Some people wonder why our mattresses and pillows are central to every aspect of how we live our lives, so we are here to educate and explain to you the reasonings behind this.
Mattress
We spend a third of our lives sleeping, so its no surprise that your time getting some shut-eye can have a big impact on your waking life. It is near impossible to get a deep, effective sleep on an old, uncomfortable bed. Mattresses lacking comfort, space and support are likely to leave you waking tired and achy.
Quite often a mattress has worn out long before you realise. That’s why the National Bed Federation recommend replacing your mattress every 7-8 years. After this time a mattress has been subjected to over 20,000 hours of wear and tear, we lose half a pint of fluid each night and shed a pound of dead skin cells a year – yuck!
You should select the best mattress for you, offering the correct support and comfort for your weight and build. When we’re asleep it’s recommended that we maintain a good posture; a mattress too soft will cause us to slouch, while one that’s too firm can apply pressure to our hips and shoulders.
Pillows
Neck pain, stiff necks and even persistent headaches could simply be the result of poor pillow support while in bed sleeping. A good pillow should hold your head in the correct alignment – that is, in the same relation to your shoulders and spine as if you were standing upright with the correct posture. One that is too soft will allow the head to flop, curving the neck. One that is too hard will give you a crick in the neck. Pillows come filled with a choice of fillings – polyester, goosedown, duckdown, feather, fibre filled, and visco-elastic, latex or polyurethane foam, gel – and any number of combinations of these. It’s a good idea to invest in quality pillows and replace every two to three years.