Chiropractor, Grand Junction, CO - Daniel
Lonquist, DC, CCST, CCWP Certified Chiropractic Wellness
Practitioner. Back To Health Wellness Center,
970-257-9199 Google Places
By: Dr. Daniel Lonquist
If you’re not sleeping well, it could be your
mattress. But how do you know when you
should be looking to purchase a new one?
As we age, it is easy to blame our lack of sleep, or sleep related pain
on just getting older. What signs should
you be looking for that indicate that your mattress is no longer providing the
needs your body requires to get a full night’s rest?
For starters, it is important to point out that our body
really requires two distinct, yet opposite needs. First is spinal alignment. We need a mattress that is going to be firm
enough to keep our back in a straight line as we sleep. If our mattress begins to sag, our hips will
sink in more and we may wake up with a sore back. This is very common
especially under the hip area, because that is where the majority of our weight
is placed on a mattress. Even if you
rotate your mattress, the hips still are in the middle of the bed, so where the
hips rest will tend to wear out first.
Many will notice that if they move to the center of the mattress, or
over to the edges, that the mattress is quite a bit firmer than where one
normally sleeps.
The other need we have to meet is pressure relief for our
hips and shoulders. If you sleep on your
side, the hip bone and the shoulder are the two primary contact points with the
mattress. While we need a firm bed for
our backs, we also need some cushioning to make the bed comfortable to sleep
on. Most mattresses use various types of
foams to provide this comfort. This soft layer is usually where most mattresses
wear out first. In order to make a
mattress comfortable enough for you to purchase when you are in a mattress
store, the mattress manufacturers will use different combinations of foams that
feel good while trying them in the store, but foams, particularly soft foams,
will wear out quickly which will allow your hips and shoulder to bottom out on
the firmer surfaces below. Even the most
durable types of foams tend to soften significantly as they are used. Durability testing shows that even Latex,
which is commonly regarded in the mattress industry as one of the most durable
cushioning materials softens 22%! Memory
foam was found to soften around 16%, and polyurethane foam, the foam found in
most pillow-top style mattresses, was found to soften 49%. What is even more striking is that fact that
most of the softening takes place in the first year of use. This is why if you look in the fine print of
mattress warranties, you will find that manufacturers don’t cover the softening
of a mattress.
If your mattress is worn out, what should you look for when
purchasing a new mattress? Optimally,
you will find something that provides a firm surface that gives the alignment your
spine needs, in combination with the pressure relief that the hips and
shoulders need. Furthermore, these
materials should be very durable. If you
are looking for a mattress and are only concerned about the alignment of your
spine, or prefer a very firm mattress, a high end innerspring may be the
solution for you. However, you should
avoid a mattress that uses pocketed coils as a support layer, or has any foam
used as cushioning on the top, as these mattresses will not be aligning for the
back.
Most, however, need some pressure relief. A good alternative to foam mattresses is a
new mattress that uses a gel material called Intelli-Gel that has been used in
hospitals for years to provide relief to burn patients and long-term care
facilities because of its ability to cure even the worst types of bed
sores. Intelli-Gel mattresses have
recently been made available to the general public in IntelliBED mattresses. This material has been found to soften less
than 5% over the life of the bed, less than a third of the very best foam, and
ten times less than the most common foams used in mattresses. Furthermore, it has been designed to maintain
the alignment of the back, and provides more pressure relief than any other mattress.
If you wake up and you’re sore, take the time to check to
make sure your mattress is meeting your needs when it comes to getting a good
night’s rest. When it comes down to
purchasing a mattress, make sure your bed gives you the right alignment, sufficient
pressure relief, and won’t soften too quickly.
This office has taken the time to research the major
mattress retail products and has identified intelliBED as the first true
medical-grade sleep surface available for home use. By using co-polymer
intelli-Gel® in place of foam, intelliBED's
provide superior comfort and support without harmful off-gassing and they wear
2-3 times better than any of the foam mattresses. Deep, healing sleep is fundamental to your health. If you have questions
about the quality of your sleep or what sleep surface and pillow is best for
you, ask me. I can help!
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