A bed mattress is an important decision we all must make when it comes to buying one. Did you know we all spend on average 229,961 hours sleeping or in other words one-third of our entire lives! That is a lot of time spent lying on our mattress then. When people come into my office saying they wake up with low back pain or even radiating or shooting leg pain I have to ask them what kind of mattress are they sleeping on. Typically people who wake up in pain have a few problems we have to address. One is how they are sleeping. Many people do not know to place a pillow under the knees if they sleep on their back, in between their knees if they sleep on their sides, and to avoid sleeping on their stomach if possible. This picture illustrates an ideal sleeping posture to protect your spine.
The next problem we address is the type of mattress they sleep on. I recommend finding a mattress that is firm so that it supports your spine while you sleep. A mattress that is too soft will cause your spine to unevenly contour to the mattress putting you in an awkward sleeping position. A firmer mattress will help support your spine staying in a neutral position while you peacefully sleep through the night! I have provided another picture that shows how a firm mattress will support your spine better than a soft mattress.
A good night's sleep is when you get 7-9 hours of restful sleep each night, could you imagine if your spine was not properly aligned while you slept through the night? It's no wonder people wake up in tremendous amounts of pain sometimes!
Sources: https://www.shantispinesurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Shanti-Spine_Sleep-Positions-for-Back-Pain-768x371.png