Getting a full night of quality sleep each night is essential to your overall health. If you’re having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, the problem may be your bed. While there are many indications that your current bed is no longer a good fit for you, here are a few of the most common reasons people need to upgrade their beds.
You Wake Up Feeling Unwell
While it’s unpleasant to think about, an older mattress can become a comfortable home to pests. In particular, dust mites or most commonly known as ‘bed bugs’ thrive in the cotton layers of a mattress, where dust and debris accumulate over time. As you sleep, you’ll inhale this dust and that can be one way that your allergies are triggered. The dust mites will also cause allergic reactions, such as rashes, runny noses, and congestion. While these reactions aren’t usually serious, they can be troubling enough to interfere with your sleep patterns. As a result, you’ll wake up feeling fatigued and stressed. If you live in a humid area, other pests such as black mold can start growing in the underside of the bed. Exposure to this type of mold can cause several allergy-like symptoms including headaches, exhaustion, congestion, and itchy, irritated skin. Not only is the mold a direct problem to your immediate health, but it can also easily spread throughout your house over time.
It’s Visibly Damaged
One of the first things you should consider is the appearance of the bed since this is a telltale sign that it needs replacing. For example, the support slats that lay beneath the mattress and box spring tend to bow after awhile. In addition to affecting the sleeping experience, bowed support slats are at a greater risk of breaking. Over time, the top padding of the mattress can start to rip, causing the inner pads to shift and fray, making for a lumpy, uneven mattress.
You should also look at the quality of your mattress. Remove your bedding to determine if the mattress has started to sag. You might also see that the springs have started to show through the material. These are all indications that your bed is reaching the end of its life and should be replaced. Even if your bed is still in good condition, make sure to rotate the bed once a month in order to make sure it wears out evenly on all sides.
It’s Older
If you’ve had the bed for more than a few years, you may want to upgrade to something that’s a little more modern. For example, if you like to watch TV, work, or read in bed, a mattress with an adjustable base can provide comfort for you in a variety of positions, and some even come with individual settings per side. Additionally, more modern beds are designed to provide better back and neck support and make it easier to find a comfortable position, so you won’t wake up feeling sore. The next thing to watch out for is pain caused by improper sleeping positions. Body aches are often caused by the springs pressing against your muscles as you sleep, which they will only do after you have worn a groove into the mattress. Even if your bed and mattress look like they’re in good shape, they may not be providing you with the quality of sleep you need. Some people don’t realize how uncomfortable their older bed is until they upgrade to a newer option.
It Makes Noises
Sleep experts recommend replacing your bed about every eight years to ensure you’re getting the best quality sleep possible. However, if you notice that your bed is making noises as you try to sleep, you should consider upgrading sooner. If the noise is coming from the bed itself, you may be dealing with a damaged, or weakening, frame. In this case, the bed may be in danger of failing, which can cause you to suffer an injury down the road. Sometimes, the bed will creak if the box spring is broken, or damaged. Either the springs may have become too worn, or the box spring’s wooden frame may be loose. The box spring is designed to provide more even support as you sleep, so any indication that it’s failing is a good reason to replace it.
You See Signs of Pests
Even though spiders and cockroaches can make their way into your bedroom, it’s far more common for bed bugs to nest in or beneath your bed. These are very small bugs that you probably won’t even see, but you can find evidence that they’re living in your bed. One sign is the presence of very small bites on your feet and ankles, which you may not notice unless you’re looking for them. Additionally, look for rust-colored stains on the corners of your mattress. They leave these stains behind as they return to their hiding place in the mattress, box spring, or bed frame.
While you may look for budget-friendly deals in furnishing the rest of your home, you should pamper yourself when it comes to your bedroom. A good quality bed with a new, comfortable mattress will help you sleep better and longer. You may not even realize how much an old, improper mattress and bed may be affecting your ability to sleep until you replace it. Thankfully, there are a lot of options to choose from, so don’t despair and search to your heart’s content.
