You're drained and feel tired, but your mind and body refuse to let go and relax in preparation for a good night's sleep. Have you ever been lying awake when you're supposed to be asleep, asking yourself, "Why can't my body let me sleep?"

Statistics from research and data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that millions of adults in America have issues with falling or staying asleep. Theoretically, it should be uncomplicated to fall asleep if you're feeling tired and worn out from your day. Adversely, for many people, having an easy time falling or staying asleep isn't always the case.

If you're trying to get some restorative sleep but can't, several aspects may be to blame. Your lifestyle—such as what you eat or drink and how often you exercise—your mattress and bedding, hormone imbalances, along with your stress and anxiety levels —all have the potential to disrupt your natural sleep cycle, which consists of light, deep, and rapid eye movement (REM) stages. All of these stages are necessary to rejuvenate the mind and heal the body while you sleep.

Next, the sleep specialists at Mattress World Northwest will discuss some of the concerns with and common explanations as to why your body could be struggling to get a good night's sleep.

Struggling to Sleep? Your Mattress Could Be To Blame

In today's vast marketplace for mattresses and furniture, the differences among mattresses can leave many people questioning if their mattress is the reason for their sleepless nights or if it still has years of dependable comfort left. Indecision about your sleeping surface is especially concerning when there are no apparent signs that the mattress is worn out or damaged. Even if the mattress doesn't show signs of dipping, sagging, or wear, if you're not sleeping well on it, the comfort and support it offers may not be the right fit for your body. Your mattress could be to blame for many of your sleepless nights.

The sleep specialists at Mattress World Northwest recommend being mindful of your mattress's condition and monitoring your sleep quality as closely as you feel comfortable, whether using a sleep tracking device or not. This way, you can stay on top of your sleep health, avoiding sleep deprivation and the accumulation of unwanted sleep debt that can be detrimental to your long-term health.

Is Your Mattress Keeping You Awake? The Impact of Support on Sleep Quality

More often than not, if you aren't sleeping well on your mattress, there is a good chance that it is due to a lack of adequate support for your body type. The mattress may be malfunctioning internally, so you might consider it to have defects. Still, if the mattress surface is mostly flat, it is probably not defective; more likely, it is just unfit for your body.

If you consider yourself to have a larger build—such as being big, husky, or muscular—your mattress may not provide enough support to keep your hips, back, and shoulders in alignment. Support and distributing your body weight evenly while getting you as close to a neutral spine alignment as possible, which allows the muscles to relax, are the primary responsibilities of your mattress. That said, even if you don't see any visible dips or sags, the mattress may still be insufficient in providing the overall support your body needs.

Many people seek mattresses that are cozy and plush. But, especially if your body type is larger or more muscular, you should consider a substantial mattress support system as a necessity. If you have a disproportionate physique or a heavier body type and are sleeping on an entry-level, inexpensive mattress, your body may struggle to get a good night's sleep as a result.

Nevertheless, a requirement for plentiful support doesn't mean you need to rush out and buy the firmest mattress available. Mattresses that are substantially supportive and built with a heavy-duty design may still feel plush or squishy on top, yet still align the spine and distribute body weight evenly. Of course, this is all subject to the person's physique and personal preferences. Many people also wonder, "What is the best firmness for a mattress?"

In contrast to mattresses that lack a substantially built support system, if you don't have the right amount of resistance and push-back support to align your body, your sleep quality will likely suffer, and your body may struggle to get a good night's sleep.

Ultimately, your mattress needs to feel firm enough to support your weight and keep your hips, back, neck, and shoulders in alignment. Proper support, even weight distribution, and natural spine alignment help stop you from feeling pain, discomfort, and stiffness when you wake up. Sustaining adequate support from your mattress as you rest has a positive impact on your sleep quality, mood, and overall wellness. Your sleep health has the potential to impact the quality of your life as well.

Therefore, your choice of mattress should support, conform to, and help maintain natural alignment to reduce pressure and strain on your body. These aspects are important to pay attention to if you're serious about achieving consistently good quality sleep.

If you're having trouble with mattress support, you may not feel well rested. You may also feel sore or stiff when you get up to move around. For better sleep health, carefully track any signs, such as a stiff body or restless movement throughout the night, that may be linked to mattress support issues. 

Straightforward indications that you may need to replace your mattress include still feeling exhausted upon waking up after a "full night" of trying to sleep, as well as encountering sleeplessness or tossing and turning due to pain or discomfort.

Other signs related to mattress support problems are:

• You experience lumbar strain or lower back pain.
• You experience hip tension, pain, or discomfort.
• When you wake up, you feel sore or stiff to the same extent or even more so than when you went to bed.
• Restless movement throughout the night from back pain or other discomfort.

Understanding Comfort: Addressing Pressure Point Relief Issues

Despite already having "tapped out" physically and mentally from being exhausted by their day, many people still struggle to fall asleep in a reasonable amount of time—about 30 minutes or so is suggested to be the correct amount of time to relax and prepare to sleep. However, for some, even with a beneficial bedtime routine, a mattress that doesn't supply the proper level of support, comfort, and pressure relief through layers that cushion the body's curves can still leave them struggling to sleep.

Here are some immediate signs that your body is struggling to sleep, which connect to the comfort provided by the pressure-relieving qualities of the mattress:

• You're tired and feel you need a nap halfway through the day.
• Still feeling fatigued, with no relief after waking up and moving around.
• Restless movement that disrupts sleep patterns.
• A numb or tingling feeling caused by the absence of comforting pressure point relief and proper circulation in specific areas of the body, like the hips and shoulders.
• If it takes a long time to fall asleep—often exceeding 30 to 60 minutes or more—you may be struggling to sleep because of the comfort level, also referred to as the firmness, of your mattress.

If you move around a lot after getting into bed and can't seem to settle into a comfortable position for a good night's sleep, consider whether your mattress is providing the right amount of softness and pressure relief for your needs. Finding the perfect fit with a mattress can genuinely transform your sleep from dull, drab, and frustrating to restorative and rejuvenating. Mattress comfort, achieved through pressure relief from high-quality, cushioning mattress layers, may be why your body is struggling to get a good night's sleep.

Exploring Other Disruptors and Sleep-Related Conditions

Throughout day-to-day life, experiencing episodes of sleep disruptions, such as sleeping hot and support or comfort issues, can significantly impact your ability to sleep. In turn, this affects your cognitive skills, including overall happiness, mood, memory, and reaction time (RT). Sleep plays a vital role in the healing process, helping to revitalize both an overworked mind and a sore, tired, or tense body.

Your mattress, as well as your pillow, each play a monumental part in the balance of comfort and support necessary for executing good quality sleep. Thankfully, the role of your mattress and other sleep accessories in optimal sleep health is becoming more well-recognized.

For individuals with sleep-related medical conditions, the mattress still plays a helpful role, with other health-related factors and symptoms to consider as well. Health issues related to sleep—such as chronic pain, insomnia, sleep apnea, or restless leg syndrome—will, unfortunately, have an influential impact on our ability to sleep well, affecting our capacity to prosper in our daily lives.

Likewise, many medical professionals are now connecting chronic sleep deprivation with long-term health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, depression, and anxiety disorders. Concerns related to digestion, cognitive degeneration, and worsened chronic pain can also arise from poor sleep quality.

Health conditions like back pain, sleep apnea, and acid reflux often have symptoms that disrupt the ability to cycle through healthy sleep patterns without waking up. This constant waking creates a challenging cycle of sleep and pain disruptions, leading to nights where you feel like you're battling to get adequate rest. Nights like these are often because of medical conditions such as back pain, sleep apnea, insomnia, acid reflux, or restless legs syndrome.

If you experience back pain or other sleep-related issues, it's wise to consider the support and comfort offered by your mattress and pillow. Alongside the necessary medications and your doctor's recommendations, these are among the few direct solutions available to help you manage your comfort and improve your sleep quality despite your condition.

It's Not Too Late to Sleep Like a Baby: Experience Customized Comfort at Mattress World Northwest

Both the consequences of occasional poor sleep and long-term sleep deprivation can be detrimental to your cognitive function and long-term health and wellness. Similarly, sleeping on a mattress that is not fit for your physique may lead to more severe problems that most people don’t have the time or energy to address. Therefore, it's a savvy decision to stay mindful of your mattress's condition and track your sleep on a more consistent basis.

If you're struggling to get enough sleep, it could be due to not having the right mattress or experiencing symptoms of specific medical conditions that affect sleep. Both of these factors can contribute to sleep debt and deprivation. The next step: consider investing in a better mattress, pillow, or adjustable bed as a viable solution for improving your sleep quality.

Mattress World Northwest, one of the best places to get a mattress, offers a reliable and well-recognized assortment of brands and mattress styles, along with sheets, protectors, and pillows—the icing on the "mattress cake." You can count on a diverse selection of innovative sleep system brands like:

• Purple
• Avocado
• Beautyrest
• Serta
• Nectar
• DreamCloud
• SmartBeds by Instant Comfort
• Posh+Lavish
• Bed Tech
• King Koil
• Aireloom

Plus, Mattress World Northwest locations also have relaxing massage chairs to try, and more!

Regardless of whether you have medical conditions to pay attention to, the quality of the mattress and pillow that you sleep on will undoubtedly play a prominent role in whether or not your body struggles to sleep now and in the future.

At local sleep shops like Mattress World Northwest—one of the best places to purchase a mattress—there is a notable effort to honor all customers, just like you. Sleep specialists at this local, family-owned and operated mattress business demonstrate a commitment to respecting your time and budget while helping you select a mattress that provides the valuable comfort and support you deserve.