Many mattress companies sell mattresses with 10-year warranties, yet over time mattresses begin to wear down much earlier. Over time they shrink, sag, collect dead skin flakes, sweat oil and dust mites.
Mattress cleaning can certainly help, but for optimal health it is equally essential to get a new mattress when necessary. An old or uncomfortable mattress can trigger allergies, restrict breathing and cause physical discomfort.
Poor Sleep
Sleeping on an outmoded mattress can compromise the quality of sleep you get, leading to backache, irritability and long-term health problems like compromised immunity, weight gain and respiratory ailments.
Though mattresses can be costly and it can be hard to part with them when they appear fine, eventually it may be best to upgrade. Aiming to get rid of old mattresses after eight years should do it; but many continue sleeping on them beyond this due to them “seeming fine.”
An early sign that it may be time to invest in a new mattress is when you wake up feeling stiff and sore from sleeping on an old one, due to lack of support needed to keep your spine aligned properly. Old mattresses also often lack firm or soft support, leading to pressure points in your neck and back area that cause discomfort.
An old mattress isn’t only physical issues; it can also exacerbate allergies. Dust mites in old mattresses may irritate your nose and sinuses and trigger allergic flare-ups that lead to sinus pressure, watery eyes, itching, coughing or chest tightness.
New mattresses are specifically designed with this in mind and can help alleviate these symptoms. Many modern designs also come equipped with features like cooling materials that may assist if you tend to sweat throughout the night, ensuring you receive restorative restorative sleep each night. By addressing these concerns, you can ensure you’re getting restful restorative rest.
Allergies
Sleeping on an old mattress can be the perfect environment for dust mites to flourish, leading to allergies. These pests feed off dead skin cells and fungus that accumulates over time in your mattress – creating the ideal conditions for their colonization. Once they start multiplying, allergy symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, sore throat may arise as a result. Allergies caused by dust mites are especially troublesome for people suffering from asthma as these allergens aggravate their condition further.
Your good news is that you can effectively reduce dust mites on your mattress by frequently washing sheets and using a dehumidifier in the bedroom. Furthermore, getting a hypoallergenic mattress could also help relieve allergies from worsening over time.
Back pain is often an indicator that it’s time for a new mattress, according to Integra Health Centre in Toronto chiropractor Sapna Sriram DC MBA who says old mattresses no longer provide enough support for the lumbosacral region of your spine and may contribute to back ache.
If your mattress exhibits visible dips and lumps, it may be time for replacement. Not only are the dent unsightly; they can compromise its structure as well as cause it to sag or provide uneven support. Furthermore, if it becomes uncomfortable enough for you to sleep in another room due to shifting mattresses that they need replacing after 7-10 years (assuming good posture without injuries or chronic health conditions).
Mold
Your mattress might not come to mind often, but it plays a crucial role in your home. Over time, it may become infested with mold and bacteria – both potentially hazardous to your health.
Mold and mildew problems usually manifest themselves with a musty odor; however, their microscopic presence may not be noticeable to the naked eye until they become thick enough for detection. If a mattress becomes infested with mildew or mold growth, it’s best to discard it rather than recycle or sleep on it; its mold spores could spread into your airwaves during sleep time and pose health risks to you and anyone around it.
Dust mites, another cause of allergies and asthma, can live in the crevices and cracks of an old mattress and feed off dead skin cells which causes allergic reactions in those sensitive to them. According to Ohio State University estimates, one mattress could contain as many as 10 million mites!
To reduce mold risks in your bedroom, it’s essential that sheets are washed regularly with hot water and that ventilation is sufficient. A dehumidifier and opening windows during the day will both contribute to keeping moisture at bay; you could also consider using a hypoallergenic mattress protector to keep moisture away. You could even try using hydrogen peroxide to scrub affected areas; make sure first that an inconspicuous part of the mattress has been tested first to make sure that bleaching or discoloration won’t occur after treatment before proceeding further with iterations of treatment before covering with fresh sheets afterwards.
Bedbugs
Mattresses provide an ideal environment for microscopic creatures that feed on dead skin cells shed by humans every day; just one person sheds approximately 500 million each day, providing dust mites with plenty of material to feed on and cause skin irritation, asthma attacks, as well as many other respiratory conditions. In addition, older mattresses may harbor mildew or mold growth which contributes to respiratory illness as well.
Amerisleep conducted a study and discovered that adult humans sweat 26 gallons annually while sleeping, creating a warm, moist environment conducive to bacteria proliferation. Swab samples taken from 7-year-old mattresses tested positive for bacilli bacteria such as E coli and Staphylococcus aureus, among others.
Bed bugs can hitch a ride home via luggage from infested hotels and dormitories, where they quickly settle into seams, folds, and crevices in your mattress, box spring, bedroom furniture and loose wallpaper areas as well as cracks around wall-to-wall carpeting, wood molding closet doors or light fixtures. A sure sign that bed bugs have taken hold is when you wake up with red itchy bite marks on your body in the morning!
For best results when inspecting mattresses for signs of infestation, dismantle their frames and place the mattress upright on a table on its side to examine seams, tufts and corners closely for signs of bed bugs and blackish fecal spots left by insects themselves or black fecal spots left behind. Also inspect bedding such as dressers and nightstands creases seams as well as protective bug covers over these items for extra safety if possible – bleach, alcohol, lighter fluid or “bug bombs” should never be used as anti-bed bug measures!
Soreness
An old mattress that doesn’t provide adequate support can cause body aches and stress if used on a regular basis, leading to poor posture that affects your back and neck. Over time, prolonged use may even result in the mattress losing its form, creating dips or lumps within its fabric.
If you suffer from arthritis or joint pain, an old mattress may not provide adequate support and comfort to your joints. Over time, this may leave you sore in the mornings and hinder movement throughout the day; additionally, frequent awakenings during sleep could have severe adverse consequences to your health.
Dust accumulated on an old mattress can exacerbate allergy or asthma symptoms in people living with allergies or asthma. Reactions include sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and skin rash, congestion and shortness of breath. Furthermore, sleeping on one can make breathing harder if asthma worsened by dust mites is compounded further when sleeping on an old mattress.
Poor sleeping can contribute to other issues, including mood disorders and anxiety. A lack of restful sleep can have a cascading effect that makes it more difficult for you to concentrate and make decisions in everyday life, potentially jeopardizing professional and social plans alike. If you find that your old mattress is no longer providing restful restful nights for you then now may be a good time to replace your mattress.
