Unfortunately, some people buying a bed are interested in its appearance, size, price, and which mattress to buy is not too important for them. Often, for reasons of economy, they buy the cheapest mattresses. As a result, you can damage your health. After all, an unsuccessful choice of a mattress entails, at best, discomfort during sleep, pain and a feeling of numbness in the body, and at worst – a number of diseases. Therefore, you should choose a mattress very carefully.
How to choose the right mattress?
Why the mattress should be orthopedic
If the spine of a person experiences uneven loads during sleep, the vertebrae may shift, and the nerve roots will be pinched. As a result, because of this, the passage of nerve impulses to organs and muscles is disrupted, blood flow decreases, and lymph outflow worsens. Therefore, with constant overloads of certain areas of the spine, a person may experience severe muscle pain, as well as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, stomach ulcers, scoliosis, sciatica and a number of other serious diseases.
To avoid these troubles, a person should sleep on a mattress that is able to support the spinal column in a natural position, preventing its curvature. This mattress is called orthopedic. It allows the spine and muscles to relax, rest, which has a beneficial effect on health in general.
An orthopedic mattress should be neither too soft nor too hard. Indeed, in the first case, the spine of a person will “sag”, and in the second – to experience excessive pressure, which is also harmful
A good orthopedic mattress completely follows the contour of the body, due to which the pressure on the spine is minimal. A person sleeps calmly and comfortably, and he is not threatened by the above-described unpleasant consequences.
It should be firmly remembered: neither wadded, nor down, nor foam mattresses are orthopedic and cannot be! Their only plus is the relative cheapness, but such savings, as already mentioned, can result in serious health problems.
What are orthopedic mattresses and how to choose them
The first orthopedic mattresses for beds were water and air. However, they had a number of significant drawbacks, the main one of which was that such mattresses would fail if accidentally punctured. In addition, the water mattress weighed many hundreds of kilograms, and in the event of a rupture, it was very difficult to quickly collect such a mass of water. Therefore, water mattresses were used and are still used mainly in medical institutions when patients need complete rest and minimal stress on the spine and the whole body (for example, in burn centers).
Then came latex and spring mattresses. In latex mattresses, a foamed extract of natural or synthetic rubber plays the role of an elastic filler. As a result of this foaming, the rubber acquires a honeycomb-like structure. Environmentally friendly, durable, non-allergenic, quiet, chemically inert, natural rubber filler is considered ideal for mattresses. Its only drawback is the rather high price.
Therefore, latex orthopedic mattresses filled with synthetic foam rubber are much more common. Their properties are very close to natural rubber, and the price is significantly lower
However, even a synthetic-filled latex mattress is much more expensive than a spring mattress. Therefore, spring mattresses are the most common. The more springs there are inside the mattress, the more elastic it has. The most common mattresses with spring filling of the “Bonnel” system. This is the name of a block of five-coil springs that are interconnected. All springs in appearance resemble two truncated cones, set against each other by narrower tops. The coils of the springs, made of a resilient steel wire with a diameter of 2,2 mm, do not touch. Therefore, no noise is heard when pressing on the surface of the mattress. And thanks to the above-described original shape of the springs, the weight of the human body is evenly distributed over the surface.
There are also combined spring-latex orthopedic mattresses. In terms of cost, they occupy an intermediate position between spring and latex. And in terms of quality, they are the most optimal products in the middle price category. How to choose the right orthopedic mattress? The choice depends on many factors, including financial ones. But, perhaps, the best criterion is one’s own impressions. Therefore, if possible, be sure to lie down on the mattress and evaluate how comfortable you are. If you feel very comfortable, this will be a good reason for purchasing such a mattress. Well, of course, if you have spinal problems, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before buying a mattress. Read reviews about manufacturers on the Internet, ask your friends and acquaintances. Perhaps some of them have already purchased an orthopedic mattress and can share their impressions. Get as much information as possible about the manufacturers from the consultants in the store.