A good night’s sleep leads to good health, and it's just as important to your wellbeing as your 7-a-day and getting enough exercise. Yet many people are sleeping on a mattress that’s far too old to provide adequate support and comfort overnight.
Buying a new mattress is an investment, but investing in one of the best mattresses of 2024 could make all the difference to your sleep and health. From helping you sleep through the night to aligning your spine and reducing aches and pains, the impact of a new mattress on your health can't be overstated.
With the Black Friday mattress sales already underway, now is the perfect time to pick up a new mattress, with many of our favourite brands offering generous discounts. Still undecided? Read on to find out exactly how a new mattress will transform your sleep. Plus, get our top tips on getting better sleep.
5 ways a new mattress helps you sleep better and boosts your health
Buying a new mattress will have a huge impact on your sleep. You’ll see a reduction in your aches and pains and will start to fall asleep faster as well as staying asleep through the night and achieving deeper sleep. Additionally, you’ll be better able to regulate your in-bed temperature, as well as helping to avoid various health conditions from building up. So, if you’ve asked yourself all the key questions about buying a new mattress, find out how you can expect it to improve your health.
1. Reducing aches and pains
Nothing is more important when sleeping than maintaining spinal alignment. If your spine isn’t properly supported in bed, you’ll start to see aches and pains creeping in as your body struggles to get comfortable during night. This can lead to pressure points and increased tension.
Older mattresses may have reduced support from sagging, meaning your spine will drop out of alignment. The best mattresses for back pain will provide enhanced lumbar support to solve this problem, as well as providing plenty of cushioning to prevent any pressure points from building up. All of this will help to improve your sleep quality, making it easier for you to drift off at night.
2. Increasing your chances of sleeping through the night
Over time, even the most luxury mattresses will start to sag and sink in places, as foams and springs start to show signs of age. These dips and uneven patches in a mattress can make it difficult to get comfortable in bed and awkward to change position.
As you can probably imagine, this will make you restless when you’re sleeping and you’re more likely to wake up repeatedly as you struggle to find a comfortable spot to sleep in. A new mattress will not only provide a smoother sleep surface but will also be responsive and adaptive to your body – helping you to stay asleep throughout the night. This helps prevent sleep deprivation and improves your overall sleep quality.
3. Regulating your in-bed temperature
As our bodies release melatonin (a sleep hormone) to help us prepare for sleep, our body temperature also drops slightly. Keeping our body at the right temperature overnight then helps us to stay asleep and have an undisturbed night.
As old mattresses sag or collapse, you’ll find that more heat will get trapped in the layers, making it difficult to regulate your temperature, and eventually leading to overheating.
New mattresses, especially those with natural and breathable materials, like the best organic mattresses, will help you to regulate your temperature through the night, leading to better sleep. If you’re a very hot sleeper naturally, we’d also recommend checking out our guide to the best cooling mattresses on the market.
4. Helping you to fall asleep easier and faster
Perhaps you’ve followed all our tips on how to fall asleep faster, but are still lying awake for hours on end before finally nodding off? The problem could actually lie with your old mattress.
A lack of support and comfort will make falling asleep in the first place difficult as you struggle to find a sleeping position that actually feels comfortable. Investing in a new mattress means that you’ll have a bed that’s contouring to your body, cradling pressure points and providing plenty of support where it’s needed. All this is going to make it easier and quicker to fall asleep at night.
5. Helping you to enjoy deeper sleep
For those of us that share a bed with a partner, a key factor in getting a good night’s sleep is not being disturbed as they move about or get in and out of bed. As you can probably imagine, old mattresses don’t do much to absorb motion.
When springs and foams collapse, support across the mattress is no longer adequate for motion isolation. Edge support will probably have softened as well, adding in a danger zone around the perimeter of the bed. New mattresses will provide far better motion isolation and edge support which will, in turn, give you a better night’s sleep.
How sleep affects your health
Most of us know how important a healthy diet and regular exercise is to our overall health but sleep often seems to take a back seat. Yet getting a good night’s sleep is just as important, with studies showing that following a consistent sleep schedule yields better health outcomes in adults.
Sleep deprivation has been linked to reduce immune function, metabolic dysregulation and weight gain, along with more serious conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease and high blood pressure – the importance of sleeping well really can’t be overstated.
How to sleep better: 3 expert-backed tips
Buying a new mattress will undoubtedly help you get a better night’s sleep, but adding in these three tips will ensure you get the best out of your new bed.
1. Improve your sleep hygiene
“Sleep hygiene doesn’t have to be complicated,” says Claire Davis, Senior Sleep Editor and Certified Sleep Science Coach. “My basic approach is to make sure I go to bed and get up at the same time every day (which helps strengthen my circadian rhythm), and to have a good wind-down routine that starts about 30 minutes before bed."
"This includes setting my phone down for the night and using that time to wash my face and brush my teeth, get dressed for bed, then spending about 10-15 minutes doing a guided sleep meditation to relax. The main rule of sleep hygiene is consistency – whatever you want to include in your routine, do it every night at the same time so your body learns those cues (it’s time to sleep now).”
2. Set a consistent sleep schedule
As Claire stated above, consistency is key. Especially when it comes to your sleep and wake times. This helps to regulate your body’s sleep cycle (known as circadian rhythms). An established sleep schedule will improve your health and leave you well rested, as well as helping to reduce daytime sleepiness.
Be aware that your sleep window (the period of time in which your body naturally wants to go to sleep) can vary from person to person, so do experiment with different times. In addition, it’s important to note that the amount of sleep we need varies by age, although in general most people need between seven to nine hours of sleep a night.
3. Create a nighttime routine
It’s all very well setting a consistent sleep schedule but if your body doesn’t think it’s ready for sleep, you could end up lying awake. A nighttime routine that helps your body to get ready for sleep can make all the difference.
We recommend taking a warm bath or shower, which will help your body temperature to drop. Avoid electronic devices, as the blue light they emit can disrupt your circadian rhythms.
Dim your lights, or just use a bedside light and try listening to some soothing music or meditations to help your mind switch off. Ensure your bedroom is conducive to sleep — apart from a new mattress, you might want to consider investing in one of the best pillows or blackout curtains, for example.
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