How Often Should You Replace Your Mattress
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All products and items in your household are subject to wear and tear and should be replaced every now and then. A mattress is no different although it might not seem like getting old or needing replacement, this might not be the case. There are some points that you need to take into consideration to decide on how often should you replace your mattress. There is a significant difference in the comfort and quality of sleep offered by a new mattress and an old saggy one. When you don’t replace your mattress at the right time, you end up sleeping in an uncomfortable position and lacking the support or the plush you need for a good night sleep. In order to determine how often you should change your mattress, you should consider a lot of factors.
What Are The Main Factors That Determine How Often You Should Replace Your Mattress?
Who is Using the Mattress
Some mattresses are not used heavily, like the ones used in a guest room for example. These mattresses will hold their plush and support longer than the ones used by family members in the same house. They could be changed every 8 to 10 years no matter what their type is. If your mattress is used in the master bedroom then you will start feeling the lack of comfort from 6 to 8 years, especially if you spend some of your day time in bed, reading, studying or watching TV. As for kids room, mattresses should be changed every 4 to 5 years as they tend to turn and toss more than adults. If at any point of time your mattress starts to feel uncomfortable, bumpy or u started to feel the inner springs pressing against your body, then you should replace it immediately as a worn out mattress will not only affect the quality of your sleep but also your spine and muscle health.
Quality of the Mattress
The quality of your current mattress is an important factor in determining when to get a new mattress. High quality mattresses are so much more expensive than the lower quality ones but in return they do live longer and they put up with more use and provide more years of comfortable sleep. A good quality mattress will not sag fast with age and can be replaced every good 10 years, although a low quality one will show visible signs of sagging, tearing and overall discomfort within 4 to 6 years.
Weight
A mattress that is suitable for a heavy person does offer more support than one that is suitable for someone who is not that heavy. A heavy body tends to sink more into the mattress, that is why a mattress that is used by an obese person is more likely to be replaced sooner than one used by a person who is not overweight.
If your weight tends to increase with time, that will directly affect how often you change your mattress.
Comfort After Sleep
Do you get back pain after waking up? Do you feel tired? Do you prefer to sleep on a sofa or a chair? Do you usually get skin breakouts? Do you feel that your neck muscles are strained after a night of sleep? Does your mattress make creaking noises? Do you get better sleep when you are not in your own bed, like in a hotel or at a friend’s? If the answer to these questions is a yes, then it is definitely the time to change your mattress.
A mattress might not show visible signs of aging but will tell you in every possible way that it is time to buy a new mattress. With time, the plush layer of the mattress gets squeezed and tends to thin and you end up sleeping on the hard support layer or the inner spring layer. This can be very uncomfortable even for people who like firm mattresses. The mattress will not offer comfort and the bottom layer will not support your spine or muscles which is crucial for your health and comfort. Even with proper cleaning and rotating, your mattress will be subject to debris, dust and dead skin cells build up. These will cause allergy as well as acne break outs as the hot humid mattress will be the perfect home for millions of microorganisms that will only lessen the quality of your sleep.
What Can I Do to Increase the Lifetime of My Mattress?
- Rotate the mattress and flip it every six months. You can have a summer and a winter side. This will protect the mattress from sagging and will it keep looking and feeling new for a longer time.
- Remove the duvet or blanket and fold them after waking up. This will allow the mattress to cool faster after sleep. You can also air it whenever it is possible.
- Use a mattress protector. It will help your mattress to stay clean and stain free. It can be washed and cleaned whenever you need to.
- Invest in a proper box spring. It will keep your mattress looking good and will save it from sagging and sinking.
Final Verdict
A normal person sleeps about 6 to 8 hours a day, which is almost 1/3 of his life time. The quality and condition of the mattress will affect the quality of your sleep and your life as a whole. You should get a new mattress whenever you feel like sleeping doesn’t give you the comfort you need and when you wake up feeling worse than the night before.