Every year, we say goodbye to some things and say hello to many things, too, from clothes and shoes to jobs and relationships. But many of us don’t want to say goodbye to our old mattresses for a number of reasons, from a limited budget to sentimentality. While there are things worth holding on to, your old mattress isn’t one of them!
Think about it: You spend about one-third of your entire day sleeping on your mattress and, thus, you spend more than one-third of your entire life on it. You should then give it as much attention and care as the things that you use during the other two-thirds of your day. Otherwise, your quality of life will be adversely affected.
So, when you’re hesitating about buying a new Serta mattress, you should think about the ill effects of sleeping on your old lumpy mattress. Here are more reasons so you should throw out your old mattress and bring in your new one.
Your Mattress Is Old
While there are mattresses with a 20-year warranty, these aren’t designed to last for 20 years – unless, of course, you rarely use it since it’s just for show purposes. The warranty is only intended to cover specific parts and overall workmanship of the mattress, not its comfort and support over the years.
If your mattress hits its 8-year mark but it isn’t showing little signs of wear and tear despite regular use, you should replace it. You may think that it’s unnecessary expense but your restful and restorative sleep is at stake here.
Tip: You can write the date when you purchased the mattress on its label. You will then be able to determine when it hits its 8-year mark. You may be able to save for a new mattress even before that happens.
You Feel Tired Upon Waking Up
On a typical night spent on a comfortable and supportive mattress, you will wake up refreshed and rested. But with an old mattress, you will likely wake up feeling tired, a feeling that persists throughout the day (i.e., daytime drowsiness). You were probably tossing and turning too much in your sleep in your effort to find a more comfortable position – and, unfortunately, it doesn’t exist on a lumpy mattress.
But if your mattress is still within the 8-year mark and it doesn’t show obvious signs of wear and tear, then there may be another reason for your sleeplessness. You may have an underlying medical condition, such as sleep apnea, preventing your enjoyment of a restful sleep. You have to seek medical opinion since even the best mattress isn’t the solution for whatever medical condition you may have.
You Have Back Pains Upon Waking Up
Your aches and pains in the morning are becoming worse so much so that your daytime performance of your personal and professional responsibilities is being affected. You should first consider the possibility that, indeed, your old mattress is the culprit especially when you’re a relatively healthy adult.
Old mattresses slowly but surely lose the thickness of their foam, known as the comfort zone; the innersprings or coils are known as the support zone. Once the foam becomes thinner, the coils come into more contact with your body such that you’re sleeping almost directly on top of them.
Your shoulders, neck and hips, which are your body’s pressure points, aren’t as supported as they should be due to such situation. You will then feel like something has been digging, literally, into these parts of your body. You may even feel like you pinched a nerve somewhere.
When you start feeling these aches in the morning, then you should consider changing your old mattress. You will find that getting a good night’s sleep every night is sufficient reason in itself to dig into your savings for a new mattress.
You’re Hearing Sounds
No, you’re not hearing phantom sounds. Instead, you’re hearing sounds coming from your mattress with every movement you make while you’re on it. You may hear your spring mattress squeaking, or your box spring creaking, or your foam letting out air.
Again, it’s enough reason to change your mattress. If you have a mattress with a frame, the latter may not have center support resulting in sagging in the middle in the former. If you have a mattress with box springs, the latter may be damaged so it affects the former’s shape, support and comfort.
You may also be hearing other sounds – the ones coming from you when you’re coughing more from your allergy. Your old mattress may be harboring more pests, especially dust mites, which are worsening your allergy symptoms. You will find that changing to a new mattress is more cost-efficient than paying for your doctor’s visits, medications, and absences from work.
We understand if buying a new mattress may not be in your annual budget. But if you continue sleeping on your old mattress, you may be sleeping with the enemy – and we’re talking about dust mites, damaged innersprings, and lumpy foam.