Are you tired of waking up with crazy back pains? If you want to improve your sleep quality, sleep on a mattress that offers maximum back pain relief. However, it can be uneconomical, hectic, and time-consuming to try different types of mattresses before committing.
A firm mattress is an excellent choice if you experience lower back pains. It promotes even bodyweight distribution and supports your spine and lower back. Still, consider your existing health conditions and sleeping position before purchase.
Since you spend almost a third of your life sleeping, you want to maximize sleep quality. We researched firm mattresses and how and why they are great for your back. If torn between a soft or firm mattress for back support, here are reasons to justify the latter:
Even Weight Distribution
A firm mattress has less give compared to a soft mattress. When you try pressing on a hard mattress, you need to apply more pressure to form a depression. The same applies to sleeping on a firm mattress.
Due to this, your body gets uniform weight distribution when you sleep on a firm mattress instead of a soft one. As a result, there is an adequate placement of your muscles and joints, leading to spinal alignment.
Also, since you are not straining or putting too much pressure on your back muscles, you have a relaxing sleep. As a result, you have quality sleep and wake up feeling energized and refreshed.
Extra Support
A firm mattress is more supportive since it holds up your body instead of letting you sink in. In addition, if your back feels better when you sleep atop your mattress, then firm mattresses are for you.
Sleeping on a leveled surface keeps your body posture in your sleep. It aligns your spine and keeps your back from carving, leading to great posture. As a result, you have lower back pain relief and better sleep quality.
If you weigh over two hundred and fifty pounds, you need a firm mattress to hold your weight without compromising support. It also provides body contouring plus pressure relief. This way, it does not cause unnecessary pressure on your lower back in your sleep.
Spinal Alignment
Unlike the soft one, a firm mattress will help maintain your natural body's curvature. It prevents your back and spine from curving much when sleeping. As a result, it keeps your spine in alignment, relieving back pain and leading to quality sleep.
If your spine collapses, you may slouch more and strain your back, leading to back pain. A soft mattress may be a leading factor for reclining in bed or sleep.
More Comfort
While most people associate comfort with soft mattresses, people with taxing back pains find firm ones to offer more comfort. When sleeping on a firm surface, the bones will absorb pressure. Hence, this leads to less strain on your bones, muscles, and blood vessels, leading to a comfortable sleep.
Also, if you are on the heavier side, a firm mattress will support your weight without dipping. It results in ample back support and hence better sleep quality.
| Image | Title | Buy |
|---|---|---|
 | Casper Sleep Original Foam Mattress, Queen | Learn More |
 | Sweetnight Queen Mattress, 12 Inch Memory Foam and Hybrid Innerspring Mattress, Queen | Learn More |
 | ZINUS 12 Inch Cloud Memory Foam Mattress / Pressure Relieving / Full | Learn More |
 | Signature Design by Ashley Chime 12" Memory Foam Mattress, CertiPUR-US Certified, Full | Learn More |
Multiple Sleeping Positions
Back and stomach sleepers find firm mattresses to be great for their back. It is because it offers them more attention to their natural spinal curving. On the other hand, a soft mattress will provide more give, leading to the sagging of your spine. It may lead to back and joint pains.
However, if you are a side sleeper, you will find a firm mattress uncomfortable. The hardness offers excessive pressure against your hip, hipbone, and shoulder. It may lead to uneven pressure distribution and body pain, including lower back pains.
Signs That Your Mattress Is Causing Back Pain
A report by Spine Heath shows how back pain may have a direct influence on your sleep quality. For instance, failing to sleep well inhibits your body's production of hormones required for healing, resulting in back pain. If you experience one or all of these signs, know that your mattress is the cause of your back pain;
You Wake Up Tired And In Pain
If you went to bed with no pain but keep waking up feeling fatigued, it could indicate that your mattress is the problem. In addition, you may wake up with back and joint pains and sometimes even headaches.
The best way to tell if the mattress is the issue is if you can get rid of the pain after a few stretches. A firm mattress with excellent support will not cause you tiredness and waking up with back pain.
You Have A Restless Night's Sleep
A bad mattress will make you wake up several times in the night since you cannot find a comfortable sleeping position. In addition, you keep tossing and turning since the back pain is unbearable. Hence you move to try to distribute the back pain.
Also, since we directly link sleep disturbances to one's sleep environment, the first suspect would be your mattress. If you were sleeping on a soft mattress, try finding ways of firming it before committing to a firm mattress. It will give you the chance to rule out any other possible options.
You Struggle To Be Comfortable In Bed
A good mattress should provide maximum comfort levels since it allows you to relax after a long workday. However, you can sleep on a mattress that you struggle to get comfortable in even after effort. Such can make you take too long before falling asleep, compromising your overall sleep length and quality.
A mattress that is too soft, for instance, may have you try different sleeping positions in search of comfort. The longer you take to fall asleep, the lower the rate of your sleep quality becomes. If you can already feel stress on your back even before falling asleep, your mattress could be the culprit.
Your Mattress Is Too Saggy And Uneven
Sleep experts have shown sleeping on a soft, saggy, or uneven mattress causes back pains. A soft mattress fails to maintain your body's natural curving in your sleep. As a result, it puts uneven pressure on your back and strains it, leading to back pains.
A saggy mattress also fails to support your weight in your sleep. It makes you sink into the mattresses, which may strain your back, causing back pain and poor sleep quality.
You can tell if a mattress is too soft by checking for dipping around the middle. Another way is if the mattress sinks too much to a point you can almost feel the base. Also, if you wake up feeling cranky, blame your soft mattress.
You Suffer Joint Pains In The Morning
A good mattress will wake you feeling refreshed with no joint pains. It cushions your pressure points, preventing pain and injury during sleep. If you wake up feeling pain around your hip bone, shoulder, neck, and lower back, your mattress could be the cause.
A bad mattress puts too much stress on your joints, which strains your lower back. Also, if you are a stomach or back sleeper sleeping on a soft mattress, you may experience joint pains. It means that your sleeping position is not suited for the mattress you are sleeping on.
Also read: What Size Is a Bunk Bed Mattress?
Conclusion
While no one mattress alleviates back pain in everyone, a firm mattress offers more support. Also, it promotes an even distribution of body weight which prevents excessive stress on your back muscles. As a result, you get back pain relief which supports a comfortable and restful night's sleep.
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Feruza is a mom and a blogger. She had a neck pain for 15 years, which made her interested in everything about pillows.
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