Memory mattresses are designed with our comfort in mind. But, sometimes, I find less comfort. In fact, I face trouble while lying on it. In the last couple of years, I tried to figure out why it is causing so much trouble.
Specifically, Why does my memory foam mattress hurt my back? However, it took me a lot of nights to figure out what was causing the real troubles.
Here, I’ll go through some of the possible causes of trouble in your memory mattress through my writing. If you can resolve these concerns, you should be able to get a good night’s sleep.
How Can You Tell That Your Mattress is Causing Back Pain?
Mattresses are to assure our comfort and sound sleep. So, it’s somehow tough to blame a firmer mattress for any physical trouble. However, you can’t consider a mattress bad until you use it because the signs of a bad mattress aren’t always visible.
But it’s possible that your mattress isn’t working as it should if you’re suffering any of the following –
Feeling Pain in Spine While Lying
Mattresses are designed considering the proper support of spinal alignment. A sagging mattress can produce uneven spinal support, resulting in pressure building up in your back and neck while you sleep.
Uneasy Movement of Arms
The mattress’ layers are designed to work together to support your spine’s shape. While keeping the spine in a straight line, the support core should provide a stable base for the body’s heavier parts to rest on. An unsupportive mattress is probably causing you to wake up stiff and sore.
Poor Posture of Body
If sleep positions of your body can not match a proper alignment while lying, it may be because of bad mattresses, which causes back pain and sometimes neck pain.
You May Experience Aches and Pains When You First Wake Up
If you wake up with aches and pains, your mattress’s comfort layers may have broken down, generating pressure spots as you sink into the firmer support core.
If you find any of these signs, that means the reason for your unwanted back pain is hidden inside your mattress.
Why Does My Memory Foam Mattress Hurt My Back
Before knowing why your memory foam mattress hurts your back, you must understand what a traditional memory foam mattress is and how it works. So, in brief,
- It’s a form of foam manufactured from a combination of polyurethane foam and other chemicals.
- It can change shape in reaction to your body heat and weight.
- The shape changes to create a sleep surface that is tailored to your body shape exceptionally precisely.
As you see, the functioning of a memory foam mattress is mainly by generating a shape for a proper alignment of the body. Now, What do you think, what can be the possible causes? Let’s see-
Not Having Optimum Thickness
There is an optimum measurement of every mattress, both for soft mattresses and natural latex ones. If your mattress is over thick or thin, it will cause an improper spinal alignment by sinking more and more. And it may hurt your back and can result in joint pain. Also, the breakdown of optimum firmness levels can harm sleep quality.
Too Much Softness
If your mattress is too soft, it will lead your spine to misalign throughout the night, causing back pain when you’re out of bed. Besides, increased firmness levels can cause neck pain and shoulder pain. Mattress firmness level is higher in memory foam compared to innerspring mattress, but you can use a firm mattress topper to reduce the softness a little.
Extra Joint Pressure Due to Too Much Firmness
Usually, firm types of mattresses are not so comfortable for lying. It puts extra joint pressure on the hip and leads to pain in the lower back. Also, it misaligns the spinal alignment. In brief, a softer mattress doesn’t always mean ultimate comfort. And, going for the softer type of mattress is the most common type of mistake we do.
Not Getting Enough Support to Spine
You may be waking up stiff and aching because of an unsupportive mattress. The support core’s job is to provide a firm foundation for the body’s heavier portions while keeping the spine in a straight line. If it fails to do so, then you might face trouble. Choose the ideal mattress and use good sleep accessories like a firm topper and avoid the wrong pillow.
Sleeping on Your Stomach For A Long
Sleeping on your stomach can cause spinal and neck misalignment because the memory mattress forms the shape of your body by the body weight and heat. So, stomach sleepers are at high risk of unwanted pains.
Long periods of lying in the same sleeping position can cause your posture to change. And it aches your lower back a lot when you wake up and go back to your everyday work.
Wrong Frame
If the Frame of your mattress doesn’t adjust, it creates obstacles for the mattress to spread and adapt according to shape. And the memory mattress can’t perform as it should. And it may cause a spinal crack and hurt your back.
Well, these are some of the most common causes that I found in my observation. Don’t they match with your observation?
What Should be The Appropriate Thickness for Memory Mattresses?
Different brands measure the thickness according to their scale. But, universally, the ideal thickness ranges from 6 to 14 inches in a common memory mattress and 3.5-5 inches in a camping mattress for a bad back.
The best option is usually a 2-inches of memory foam layer on top of a firm mattress with a density of at least 5 pounds per cubic foot. And for adult sleepers, a mattress with a thickness of 10 to 12 inches is appropriate.
Remember, memory foam mattresses are usually softer than even latex mattresses or gel memory foam beds. All in all, to avoid any kind of sleep disruptions and to ensure quality sleep there is no alternative of choosing right mattress types with good comfort level.
At a Glance
Now you can say, “I know, why does my memory mattress hurt my back sometimes.” without any confusion. So, for a good night’s restful sleep, test your memory mattress if it’s too soft or firm, having an optimum thickness or not, any lack of support, is sagging, is placed in the right frame or wrong.
If all is ok, for sure, you don’t have to blame your mattress for hurting your back again. Again, if your back hurts, the problem may be in your sleeping posture, not in the mattress.
