If you look at the current market for home furnishings and appliances, you can (should) notice that most of them are advertised as being ergonomically correct. Ergonomics, meaning that something is designed so that its user experiences greater comfort and ease, has quickly become one of the most important factors to consider when shopping for a new investment.
Mattresses should be considered a major investment because we spend about a third or so of our lives sleeping. Although many people think it’s not very important, your sleep, including when and where you sleep, should be one of your top priorities. You may not know it yet, but the increased back pain or suffering posture you have right now may be the result of trying to rest on a mattress that is not fit for resting.
The conditions mentioned (back pain, poor posture) are just two of the things that can be corrected once we find the perfect ergonomically correct mattress for us. So aside from that, what else makes an ergonomic mattress worth spending on? These are some of the most popular and important benefits of sleeping on an ergonomic mattress.
An ergonomic mattress helps improve back pain and the like
If you look at the mattress market today, you will discover that almost all, if not all, are already designed to help their user improve their back conditions. A good ergonomically correct mattress will give our body enough support and help relieve tension in the muscles and joints of our back. On the other hand, a bad mattress lacks support, which causes poor posture, muscle tension and does not adjust to the natural alignment of the spine. These are the main reasons for back pain, especially in the lower region.
Studies show that the best types of mattresses for low back pain are medium firm. It’s firm enough to provide adequate support, but not too firm to cause discomfort. It’s also not too soft, so it doesn’t sag or “swallow” the sleeper, but instead provides support to follow our spine’s natural alignment. Still, although medium firmness seems to be the general standard, there is no particular type of mattress that is best for improving back pain. The best type of mattress varies from individual to individual, so you really should try a mattress out and see for yourself.
An ergonomic mattress helps correct improper body posture
This is also related to the first benefit, which is to improve back pain. However, some people, especially younger people, may find it unnecessary to purchase an ergonomically correct mattress as they do not yet suffer from any back pain. On the other hand, it has been shown that an ergonomic mattress can help everyone sleep, and that includes correcting your posture even when you sleep.
As stated above, the right type of mattress to help us with our sleeping position is one that is neither too soft nor too firm. Neither will provide adequate support that follows the natural contour and alignment of the spine. It is also not recommended that a person sleep with many pillows around him.
Other than that, to fully maximize the benefits of sleeping on an ergonomically correct mattress, one must sleep in the correct positions. You can only sleep on your side or on your back. It is not recommended that a person sleep on their stomach as this causes the spine to curve more than it should.
An ergonomic mattress helps improve blood circulation
As it is with less back pain and proper posture, giving its user good (better) blood circulation has already become one of the key elements of an ergonomically correct mattress. Blood circulation completes the list of basic benefits that these mattresses provide us. One would wonder, how will a mattress improve my blood circulation when it doesn’t come into contact with my bloodstream? The mental image of that statement is quite frightening…
In any case, a good mattress improves blood circulation because it distributes our weight evenly on our body and on the bed. You may notice earlier that sometimes when you wake up a part of your body hurts, if not numb. This is because a lot of pressure and stress was put on that part of the body the night before. This condition, also called pressure points, usually occurs on the hips and shoulders.
Such pressure points are the result of inadequate blood circulation. An ergonomically correct mattress solves this problem by maintaining balance throughout the body. The same amount of pressure is applied to all parts of the body, which greatly helps in proper blood circulation. Sleeping on a good mattress will also reduce your tossing and turning, which doesn’t help improve circulation.