How To Select The Right Mattress As You Age

The Division Of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School claims that sleep is just as important to our health as diet and exercise, and “lack of adequate sleep over time has been associated with a shortened lifespan.” Accordingly, investing in your sleep with the right mattress becomes more and more important for women over 50 as you age. With that being said, investing in a new bed doesn’t mean you have to spend an arm and a leg. There are plenty of affordable, yet quality mattresses priced under $1,000. Calculate a realistic budget for yourself and make sure you stay within your means, but remember, you get what you pay for. 

Consider Your Budget

Whether it’s due to a fixed income or you’re transitioning from a full-time job to a part-time position, money can certainly get tighter as one gets older. The need for a high-quality mattress, however, only increases as you age. A full night’s rest might come few and far between — thanks to age-related changes in our sleep patterns — but it’s still important for your physical and emotional health to receive 7-9 hours of sleep a night. 

Take Your Health Conditions Into Account

For a lot of women, aging has been accompanied by health problems like arthritis, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, or general hip and back pain. If that’s the case for you, consider how you can best accommodate your specific condition before choosing a mattress, perhaps even consult your primary health physician for recommendations. 

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Memory foam beds are helpful for people with hip or joint pain because it provides well-needed pressure relief and contours to the curves of your body. Some doctors, however, might suggest a firmer mattress material like latex foam. Latex foam is comfortable like memory foam, but more responsive and breathable. Natural latex beds are also hypoallergenic, which helps prevent household allergens from causing congestion and disrupting sleep. 

Prioritize Durability

If you’re going to spend good money on a mattress, you surely want to get the most out of it for as long as you can. Professionals recommend you purchase a new bed every eight years or so, but supportive and durable hybrid mattresses require less upkeep and can wind up outlasting a standard bed’s shelf life. A hybrid mattress gives you the best of both worlds by utilizing both coils and foam, so it’s particularly supportive and more comfortable than the traditional innerspring bed you remember when you were a kid. 

Choose An Accommodating Mattress 

Beds usually aren’t “one size fits all” and some mattresses accommodate certain women’s circumstances better than others. For example, you should always choose a bed that properly suits your sleeper type, or you could risk waking up with an agitated, sore back. If you’re a stomach or back sleeper, something on the firmer side of the spectrum will keep your back and spine supported. Side sleepers, on the other hand, need something on the soft side to relieve the pressure points along their side. 

If you sleep with a significant other, look into beds that fit both you and your partner’s sleeper position. You don’t want to risk your sleep for the sake of theirs, no matter how much you love them. There are ways to compromise so you both get what you need from your bed. For example, you could consider a “medium” firmness mattress that feels both soft and supportive, or you can look into a split bed so each side is customized with a different firmness level. 

Check Out Online Options

Luckily, shopping for a mattress nowadays is nothing like it used to be. More and more brands are turning to the online space to market and sell their products, including the mattress industry. Now, you’re able to purchase a mattress over the internet without having to haul a mattress from the store to your home. 

Beds will be shipped to your front door compressed inside a cardboard box, and some brands even offer white glove delivery where a professional will carry your mattress inside and do the set-up process for you. This takes all the heavy lifting and hard work out of buying a new mattress, to the point where the only finger you’ll be lifting is to click “purchase” using your computer mouse. Online brands also offer free trials, so you can get your money back on a bed if you don’t end up loving it. 

LivingBetter50 is a magazine for women over 50, offering an over 50 magazine free download for women of spirit!

McKenzie Dillon is a blogger and sleep enthusiast for The Slumber Yard, a leading online mattress reviews website. When she’s not sleeping, McKenzie likes attending comedy shows, hiking, and cooking.

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How To Select The Right Mattress As You Age
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