How The Right Mattress Can Help Prevent Sleep Deprivation

According to sleephealth.org, 70% of adults report insufficient sleep monthly with 11% reporting insufficient sleep nightly. Everyone at some point encounters a night of poor or minimal sleep. As a result, they wake up with grogginess, irritability, and slowed cognitive function. But sometimes, the problem expands to more than one simple night of poor sleep. When this happens, it becomes a matter of sleep deprivation and the effects of sleep deprivation on you and your body.

Many things can negatively affect your sleep patterns without you knowing about them. Unfortunately, the quality of your mattress can easily be one of those things. So, let’s discuss the symptoms of sleep deprivation and why your bed may be causing it.

What Is Sleep Deprivation?

Sleep deprivation is a condition caused by not getting sufficient sleep each night. It is estimated to affect around one-third of American adults every year, and it’s only getting worse. In general, sleep deprivation is a broad term that covers several issues surrounding your sleep patterns, including:

• Not getting enough hours of sleep per night
• Sleeping at the wrong time of day
• Poor quality of sleep even if you manage to sleep for the right amount of time
• Having a sleep disorder or medical condition that prevents you from getting enough sleep or getting the right kind of sleep

It’s important to understand that there are two kinds of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep includes what is commonly known as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep. Typically, dreaming occurs during REM sleep.

Generally, non-REM and REM sleep occur in a regular pattern of 3–5 circadian rhythm each night. These patterns occur because your body has an internal clock that regulates when you feel the need to sleep and for how long you remain in sleep cycles. If this regulation doesn’t happen, you will find yourself in a sleep-deprived state.

Types of Sleep Deprivation

You can categorize sleep deprivation in several different ways, depending on how it manifests. Symptoms of sleep deprivation help differentiate.

• Acute sleep deprivation occurs when you fail to get enough sleep for a few days or less. It’s usually a pattern that comes and goes.
• Chronic sleep deprivation describes a condition where you don’t get enough hours of sleep for three months or longer.
• Chronic sleep deficiency or insufficient sleep describes a consistent pattern of poor sleep quality. For example, you may receive the correct amount of sleep but spend less time in regulated sleep cycles, which leads to a lack of restfulness.

Sleep deprivation and insomnia may seem like interchangeable terms. However, there is a distinction between them. Insomnia is a chronic condition that causes a person to lose sleep regardless of circumstances. Sleep deprivation occurs because of outside factors, such as stress, a busy schedule that prevents you from having the time to sleep, or an uncomfortable or poor-quality mattress.

Signs That You Suffer From Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation may cause only minor symptoms at first, but they become more severe over time. Lack of sleep has detrimental effects on your mental and physical health, and the longer you ignore these signs of sleep deprivation, the worse these effects become.

• Drowsiness or drowsy driving
• Lack of energy
• Reduced physical strength
• Impaired memory
• Inability to focus
• Diminished ability to fight off infection and illness

The symptoms and signs can vary depending on the extent of the sleep deprivation and whether it’s acute or chronic. You should be aware that stimulants such as caffeine and some medications can mask the effects of sleep deprivation. If you do not address sleep deprivation, it can lead to complications such as:

• Increased risk of depression and mental illness
• Increased risk of stroke or heart attack or high blood pressure
• Increased risk of developing diabetes
• Increased risk of more severe sleep disorders, such as insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea
• Auditory or visual hallucinations
• Severe mood swings and emotional instability

How Does Your Bed Play A Role In Sleep Deprivation?

You do the majority of your sleeping in your bed. While you may nap in a chair or on the couch, the bed is where you go for a restful sleep or quality sleep. So, it’s of the utmost importance that your bed is comfortable and able to meet your needs.

When it comes to comfort, sleeping on the right mattress makes a world of difference. A mattress that’s past its prime wouldn’t give you enough back support. Lack of proper back support can result in pain and stiffness, making it difficult to get moving in the morning. Depending on how you sleep, some mattresses may even worsen existing pain, leaving you struggling to get enough rest and suffering from sleep deprivation.

The type of mattress that you sleep on also plays a factor in the quality of your sleep. Innerspring mattresses are the traditional mattresses with coiled springs inside them, while memory foam mattresses are made of a special foam that conforms to your body. A gel memory foam mattress contains memory foam infused with a gel designed to draw heat away from your body, keeping you cool on warm nights.

Every mattress can come in a specific size with a specific level of firmness or softness. Sleeping on a mattress that isn’t firm enough, soft enough, or big enough for you can cause poor sleep.

In addition, you must take care of your mattress. A quality mattress should be rotated 180 degrees every two to three months to prevent lumps from forming where you regularly sleep. And you should check your bed frame regularly. Even a high-quality mattress will not be effective if it’s sitting on top of a broken bed frame or sagging box springs.

The Importance Of A Good Night’s Sleep Is No Bull

We know that finding the best mattress for your sleeping needs is essential to preventing sleep deprivation and all the problems that come with it. That’s why we carry a wide selection of mattresses, all at affordable prices. And we believe in the quality and price of our mattresses so much that we offer a five-year 100% cash back guarantee. If you can find a comparable mattress for a better price anywhere else, we will not only honor that price, but we will pay you back the difference in cash. Plus we can help with all your styling needs.

So, come check out our extensive collection of mattresses or contact us for more information.

SOURCES:
https://www.sleephealth.org/sleep-health/the-state-of-sleephealth-in-america/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6941709/