Is it sometimes so hard for you to sleep that you think to yourself, "I feel like I'm already tired tomorrow?" Tossing and turning due to pain or discomfort, rather than getting restful sleep, can leave you with a deep feeling of exhaustion, even before you've started your day.

If you're really trying to get a good night's sleep, but are not having much luck, your mind and body likely feel like they're about to "tap out," especially if you suffer from back pain.

Unfortunately, sleep and pain can perpetuate a brutal cycle. Suffering from back problems that exacerbate lack of sleep will often heighten stress and anxiety about satisfying your responsibilities tomorrow. Worrying about not getting enough sleep while also suffering from pain will certainly not help improve your sleep patterns. Now, it's time to make a change and take action against your back pain. Analyzing your mattress's performance and support value is a great place to start.

Are you frustrated or dissatisfied with your sleep and are searching for answers that could help you improve or manage your back pain and sleep better? If this sounds like you, the chances are, you probably didn't rest very easily the last time you tried. You might still be recovering from the previous night of "no sleep," trying to forget your restless attempt, a sad excuse for sleep. Now, if you're on the side of frustrated, worn-out, and fed-up with feeling sleep deprived and in sleep debt, you probably just want to know one thing!

Can a mattress cause back pain?

If you regularly wake feeling sore and your body feels stiff when you get out of bed, you might be wondering if the culprit of your back pain is, in fact, caused by your mattress.

These days, hand-me-down mattresses are a thing, so if you're embarrassed to admit that your mattress is ancient, or your sleeping surface isn't necessarily ideal for your body or otherwise not suitable for supporting your spine, then there is a good chance that your mattress is hindering, and not helping your back pain or your sleep health.

Next, sleep specialists at Mattress World Northwest will offer expert insight into why your mattress is a significant factor in helping or hindering your back pain, so you can stop the vicious cycle of pain that impacts your sleep quality.

How To Recognize If Your Bed Is a Cause of Your Back Pain

As the Mattress World Northwest sleep specialists say, 

"Comfort is what you feel when you go to bed, and support is what you feel when you wake up." 

There are a couple of things to pay close attention to if you want to pinpoint if your bed could be a cause of your back pain. First, focus on how long it takes you to fall asleep once you're in bed and trying to get to sleep. Some sleep experts say it should take you about 30-40 minutes to fall asleep; anything less, and you're indeed sleep-deprived. Anything more, this could also point to underlying comfort issues with your mattress.

It's hard not to remember a sleep disruption, waking up in the middle of the night, especially if you're waking up in pain. So, the next step is to focus on how your body feels when you wake up, rather than worrying about how many times you’re waking up right now.

Are you feeling sore or stiff? Is your body feeling better or in worse pain or tension than the night before when you went to bed? These are all significant questions to ask yourself that can help you gather important information about the exact cause of the adversity you may be experiencing with your mattress.

Cause and Effect: When Your Mattress Lacks Support

The support value of your mattress certainly impacts the alignment of your body. Support and spinal alignment often go hand in hand, and achieving proper sleep posture and neutral spine alignment are both important in getting a good night's sleep. Your mattress should disperse your body weight evenly, provide support for your spine and body type, whether you are big or small, and allow your muscles to relax and recover throughout your sleep cycle.

Signs of Mattress Support Problems

• Back pain
• Stiffness
• Soreness
• Waking up throughout the night
• Tossing and turning to relieve discomfort
• Waking up early before getting enough quality sleep

For rejuvenating and consistently deep sleep, your back and body require support through personalized contouring and gentle resistance to maintain ideal spinal alignment. Neutral spine alignment and maintaining good sleep posture are essential for everyone, but are especially important for those with back pain.  

A sleeping surface that cradles your body type with gentle resistance is often easily achieved with a handmade quality mattress, a hybrid mattress, or another style that incorporates an independent coil support system. This type of mattress support system, found inside Beautyrest, Serta, Sealy Posturepedic, and Aireloom mattress brands, is ultimately the best way to help you manage your back pain at night and avoid experiencing pain or soreness upon waking.

Next, we'll discuss comfort, which can be a slightly trickier aspect to consider due to the subjective nature of what "comfort" means to one person versus another.

Cause and Effect: When Your Mattress Doesn't Alleviate Pressure

When a mattress or other surface is comfortable, it helps you fall asleep quickly. But what exactly does comfort mean?

Well, for starters, it's entirely unique and subjective to each individual person. Comfort is a personal preference. Still, comfort, in the form of experiencing pressure relief and muscle relaxation by eliminating circulatory distress, helps lessen the intensity of tossing and turning. Pressure relief from the weight of your body enables you to feel more comfortable and sleep better.

Ultimately, your mattress should help alleviate pain or discomfort when applicable while preventing circulatory issues caused by built-up pressure from your body's weight bearing down on it. While a firm mattress is sometimes recommended, that goes for the mattress support, not the mattress surface, and many shoppers err on the side of buying a too firm mattress, rather than one that’s soft.

Signs of Mattress Comfort Problems

• Takes a long time to fall asleep
• Awakening tired
• Needing a nap during the day
• Tossing and turning
• Waking up throughout the night
• Numbness or tingling in specific areas

When you say to yourself, "This mattress just isn't comfortable, or, I just can't get comfortable." If you've thought this before, it could mean that your mattress doesn't relieve pressure points or doesn’t have enough cushioning, which is why it doesn't feel as comfortable as it should. Often, this is reality when you sleep on a mattress that is most firm. You can judge the comfort of the mattress based on the effectiveness of its padding layers and its ability to relieve pressure, relax muscles, and facilitate the release of muscle tension in your body. When you experience comfort the most is when you first climb into bed.

It should feel naturally soothing to lie down on a mattress that supports and fits your body, one that can disperse your body weight evenly to relieve pressure effectively as you sleep. This pressure point relief can also help lessen the severity of your back pain as you heal throughout the night.

Waking Up Stiff or Sore? Look for a Mattress With an Advanced Support System

Intrigued by the expert insight in this article? If you've been waking up sore, stiff, and still feeling tired from the day or night before, then it's time to take the next step. After all, if you don't snooze, you lose! So, you'll want to go after sleeping on a new mattress with an advanced support system.

Zoned Support

Zoned independent coil support systems, featured in Serta iComfort and Perfect Sleeper mattresses, promote full-body alignment and support where you need it most, contouring and cradling pressure points while supporting the natural curvature of your back and body. Make sure to browse and then try these Serta Perfect Sleeper mattresses that include 5 Zones of responsive support and contouring ability:

• Perfect Sleeper X Quilted Hybrid Medium Pillowtop Mattress
• Perfect Sleeper X Hybrid Level 1 Mattress
• Serta iComfort Pro Mattress

IntelliCoil

Stearns & Foster mattresses feature a one-of-a-kind support system design, providing sleepers of all body types with the ability to enjoy a perfect level of ample, consistent support through the Intellicoil support system. Don't miss trying some of the best mattress support systems on the market today, inside all Stearns & Foster mattresses, but the Estate models, in particular.

Advanced Pocketed Coil

We saved the best for last with the Beautyrest Advanced Pocketed Coil Mattress Support System. Featuring a triple-braided strand for each mattress coil, the Beautyrest Black system embodies more than adequate support and durability that many other coil systems simply cannot match.

You'll find this reliable and supportive independent coil system inside the Beautyrest Black mattress brand, such as:

• Beautyrest Black Series Three Extra Firm
• Beautyrest Black Series One Medium
• Beautyrest Black Series Four Plush Summit Pillowtop

Can't Fall Asleep? Look for a Mattress With High Quality Padding Layers

As mentioned above, comfort is what you feel when you go to bed! So make sure you're sleeping on adequate, high-quality mattress padding layers that promote good circulation, and a sense of muscle relaxation and tension release when you climb into bed.

HD Memory Foam

Memory foam provides a cradling embrace that's beneficial if you're having trouble falling asleep after getting into bed. Mattress brands such as Beautyrest World Class, Sealy Posturepedic Elite, and Stearns & Foster mattresses each incorporate cushioning layers made with their own version of a highly pressure-relieving, high-definition (HD) memory foam material that is also more durable than many other basic foam layers.

Natural Rubber

An alternative to memory foam that many people prefer— natural latex rubber. In contrast to the sensation of "sinking in" that memory foam delivers, natural rubber inside a mattress provides a feeling more akin to floating buoyantly on top of the mattress. With natural latex, you sleep more "on the mattress." Whereas with foam, you sleep more in the mattress, rather than on it.

These next mattresses have a reputation with natural rubber materials to deliver some of the best comfort, as well as support and overall quality currently in the mattress industry, including:

• King Koil Naturals
• Aireloom Abstract Hues Streamline
• Aireloom Abstract Hues Luxetop
• Posh+Lavish Reveal Natural Rubber
• Avocado Luxury Organic

Mattress World Northwest: Discover Support for Your Spine and Ideal Comfort For Your Back and Body

Expert Recap: Comfort is what you feel when you go to bed, and support is what you feel when you wake up. Comfort helps you fall asleep more easily, while support ensures your body is aligned correctly, allowing your muscles to relax. When your muscles relax, the rest of your body and mind will follow. That's the true pathway and the real magnificence behind a good night's sleep!

So, if your bed has been "killing your back," then the next step is: visit a Mattress World Northwest! With 25 locally-owned and operated locations and counting, there's sure to be a Mattress World Northwest Sleep Shop Location close to you or near your neighborhood. So don't wait; let the experienced sleep specialists be your expert guide in finding the best support system and high-quality mattress materials that strike an ideal balance of comfort and support, just right for you!