We decided to break things down in shorter (but still informative) essays more
focused on main sleeping position.
Go look in the mirror at yourself in a relaxed, standing
position. Note the position of your shoulders in relation to both your hips and
waist region. This is your neutral position.
This is what the best mattress for you will do: it will
allow your body to rest in that alignment while you’re sleeping.
For the side-sleeping individual, imagine replicating your
standing position while in bed.
The shoulders and hips need to “get in” to the mattress,
compressing the materials just enough so that the midsection gets proper support.
There should be contact on every part of your body: no gap under the
midsection.
The firmness of the best bed for you depends on your build
and weight.
When side-sleeping, if the shoulders and/or hips do not
compress the surface of the mattress enough, the mattress will essentially
repel them. So comparing the two:
A well-fitting mattress:
Plenty of room for shoulder/hips and support through the
midsection. Spine in a straight alignment.
A too-firm mattress will get you to this:
Shoulders and/or hips get forced upward (towards the
ceiling), which flexes the spine into a “U” position. Pain in the low back area will occur. Also,
compression upon the shoulders/hips can cause numbness in the arm, tingly fingers, mid-back pain, hip/shoulder pointers, etc.
If a mattress is too soft, the heaviest parts of the body
(hip zone) get too far into the mattress; once again, the spine is flexed in an
unnatural position. Different problem with the same results: Low back pain and more.
So there you have it, yet again. The proper mattress for YOU
will be dictated by:
- Your weight
- Your build
- Your sleeping positions
