Just because your mattress holds its shape after decades of using it doesn’t mean that it continues to serve its purpose.
Your mattress can influence your sleep health—and using one that doesn’t provide optimal support to your body can cause sleep deprivation and trigger several health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure.
You should replace your mattress every 7 to 10 years, depending on the support or comfort it provides. Even if it still looks good in your bedroom, you should never use the same mattress for more than a decade because it can affect your health in the following ways:
Prolonged Allergies
Allergies are common because it’s how your immune system reacts to outside invaders. And while most allergic reactions are mild and can be treated with over-the-counter medicines, others seem to be long-lasting. Allergies caused by dust mites and bed bugs are one of the latter.
An old mattress can affect your health because it can actually cause prolonged allergies that can adversely affect your daily activities. Old mattresses absorb and collect dead skin cells, and these are eaten by dust mites and bed bugs for them to thrive. The environment of your bedroom—cool and often dark—is also very suitable for their habitat.
If you don’t want to suffer from a runny nose, rashes, and tightening of the chest whenever you try to sleep, check Reclaim The Internet’s website to know which mattresses earned great reviews and buy one right away. Buying a brand-new mattress is the best remedy to prevent allergies as merely washing your sheets isn’t enough to prevent dust mites and bed bugs from coming back.
Heightens Stress
Being physically healthy isn’t enough for you to attain optimal wellness. Even with a healthy weight, if you’re suffering from anxiety and depression, don’t expect that you can still live life to the fullest.
Using an old mattress can affect your mental health as this can trigger and heighten stress. This happens because chronic back pain can encourage the body to produce more cortisol or stress hormones. Losing sleep every night because of a mattress that has become too soft can prevent your mind from staying calm and relaxed, making it challenging for you to cope with minor stresses during the day.
According to studies, sleeping soundly every night can do wonders for your mental health, and a brand-new mattress will be helpful in this regard. Getting enough sleep allows you to recover from mental exhaustion, making it easier for you to manage stress the following day.
Makes You Overweight Or Obese
Maintaining a healthy weight is an important part of your overall wellness. Aside from lowering your risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke, a healthy weight can also lower your risk of developing certain cancers. Having a healthy weight can also boost your self-esteem and body image, making it easier for you to achieve mental wellness.
But regardless of how healthy your diet or how active your lifestyle is, if you’re not getting enough sleep every night because of an old mattress, don’t expect to maintain a healthy weight. As mentioned, an old mattress will eventually lose its ability to provide support to your body and cause you to lose sleep regularly.
An old mattress can affect your health because it can become the reason you’ll become overweight and obese. This happens because whenever you lack sleep, the body releases more ghrelin, the hormone that increases your appetite. Some studies also show that sleep deprivation can weaken your metabolism and cause metabolic dysregulation.
If you don’t want to become overweight or obese, it’s best if you buy a brand-new mattress right away. Upgrading to a new mattress and paying attention to your sleeping schedule can become your ticket to finally achieving your fitness goals!
Unmanageable Back Pain
The back is one of the most important parts of the body because it provides flexibility and strength for you to function properly during the day. Your back also connects your chest, hips, shoulders, and neck, allowing you to move easily. But experiencing unmanageable back pain can prevent you from being mobile and functional.
Choosing to use an old mattress can take a toll on your back and cause back pain. Your mattress will contour to your body every time you use it, and using the same mattress for decades will no longer provide optimal support for your back. A mattress that has become too soft over time can disrupt the proper alignment of your spine, resulting to back pain.
You can keep your back pain-free by upgrading to a brand-new mattress. Memory foam mattresses are one of the best types to invest in if you want to alleviate back pain, as it distributes weight evenly and conforms to your body’s curvature.
Promotes Snoring
Snoring every now and then is normal for some people, but snoring every time you sleep can be an indicator of serious health conditions. The louder and longer a person snores, the more susceptible they are to stroke, hypertension, and diabetes.
There are a lot of reasons people tend to snore in their sleep, but do you know that sleeping on an old mattress is one of them? Sleeping on an old mattress can promote snoring because if it no longer supports your body properly, your airways will be under a lot of tension. This can prevent your airways from functioning properly, leading to snoring.
Buying a brand-new mattress can prevent snoring because it effectively relieves tensed pressure points and provides you with an even and supportive surface. You can also pair your brand-new mattress with a memory foam pillow to help your airways stay open as you sleep.
Don’t Forget To Test
Once you’ve found out that your mattress is 10 years old, opt to buy a brand new one right away. Aside from knowing about the different materials used in mattresses, testing them out by lying on them for at least 10 minutes will also make it easier for you to determine which one suits your sleeping positions and desired comfort levels.
