Did you know that your bed can directly damage or benefit your mental health? Even if you don’t have common mental health issues or disorders, the quality of your sleep directly affects your mood, mental clarity, and emotional regulation. If you don’t get enough sleep, or you never sleep soundly, your brain will not be able to operate as normal.
Experts say that adults should get an average of 7 hours of sleep per night. However, some people may need more or less based on a whole host of health and genetic factors. However, most people feel rested after between 6 and 8 hours per night.
These same experts have done experiments to determine how less than 6 hours of sleep affects the human brain and the quality of its function. In short, researchers found that getting 5 hours or less of sleep in a single 24 hour period leads to cognitive delays in thinking, speech, and motor skills. In fact, someone with 4 hours or less of sleep in a 24 hour period is as dangerous behind the wheel as a drunk driver.
It should now be clear why the quality of your sleep is important, but how do you improve it? There are a lot of factors that go into determining your quality of sleep, but the most commonly stated are:
- Nutrition and fluid intake near bedtime
- Screen time near bedtime or while in bed
- Mental and physical stress levels, particularly for chronically ill
- Some medications and over the counter supplements
But do you know what is missing from this list? Your bed! If your bed is not comfortable, or if it does not give the right support for your sleeping position, the quality of your sleep will decrease significantly. If you suffer from chronic pain, an uncomfortable mattress can make or break your sleep hygiene.
Of course, the mattress that you find the most comfortable is different than the preference of someone else. If you’re not sure what kind of mattress you want, go to your local furniture or mattress store to check out some examples of the pocket coil, memory foam, or hybrid mattresses. As a general rule:
- Pocket coil mattresses give the best support and a firmer base, better for side sleepers
- Memory foam of good quality gives the softest mattress top with a bit of support, better for back sleepers
- Hybrid mattresses with pocket coils and memory foam tops offer the best of both worlds, with the support of a coil mattress but the comfort of memory foam
Hybrid mattresses are also best for people on a budget who want a comfortable bed to improve their quality of sleep. They are a bit cheaper than straight-out memory foam mattresses and fall within the middle range.
If you’re really worried about the cost of a comfortable mattress but desperately need to improve your sleep hygiene, you should look for quality mattresses on sale. Online furniture stores that specialize in bedroom furniture are the best places to get a new mattress as well.
Speaks from heart, always too passionate and driven by emotions. Spins the words with kindness & sharpness, intriguing your ever-inscrutable minds.