How to know when it’s time to buy a new mattress
Is it time to replace your mattress?
Nobody likes spending money on things that they don’t need and a new mattress should be no different. Humans cycle through possessions far quicker than is necessary and our urge to shop and spend often leads to wasteful purchases – and lets be honest, beds and mattress are not cheap.
As we’ve been saying all along, a good mattress is vital to getting a good night’s sleep but how do you know when it’s time to replace your mattress? And what’s the difference between regular wear and tear and a sagging mattress that has begun to affect your sleep?
Finding the right mattress can be a difficult process to begin with as everybody has their own unique sleep and mattress needs. We can often become quite attached to our bed and the mattresses that sits on top and loathe the idea of diving back into the mattress industry to find something suitable for us.
Here are eight points to think about to help you decide if you need a new mattress or not.
Waking up with aches in the morning
If you find that you are constantly waking up in the morning with aches and pains it could be a tell-tale sign that you need a new mattress. But then again, it could also be down to other factors.
Mattresses naturally lose their support and with it their comfort as they begin sagging. This is why you are hard-pressed to find a mattress with a warranty of more than twenty years – they are just not designed to last that long.
Slowly the comfort layers that make up the top of mattress begin to sag, meaning your body, and in particular, the heavier sections begin to push down further into the mattress creating an unbalanced sleeping position. This will be the same whether you have a traditional spring mattress or foam mattress. Sadly, mattresses are not built to last.
Last point, but maybe one of the most important. If you wake up with pain but you’re aches get better throughout the day, it could be likely that the mattress is at fault. If your pains continue in the same way over the course of the day, it could be something more serious and you should probably seek medical advice. Mattresses can’t be blamed for everything and if you have bad posture or a long term injury, this could also be the cause of you discomfort.
Your mattress is over 8 years old
Nothing is built to last forever, and mattresses are no different. Most consumer advice states you should replace your mattress every 7 to 10 years – and believe us, this is not just for fancy informational purposes. Sometimes you will have a new mattress with a warranty as long as 20 years, but this doesn’t reflect the true life expectancy of the mattress and instead will probably cover internal replacements such as springs, coils or boards.
This begs the question, how old is my mattress? Many simply lose track of purchases, especially when over several years. You can normally get a rough idea (within a year) and go from there, but with that next purchase why not make you file that paperwork away somewhere important.
This is definitely worth keeping track of because a mattress may remain relatively comfortable even after they begin to sag. You might still be getting a good night’s sleep, but your body is slowly becoming accustomed to a bad sleeping position and it might only be a matter of time until issues arise.
You make a real impression on it
Memory foam mattresses are of course supposed to “remember” your body shape but once you get out of bed, the mattress should pretty much return to its original visible state. If you come back a few hours later and still find a perfect impression of your body in the mattress, it could mean it’s time for a replacement – especially if the indentation is deeper than two inches.
When this happens it’s because the cellular structure of the foam has begun to break down, meaning it can’t bounce back as it once did. It might sound wonderful to have a ready-made hole for you to nestle into, but this is a sign that the mattress is losing its support, which will probably lead to aches and pains eventually.
The same goes with springs and coils. Eventually they don’t bounce back with the same kind of strength that they used and with these types if mattresses you also need to worry when the springs begin to snap and start sticking out at painful angles. When you see the signs, it’s worth getting a new mattress before this happens.
Allergies
Around 20% of the population suffers from some kind of allergies, most of which have absolutely nothing to do with your mattress – but some certainly do.
Most mattresses will see a slow build-up of allergens like mould, dust mites and mildew during their lifetime and this is perfectly normal. As much as we love to think that we sleep in a wonderfully clean environment, that’s not always the case. These allergens are constantly all around us and usually cause us no harm whatsoever, but if you’re sleeping next to it every night and you are susceptible to allergies anyway, it might be a different matter.
If you wake up in the morning sneezing or feel like you have a blocked nose it could well mean it’s time for a new mattress. However, if you’re somebody who often suffers from hay fever or other common allergies, it could also be this.
Think about the timing and whether this happens each year before buying a new mattress.
Sleeping Badly
Now, let’s say from the outset, a bad night’s sleep can be blamed on a whole host of factors – including a bad mattress. Caffeine, alcohol, stress, noise, temperature – I really could go on.
If you find that you struggle to fall asleep or consistently have a bad night’s sleep it’s worth exploring whether other factors could be at play before you march down to the shop to buy a new mattress. If you’re chugging coffee throughout the day or staring at a bright screen for hours on end before you try to sleep, then you sleep issues might well be down to this rather than your bed or the mattress on top of it.
If you’ve searched through the deepest recesses of your brain and can’t think of any other reason you are tossing and turning at night, the mattress might be to blame. Remember, mattresses are designed to be comfortable, so if you find yourself moving constantly all night, unable to get comfortable, this is a bad sign.
Your weight has changed significantly
One factor that people often forget is changes to the body. If you buy a mattress when you are a certain weight, then four years later you are significantly heavier, is this the kind of mattress you would have bought for you body type now?
The chances are the answer there will be no. If that’s the case, you have two options. Lose weight or get a new mattress.
If you’re not quite ready for a new purchase, try using a topper for the mattress. This can add some extra firmness, but won’t be the answer in the long term.
Sharing is caring
People are slowly beginning to come around to the idea people’s preferences of mattresses change considerably. What you like is not necessarily what your husband likes, and vice versa. And this doesn’t just come down to firmness, some people swear by memory foam, while others search out the mattress with the largest number of springs possible.
When we buy a mattress as a young whippersnapper we pay absolutely no attention to what somebody might like in the future. Why would you, you don’t even know that person yet! But as things change and a new person comes into your life, the mattress you both sleep on will be an important decision.
If you’ve ever had to spend time around a person who is bad sleeper, you’ll know they’re not a lot of fun to be with. It’s in your best interest to make sure that the person next to you is getting a better sleep.
Another factor is pregnancy. We’re not going to say that you should run out and get a whole new mattress for 9 months, but in certain cases, it may be needed. The extra weight and new body shape can play havoc on your sleeping patterns and can lead to comfortable tossing and turning throughout the night.
It’s best to try a mattress topper first to see whether that will help, before splurging on a whole next mattress.
What about a mattress topper?
This is a short term fix, but definitely something to bear in mind. Mattresses toppers are thin covers that go over the top of your mattress and can be perfect to add that little bit of extra firmness without having to go through the process of buying a whole new mattress.
Mattress toppers today are excellent quality and come in a wide variety of styles from latex to memory foam or even a hybrid of the two. If you notice your mattress sagging a little but nothing major, a mattress topper is a great option to add that extra layer of comfort.
But….as mentioned, this is a short term solution. When a mattress begins to sag, it’s only going one way. A mattress topper might be able to prolong its life span for a while, but you shouldn’t rely on it for a significant amount of time.
Do you need to replace that mattress?
If some of the points in this article sound eerily familiar then it might well be time for a new mattress. We know, buying a new mattress is far from the ideal activity, especially in these busy, hectic times. In fact, it probably ranks somewhere between buying a fridge and a new hoover (sorry to the hoover and fridge fans out there)
But at the very least, your mattress is the place you cab crawl into at the end of a busy day and because of this, it’s real worth paying attention to. A good night’s sleep is vital for your health and your mattress should be something you pay close attention to.
