WHICH MATTRESS SHOULD I BUY AND HOW LONG CAN I USE THE SAME MATTRESS?

Should I buy a spring mattress? Or a newer type of latex mattress? Do I also need a mattress topper? Should the mattress be rather soft or rather hard? Should I have one wide mattress or two narrower ones?

Sleep is essential for human life and we literally spend a third of our lives sleeping. If we don’t get enough and good sleep, there are bad consequences: the immune system weakens, the ability to tolerate stress decreases, our movements are slower and not as precise as those of a well-rested person. Memory can also become worse and the ability to perform mental work decreases. Long-term sleep deprivation causes auditory and visual hallucinations, and during the day, “microsleep” or short sleep episodes occur that are not always even perceived.
An uncomfortable bed is also not the last place among the causes of sleep disorders.

THE BACK MUST BE FLAT
The back should not be too soft or too bumpy when sleeping. Everyone has a different body structure, but the spine should be straight when sleeping on your side – so that blood circulation, muscles and bones can recover in a resting position. It may happen that if the mattress is too soft, the body sinks too much into the mattress – such a position bends the spine like a bow.

Orthopedists also usually recommend a harder mattress rather than a softer one, but this does not mean that you have to sleep on a bare table. The softness of the mattress is actually very relative and individual and depends largely on how much the sleeper weighs.

However, doctors also make concessions regarding the hardness of the mattress: in any case, the side support must be comfortable for the person. What is important is how the mattress supports the body. To do this, you should try different options yourself before buying a mattress – the mattress must take the shape of the body, not the body the shape of the mattress!

However, there are also several back diseases that may require a special back support. In this case, you should first consult your doctor or orthopedist.

A mattress that has been used for years, even worse if it has sunk according to other people, is like sleeping on potato furrows, so to speak, and is not good for the spine. The mattress must be one piece and have a flat surface. Therefore, sofas that consist of several pillows are also not good for sleeping.

The mattress should be renewed after some time, depending on how quickly it sinks.
In any case, it is worth remembering when buying a mattress that you can lie down on it in the store and try it out for a while to see if it suits you – touching it with your hand or sitting and jumping around will not help here. It is definitely not worth buying a mattress based solely on price, appearance, material and advertisements.

ONE WIDE OR TWO NARROWER MATTRESSES?
Mattresses use various combinations of spring systems, cushioning and linings, which is why there are differences between models. Therefore, it is important to be able to try at least three or four different mattresses when making a choice.

A harder mattress generally lasts longer and softness can be added with a suitable mattress topper. You could also get a mattress topper on top of a thicker mattress. A mattress topper provides support for the body, protects the main mattress and extends its life. If necessary, the mattress topper is also easy and inexpensive to replace. Most manufacturers also have washable mattress topper covers.

It may also happen that two people sleeping in the same bed have different preferences when it comes to mattresses. In that case, each person should get their own mattress that suits them, and above all, a mattress topper – this will also eliminate the uncomfortable gap between the two sides. However, it is possible to order a wide mattress that is made to take into account the different weights of two people sleeping next to each other.

In a very wide bed (over 180 cm), it is simply wiser to place two mattresses in a purely practical sense – with a very wide mattress, it is cumbersome to change both the covers and the sheets.

CAUTION IN CASE OF LATEX ALLERGY!
A variety of materials are used in mattresses, such as foam rubber. Some people are afraid of it: it is an artificial material and who knows how it affects your health. However, modern foam rubber is a very good mattress material: it lets air through, does not sag and does not collect odors.

Over the past 10–20 years, foam has been developed to the point that it is one of the most widely used cushioning materials in the world. Foam is particularly suitable for allergy sufferers, as this material is not suitable for bed mites.

Latex is also used in mattresses, mainly as an intermediate layer between springs and fabric. It is a natural, very durable and flexible material produced from rubber tree sap. For mattresses, latex is specially processed, washed and dried. This allows the material to breathe well and is soft.

However, people with latex allergies should be careful and choose a mattress made of another material. Modern mattresses are covered with a thick layer of another material (such as cotton), but this is not enough for a person with a severe allergy. Latex allergy