Mattress Quality & Sleep Hygiene: Related Factors in Better Slumber

Sleep hygiene isn’t so much a term as it is a checklist: a collection of habits that connect you and every other human on the planet with the sleep you deserve.

Sleep hygiene habits help establish a comfortable, relaxing environment that allows the body to work hard while you slumber away. Almost every system in your body changes drastically during sleep. Your sleep-wake cycle — particularly deep sleep — sees your body complete all sorts of restorative activities. It stores memories, converts food to energy, heals damaged cells, and regulates your hormones and metabolism.

These processes are meant to be automatic, but they all rely on sleep hygiene: steps that make or break your sleep on a nightly basis.

Many sleep hygiene steps are obvious: drink enough water each day, consume a nutrient-rich diet, and stay away from damaging amounts of alcohol and other substances. Other habits might be less evident: keep your bedroom at a comfortable temperature, calm your mind before bed, and limit exposure to blue light.

There’s one more step to a strong sleep hygiene regimen, one that even seasoned sleepers sometimes forget or deprioritize:

Use a mattress that supports a full night’s rest.

What Can a Mattress Do for My Sleep Hygiene?

Your mattress is one of the most important factors in supporting your sleep hygiene.

Imagine a baseball player - one with dreams to play professionally. He trains for multiple hours each day, lifts weights, watches film, and does everything else you can imagine to prepare for each game.

On game day, arrives at the stadium ahead of time, puts on the right uniform, and mentally prepares himself as he walks to the plate to hit.

But when the pitcher throws the ball, the baseball player swings a pool noodle — not a bat.

That’s exactly what happens when you add a poor mattress to a great sleep hygiene routine. No matter how well you prepare, you need a great mattress to deliver the great night’s sleep your body needs to recharge, recover, and prepare for the day ahead.

A high-quality mattress is one of the quickest ways you can improve your sleep hygiene. Here are some of the top benefits to an excellent mattress:

• Relieve pressure and pain points, particularly on joints and fatigued muscles.
• Isolate motion from limbs or a sleep partner.
• Open your airways in ways that reduce snoring.
• Regulate your core body temperature.
• Improve blood circulation to your extremities.
• Promote rest no matter your preferred sleep position.
• Support your arms, legs, neck, and back.
• Suspend your body in a comfortable environment that fits your body type.

The right mattress can also help you avoid allergens, relieve body stiffness, and properly align your spine. It supports your body as much as it supports your general health and a commitment to your own well-being.

One of the biggest benefits to a high-quality mattress isn’t even noticeable until you wake up. Great mattresses create great sleep, which equips your body with all the energy you need to face the day. Just as easily, a poor mattress can degrade your sleep quality, leaving you without the energy you need to thrive. It also does less to support the processes your body performs while you sleep, from memory registration to illness prevention.

What Should I Look for in a High-Quality Mattress?

A high-quality mattress is an essential ingredient in the recipe for better sleep. Along with habits like reducing caffeine intake and limiting naps, investing in the right mattress is a sleep hygiene cornerstone. It puts your body in the right state to experience a full night’s rest.

In the sleep world, not all mattresses are created equal. For best sleep results, prioritize mattresses that provide optimal support from comfortable materials backed by a test-and-see type of guarantee.

Optimal Body Support

If you’re considering a particular mattress, make sure it supports your body in all the right ways. Make sure it independently suspends your arms and legs, while holding your neck and head gently in place. Optimal mattresses also support your upper and lower back in ways that keep your spine aligned, no matter your nighttime movements.

Comfortable, Reliable Materials

With little to no exceptions, the best mattresses are made with high-quality materials. It’s important to understand how different mattress materials might affect the quality of your sleep:

• Memory foam mattresses hug your body, conforming to your shape in ways that relieve pressure.
• Innerspring mattresses offer strong support and a higher level of bounce, with more noticeable motion transfer.
• Hybrid mattresses combine a variety of different materials to combine the benefits of foam and innerspring features.

Consider your sleep preferences to help you decide which materials create the best sleep environment for you.

Test-and-See Guarantee

No one should have to purchase a product without knowing if it works. Look for mattresses sold with at least a two-month guarantee. This gives you more than enough time to try the mattress for yourself to determine whether or not it properly satisfies your sleep needs.

While testing a mattress, pay particular attention to a few major sleep efficiency factors. Consider keeping a sleep journal to help you identify how the mattress might elevate or change your sleep patterns. For example, you might note that the new mattress changes the way you feel in the morning. Rate how well the mattress supports your limbs, relaxes your body, and contributes to your room’s sleep environment.

Explore the Science behind Better Sleep

Your definition of a good night’s sleep might be different from your neighbor’s. After all, your body has unique sleep needs that include your unique limb support, motion transfer, and comfort preferences. The right mattress should also support your dimensions and body type.

At Mattress Warehouse, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Our diagnostic bedMATCH program pairs you with the best possible mattress options for your weight, height, hips, and other factors. It’s a patented process that considers 18 measurements to defend mattress recommendations with hard science.

Take the bedMATCH quiz today to take your first step toward better sleep in less than 10 minutes!