Why Seniors Should Consider Getting a Memory Foam Mattress

There are many reasons why seniors should consider investing in a foam mattress. Increasing amounts of research highlight the dire effects that not getting enough sleep can have on your mental and physical health.

And you can’t get more dire than death from cardiovascular problems, which have been associated with sleep disturbances!

It is especially important for seniors to get enough sleep.

Sleep Disturbance and Health in Seniors

Seniors are already at a disadvantage, since aging often reduces the amount of quality sleep.  

Add to that the tendency of older folks to have a serious illness that affects sleep, and the situation becomes worse.

In its Sleep in America Survey, the National Sleep Foundation questioned seniors who had at least two major physical or mental illnesses and compared their responses to seniors that did not have such dire health effects.

More than half of the older adults with serious health conditions reported one or more sleep problems, while only 36% of the respondents that lacked such severe health conditions reported disturbed sleep.  Fortunately, experts in aging are now taking the risks that arise from sleep disturbances very seriously.

The National Institute on Aging and the American Geriatrics Society now recognize a geriatric syndrome that increases the risk for sleep disturbances. This syndrome involves overlapping physical and mental risk factors. To make things even worse is the problem of adjusting your sleep cycle in a care facility where getting enough daylight may not be an option, and multiple noises can keep you up at night.

Getting a good night’s sleep sounds nigh impossible!  What can you do to improve your situation?  Get a good mattress!

The Benefits of a New Mattress

A study in 2009 examined the effect of a new mattress on the stress levels of 59 healthy men and women. After sleeping for 28 nights on their regular mattress and then 28 nights on a new medium-firm mattress, the participants reported a “significant decrease in stress.”

The National Sleep Foundation found that 92% of the people who responded to their 2011 poll said that a comfortable mattress is important to getting a good night’s sleep.

Research has shown that getting a good mattress can help institutionalized seniors who suffer from musculoskeletal pain (a combination of muscle and skeletal pain). The researchers found a significant reduction in lumbar, cervical, and dorsal pain when the seniors got a new medium-firm mattress.

Memory foam mattresses have been found to be particularly helpful in getting good sleep and are an excellent choice for the elderly. It can be confusing to figure out which mattress would be right for you, and a guide by experts can help to narrow down your selection.

Factors you may need to consider include having a mattress that will help eliminate pain in your back and having a mattress of a reasonable height. You may also want to consider a mattress that will minimize the risks of getting bedsores.

Make sure that you buy a mattress with quality foam and look for CertiPUR-US certification.

Although many people in years past were taught to view large amounts of sleep as a luxury and to take pride in their sleep deprivation, fortunately the tide has turned.