coughing, wheezing, sneezing, itchy eyes or stuffy nose that can get between you and sleep. 

3. A mattress allows for motion disturbance, waking you up with movement. 

This one is for the couples out there who wake each other up every time the other shifts his or her weight or rolls over. That problem usually comes with spring mattresses, though some use smaller, closer springs and a top-level cushion to improve the surface area, and therefore, motion disturbance. 

But when you think of the typical motion disturbance elimination, you picture a barefooted woman jumping next to a glass of wine on a memory foam mattress. Because of the thick, yet yielding constitution of memory foam, the mattress will absorb any shocks of your lumbering sleep-companion and give you a comfortable, motionless mattress to sleep on. 

4. A mattress that doesn't fit your body type causes painful sleep. 

There are two types of people in the world: Firm lovers, and soft lovers. But the truth is almost everyone's body needs a medium-firmness for a comfortable and supportive sleep. That medium-firmness, though, is relative to the sleeper's height, weight, and subjective preferences. In the end, the mattress should have enough give when you try it out that it molds to your body while having enough firmness to support it and alleviate pressure. 

5. A mattress not aligned with back sleepers will cause back problems. 

If you lay on your back, an overly soft mattress could be letting your back sink too far into the mattress and potentially throw off your spinal alignment, causing long-term back problems. 

6. A mattress that's too soft can cause pain for stomach sleepers. 

If you sleep on your stomach, you should go for an even firmer mattress. If the mattress lets your chest press too far into it, it could be curving your spine and creating the strain on your lower back. 

7. A mattress that's too firm can increase pressure for side sleepers.

If you sleep on your side, you need a mattress on the softer-side. If your mattress is too firm, some parts of the body between your shoulder and your hip won't be supported. It should be soft enough to conform to your sides, offering the right balance of give and support for a perfect night's sleep. 

8. Your mattress is making your body too hot to fall asleep. 

Studies say that a lower temperature is conducive to falling asleep faster. But even after turning down the thermostat, your mattress could be keeping your body temperature high and you unable to sleep. Or even worse, it could be making you sweat and be uncomfortable all night long. 

Nowadays, some mattresses are built with materials like latex or layers of cooling gel that keep your mattress nice and cool, allowing for comfortable sleeping conditions.