It’s National Bed Month and we thought we would turn our attention to your bed/mattress and how it can affect your back. Research undertaken by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) showed that a large proportion of people who get back pain said it could be brought on by a night’s sleep.
Our chiropractor in Southend stresses that choosing the right bed for yourself is really important and can help your back. Given you spend a third of your life in bed it makes sense to choose carefully.
So how do you know if your current bed/mattress is right for you? Our chiropractor suggests that you ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you and your partner having a comfortable night’s sleep? If not, it could be your bed/mattress.
- Can you feel the springs through the mattress?If so, it’s time to buy a new one.
- Is your bed more than 10 years old? If it is, it may be time to start looking for a replacement.
How do you choose a new bed/mattress?
It’s a case that one size doesn’t fit all, so you need to set time aside to look for your new bed. This is an important decision and the more time you take in researching and testing beds the more likely you are to find the right one for you.
Find a store that has a good selection of beds and mattresses so that you can properly test out different options.
Buy the biggest size bed that you can but make sure it isn’t too big to accommodate comfortably in your bedroom.
You are looking for the mattress that is most supportive for you. You need to confirm this by lying on the mattress. As a guide when you are lying on your side your spine should be parallel to the mattress. You’ll need to get someone to check this for you. You also need to ensure that the pillow is an extension of this parallel line – resulting in your neck being a continuation of your spine, straight and parallel to the mattress.
If you have a partner, it’s important that you shop together for your new bed/mattress as both your needs could be very different. If this is the case, you may want to buy two single mattresses that zip together to ensure you both get the support that you need.
We can’t stress how important a good night’s sleep is for your back and overall health.
Our experienced team of chiropractors at Cliffs Chiropractic in Southend are here to help you should you have any questions or concerns regarding your back.