The right mattress is extremely important for your health. If the mattress does not fit, the bones are not sufficiently supported and the muscles cannot relax.
Especially the inter vertebral discs suffer from this. The result: back pain. That is why you should follow a few tips when buying a new mattress.
Hardness grades are not standardized
On almost all mattresses you will find information about how hard or soft the lying sensation is.
However, these hardness specifications are not standardized. There is a scale with hardness indices from one to ten – but it is not regulated from which number on a mattress is soft or very soft.
The hardness values are therefore not very meaningful and can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Until there is a uniform standard, the consumer has no choice but to take a sample and try out many different variations.
Hard or soft mattress?
Both hard and soft mattresses have disadvantages: With a hard bed the body is forced to change posture constantly and the spine cannot be supported properly.
On the other hand, if the bed is too soft, freedom of movement is restricted and the spine sagging. Therefore, the right degree of hardness must first be found for each person.
Generally speaking, heavy persons lie better on a hard surface, as they can sink into a soft mattress.
Nevertheless, even a heavier person can choose a softer mattress if the lying characteristics fit. The most important thing is to lie comfortably and healthily on the mattress.
Spine should be supported
There is no such thing as one perfect mattress. Every body is built differently and the mattress has to fit the individual person. A good and suitable mattress can be recognized by the fact that it gives way slightly at the buttocks and shoulders.
When lying on your back, the spine should remain in its natural shape and not be bent. Therefore, for people with a flat back or hollow back, the mattress should support this shape and not influence it.
When lying on your side, the mattress should yield in the shoulder and pelvic area so that the vertebrae on the back form a straight, horizontal line. The spine should not bend upwards or sag downwards
Do not use one mattress for two persons
Every person is built differently and needs a mattress that is adapted to their physique. This is also the case for couples who sleep together in one bed.
Therefore, two mattresses should be purchased so that each back has the optimal sleeping surface. It may also be possible to sleep on a common mattress – but in this case you should make sure that it is point-elastic.
This means that areas of the mattress yield individually without affecting surrounding areas.
Do not hold on to habits
When buying a new mattress, you should not be influenced by habits. Therefore, the material, degree of hardness or mattress height should not be determined in advance. Otherwise it can happen that the optimally suitable mattress is excluded from the outset.
Instead, before buying, you can think and read more article from LAWeekly author that talk about mattress and know the complaints that have so far occurred during sleep, for example back or neck pain. Good salespeople take these complaints into account when giving advice.
In addition, the price should be neglected at the beginning because it can have a strong influence. Only the feeling of lying down should be taken into account when trying out a test bed.
Take a lot of time
You should bring a lot of time with you when buying a mattress, because to find the optimal mattress, different models should be tried out.
An individual mattress consultation with necessary explanations and a detailed lying trip can therefore take up to an hour. A good advisor usually knows after three to five attempts what ergonomic fit a body has and which mattresses are suitable.
Not in the evening test lying
When trying out a reclining position, make sure that the patient assumes his or her usual sleeping position. This is the only way to find out whether the mattress is too soft or hard and what the lying comfort is like.
The salesperson should unpack the mattress beforehand, as the plastic packaging can affect the lying comfort. We also advise against test beds in the evening: Since you are already tired at this time of day, you will find lying down alone pleasant. This only makes the decision more difficult.
Do not fall for advertising promises
Many mattresses are advertised with elaborate cutting techniques and beautiful surfaces. However, the appearance of a mattress does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about its quality.
In advertising, for example, surfaces are advertised with nubs, which give a soft feeling of lying down and a smooth surface.