A bad night’s sleep can be easily noticed as soon as you wake up; from drowsiness to headaches, the sluggishness affects your entire day. These are just the short term effects, but there are other long term effects that might take some more time to develop and manifest. It can result in lowered immunity, weight gain and other respiratory issues, which in turn causes a wide range of negative side effects.
A mattress plays an important role in helping you fall and stay asleep. An uncomfortable mattress can prevent you from getting a good quality night’s sleep. In this article, we shall discuss 10 annoying, potentially serious side effects of sleeping on a bad mattress.
1. Drowsiness
Now this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you!! Low quality sleep leaves feeling all tired and drowsy and affects your entire day. It can affect your alertness as well and impact your quality of work.
It is perfectly normal to feel a little drowsy post lunch but extreme tiredness and drowsiness are not at all normal, especially if you have spent enough hours on your bed the previous night.
2. Back Pain
Does your back hurt on a frequent basis? A good mattress can reduce back pain. There could be a wide variety of problems that could cause your back to ache, but one that cannot be ignored is the quality of your mattress. A low quality mattress can force you to sleep in a weird position that twists and strains your back.
If there is a need to twist awkwardly in your bed in order to get comfortable, then you can eventually get your back injured. A soft but supportive mattress that helps you sleep comfortably on your back or on your side can help keep your back in the right position and prevent the development of any injuries.
3. Obesity
People who do not get proper sleep or those who keep waking up at the night are at a higher risk of becoming obese than their peers. This happens because the drowsiness and lack of energy due to sleep deprivation can result in overeating. If you have observed that you feel hungrier during the daytime even though you have not increased your activity level, this could point to a poor quality mattress. Unless something is not bothering you, you should be able to fall asleep within 30 minutes of lying down. If not then a change has to be either made to your mattress or your lifestyle.
4. Lung and Throat Irritation
The age of your mattress is directly proportional to the dust mites on it. Dust mites are actually present in every mattress but as a mattress gets older they become a safe haven for these buggers.
Dust mites can cause a number of skin and respiratory conditions like eczema, asthma and sore throat. If your mattress and pillow are getting old, then you should replace them.
5. A Weakened Immune System
If you don’t sleep enough that too on a regular basis, it can adversely affect your immune system. A weak immune system means your body becomes a host to many common illnesses like a cold, fever, allergies etc. recurrently. Be particular about your sleep timings and invest in a good mattress that will give you at least 7 hours of good sleep throughout the night.
6. Heart Conditions
If your mattress is responsible for your low quality sleep, it could have a negative impact on your cardiac health. As per European Heart Journal Review, people who sleep for shorter duration have a higher chance of developing heart diseases.
A short duration of sleep is directly linked to a heightened risk of stroke and also results in high blood pressure. There is no harm in making an investment for a good mattress and spending an extra hour in the bed for your heart’s sake.
7. Memory Problems
Well, this is true!! You start having problems remembering things and your memory starts to fade if you are incessantly not having a good night’s sleep. But there are long term effects of sleep deprivation, which are not quite known but are worrying at the same time.
Sleep plays an important role in creating and retaining memories. So, when you are deprived of good sleep, you might fail to recall your memories.
8. Premature Aging
The ones who do not sleep well at night would have noticed dark circles under their eyes. If your mattress is the one responsible for your poor quality of sleep, then it can even affect your skin in both a long term and a short term basis.
A study was conducted by Estee Lauder regarding women’s sleep habits and it was found that women who had the soundest of sleep had the youngest looking skin too. In short, women who failed to have a sound night’s sleep, showed early signs of aging.
9. Joint Soreness
If you are using a firm mattress, then it may contribute to joint pain although it is better for your posture. You can use a firm mattress as long as it is supportive. If you sleep on a mattress that is extremely firm, you might end up putting extra pressure on your tailbone, shoulders and arms which could lead to soreness of joints in the long run.
10. Reduced Libido
Your sex drive and your good quality sleep are proportional to each other. Studies have found out that sleep deprivation can have a serious negative impact on the sex drive and when it comes to men, it can lead to lowered levels of testosterone. Low quality sleep and a weak sex drive go hand in hand for both men and women but men are the ones who suffer most side effects.
Medically Reviewed By
