The Importance of a Proper Mattress and Pillow

You might have been suffering from back and body pain for years, but maybe it's not your back or your body that's causing the issues. Maybe it's an old mattress and old pillows that need to be replaced that are causing your pain and suffering.

Hey everybody, it's Dr. Bob Salamon here with Lowcountry Chiropractic. Today we are going to talk about pillows and mattresses. I often see patients in my office who are not paying attention to their mattresses as they get old, and it creates a lot of back issues for them. Why is a mattress so important to your health? A quarter to a third of our life is spent laying on a mattress and sleeping. Think about it. If you're sleeping on a mattress 6 to 8 hours a day, that adds up to a quarter to a third of your life, so you want to make sure that you have a great mattress that takes care of your spine and allows you to get a good night's rest. Sleep is the only time our body repairs itself from all the work it's done during the day, so if you're not getting a good night's sleep, your body begins to break down and wear out quicker than it normally would. There are so many reasons why you should put emphasis on a good mattress. I hear it all the time from my patients who go to bed and they feel fine, but when they wake up their back is killing them. That is a very telling sign that your mattress needs to go. 

Where do you start when picking out the best mattress? Over the last twenty years, there have been a lot of changes in the industry. There are so many more products and competitors than there used to be. This is a great thing because when you get more competition, the cost of the product comes down. So you can get a high-quality product at a lower price. You can buy a nice mattress today for not a ton of money. There are three basic types of mattresses that you need to know about to understand what you should be considering when buying your next mattress. 

• Option One, The Traditional Coil Mattress

This is your old school mattress, made out of metal coil and spring. I am not a huge fan of these mattresses because you need to flip them to get even wear on them, and their life span is only about 7 or 8 years. You might spend a pretty penny on this type of mattress and not get the bang for your buck out of it. 

• Option Two, The Sleepnumber Bed/Select Comfort Bed

These mattresses are made up of pockets of air that you can inflate or deflate with a programmable device. The advantage of these mattresses is that you can set it up exactly to your preferred comfort level - either very hard or very soft or anywhere in between. You can set it on either side of the bed so you and your partner will be very comfortable together. It's a very versatile bed, and I know a lot of people who own and love them, The downside to this mattress is that they have a lot of moving parts. There are more chances of it breaking or something going wrong with it. The whole mattress is also split into two mattresses, with space in between. Some people don't like this because it's not one uniform bed, which makes sharing it somewhat awkward. 

• Option Three, The Memory Foam Mattress

This is what I sleep on. What you want to get when buying this type of mattress is something that has a cooling gel that has been infused into the mattress so it stays cool while you're sleeping at night. The original Tempur-Pedic mattresses were very different from what they are making now. They tended to get hot at night when you were sleeping. Also, they tended to contour to your body, so when you laid in bed your whole body would sink in, which I'm not a huge fan of. In my opinion, you want a fairly firm mattress, so when you lay in it you have an even distribution of your body weight on the mattress. This way you're not putting any extra stress or pressure on any parts of your body, like your hips. When you lay in bed the heaviest part of your body is your hips, so if your mattress sinks in, your hips are going to bear the largest brunt of the stress and weight of your body and that's not good. 

Let's take a moment to recap memory foam mattresses and all of these options in general. Remember, you want a mattress that is fairly firm and one that comes with a good warranty. Most mattresses come with a 20-year warranty now, and that's just fantastic! You don't have to turn or flip a memory foam mattress to get the full use out of it, which is another great advantage. Bedbugs, mites, and other bugs don't like memory foam mattresses, whereas they love those traditional coil mattresses. You can buy the perfect mattress for you online from companies like Casper or Purple. You can find them at Costco and Sams Club too. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to get a good quality mattress. Go to your local Mattress Firm and see what they have. One of my patients just bought a mattress online that came highly recommended and she loves it. It was a full-size mattress for only a couple hundred dollars. You don't have to break the bank for a great mattress. 

In terms of pillows, I sleep on a contoured pillow. One end is smaller than the other, and you need to sleep on the smaller end of the pillow with it placed right under your neck. You can use the larger end to do stretches before you go to bed. For our patients who have very straight necks, we give them exercises to do using the thick end of a contoured pillow. I like the memory foam contoured pillows because they give a little bit and are more forgiving. Many different companies make these wonderful pillows; you just need to find the company that's perfect for you! 

Now that you know about the best mattresses and pillows out there, what is the best posture for sleeping? The worst way to sleep is to sleep on your stomach because you have to turn your head to breathe, and when you do that all the vertebrae in your neck shift, causing irritated nerves and tightened neck muscles. Stomach sleeping also puts a lot of pressure on your abdominal contents like intestines and other vital organs, which is just not good. The best ways to sleep are either on your side or your back, depending on what you're most comfortable doing. 

• Side Posture Sleeping 
  • Your pillow needs to be high enough so your head remains in a neutral position (i.e not rotated or flexed to one side). If your head is not neutral it causes stress on the vertebrae, nerves and muscles in your neck, which can lead to you waking up with torticollis or a stiff, painful neck.
  • Have your hands in front of you and don’t put your arms at or above your head.  (because that puts a lot of stress on your trap muscles and your neck). 
  • Bend your knees about halfway to your chest. Put a big pillow in between your knees so you don't cross your legs over one another at night. Crossing your legs can misalign your pelvis.
• Sleeping On Your Back
  • Ensure your pillow height is proper that will allow for a neutral head posture (i.e not flexed or extended).
  • If you do have back issues or serious pain I would recommend putting a pillow under your knees. This cradles them which takes a lot of pressure off of your lower back. 
  • You can bring your knees up as well, which will give you similar results.

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I hope all of this helps! If you're having problems sleeping or are waking up in pain it may be your mattress. It might also be that your spine needs to get checked. Generally, if I'm working with someone and they are still waking up in pain, it's usually not their spine that is causing the pain. It is usually their mattress, and it's time to get a new one. Come see us! We will be happy to talk you through all of this, give you proper advice, and keep your spine in good health! I'm Dr. Bob and I've got your back covered! 

 

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