You may not realize this, but your mattress is not meant to last forever. Sure, it’s comfy and you roll right into the perfect spot every night.
But the truth is, an old, worn out mattress has the potential to wreak havoc on your overall health. And the scary part is, you may not even know it’s happening.
Here’s some mattress advice on how a bad mattress can negatively affect your health.
1. Poor Sleep
There are many reasons why you might not wake up rested in the morning. Maybe you had too much to eat or drink the night before. Perhaps you’re coming down with a cold. Or maybe you just had a lot on your mind.
That said, if you notice that you’re waking up in the morning feeling more tired than normal, it’s time for a new mattress.
According to Consumer Reports, your mattress can last up to 10 years with proper care. But over time, a bad mattress can turn worse and start to affect your quality of sleep.
2. Unexplained Allergies
Even if you clean your house religiously, dust mites are in your home and can trigger allergies.
Your mattress is a safe haven for dust, and the longer you have the same mattress, the more filled with dust and dust mites (tens of thousands of them!) it becomes.
Symptoms of dust-mite allergies include red and itchy eyes, a persistent cough, nasal drip, itchy skin, sneezing, and nasal congestion.
Cleaning your mattress can get rid of surface dust, but vacuums can’t reach it all. And cleaning your bedding regularly can help delay the inevitable. But once your mattress is full, there’s not much you can do but replace your dust mite filled mattress.
3. Pain
When you lay down to go to sleep at night you might feel comfortable. But your body is going to tell you another story in the morning if your mattress has gone bad.
Mattresses that have lost their support can strain your muscles and cause poor posture.
Not to mention, you might start snoring too. This not only affects your quality of sleep, it is dangerous too.
It’s important you invest in a mattress that offers enough support when you notice your old one starting to slump.
4. Weight Gain
You may be asking yourself how a bad mattress can cause you to gain weight. Well, the answer is simple. If you sleep on a bad mattress each night, and never get a full night’s rest due to lack of support, being uncomfortable, and frequently waking up, your hormones become imbalanced.
Have you ever been really tired during the day and then suddenly felt really hungry?
If so, that’s because ghrelin, also known as the hunger hormone, increases in your body when you don’t sleep enough. This may cause you to mindlessly snack.
Do this over a long period of time and you risk gaining unnecessary weight.
5. High Blood Pressure
As you sleep at night, your body goes through four distinct stages. Skipping or disrupting any of the stages can have a detrimental effect on your overall health, including your blood pressure.
Every time your body goes through the last stage of sleep, your blood pressure lowers to its normal levels. If you never reach that level of deep sleep because of a bad mattress, you can end up with long-term health problems including high blood pressure.
As you can see, there are some serious health issues you’ll have to face if you fail to replace your mattress on a regular basis. If you notice that you aren’t waking up as refreshed as normal, think about replacing your mattress. Your health depends on it.
