Select a good quality mattress for a peaceful sleep and good posture

The human body comprises of 206 bones. Each bone has its own function and characteristics. These bones are combined together with nerves, ligaments, cells and tissues. To protect these delicate organs our body is covered with a layer of skin that undergoes all kinds of abrasion to protect them.

However, when excess pressure or weight is put on it, it is damaged. This results in slight pain. When you ignore the pain, it increases and makes it acute. Further ignorance, increases the pain and the condition becomes chronic which has no other solution than visiting a doctor.

So, what’s the solution?

The finest way to overcome this problem is to analyze your lifestyle. First and foremost, it is your sleeping habit that matters a lot because bad sleeping position can cause body pain, which might spoil your mood. When your spinal cord is not straight and remains bent for a long time, it irritates the joints giving you uneasiness. This can also happen due to bad mattress.

Let’s see what signals does your body give when you snooze on an uneven mattress -

• You wake frequently at night.
• Since the mattress is uncomfortable, you may toss and turn on the bed looking for a relaxed position.
• When you lie at one position for a long time there is pressure on your joints, which can be painful.
• When you feel that your body isn’t straight, but sagging in bed.
• You wake up with soreness in your back, shoulder or neck which goes away in half an hour.

These are clear indications that it is time to replace the mattress.

Here are few tips on how to sleep with lower back pain that can help you ease your body from uneasiness -

• You can sleep on side position with your shoulder in connection with mattress. If you feel there is space in-between your waist and mattress, you can fill it with a pillow and also add a pillow between your legs.
• In case of herniated disk, you can sleep in fetal position where you can bring your knees to your chest and press your chin to your chest. This helps to open gaps between vertebrae and the disks that were pushed out from normal place.
• You can also sleep on your abdomen, but your neckline and face should be in neutral position to avoid pain in the neck. Adding a pillow or cushion under your lower abdomen can release stress on your disk, which gives relief from pain.
• Resting with your back on bed is the best position with a cushion below your knees because your spine is in proper alignment and there are no bends in your body. This distributes your weight evenly all over your body, which results in less pain.
• People suffering from spondylolisthesis will surely agree that they feel good when they sleep on a recliner. Although chairs are supposed to be the wrong place to take a nap, a recliner makes an angle between thighs and trunk, which gives relief from pain in spinal cord.

Whether you sleep on your side or back, if your alignment isn’t correct then every effort goes in vain. It isn’t the mattress alone that can help you while sleeping. If you take very hard pillow or a plump pillow, it increases the pain in your neck.

Whenever you go for shopping for a mattress, here are few things that you need to take account of -

• The mattress should be firm and should not bend when you lie on it.
• However, that doesn’t imply it should be too firm, rather it should put pressure on main points to give you relief.
• Also, it should not be very soft that it leaves your main points and joints without support.

Mattress and pillow isn’t the only thing that is supposed to be blamed for neckline and back pain. There are many other things that matter. If you carry a heavy bag on your shoulder which forces you to bend forward while walking, then it can put a lot of strain on your spine. Sitting jobs also put pressure on the lower part of the body that is why it is suggested to carry a pillow to office and car. It is therefore recommended, not only to maintain a good eating habit, but also to follow good physical routine to stay fit.