Back pain is one of the most common complaints amongst adults in the UK and it’s a problem which for many of us can dramatically affect our sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do to look after your body and improve your health. Sleep is linked not only to mental health but to physical health aswell; sleep is involved in healing your heart and blood vessels and lack of sleep can lead to illnesses such as kidney disease, diabetes and stroke (Source: nhlbi.gov)
Most adults take painkillers and antibiotics to cure back pain but it’s not ideal to go down this route when there are many natural remedies you can implement to lessen or cure your pain.
Understanding your back pain
One of the first steps to dealing with a problem is to understand it and many adults that suffer back pain either don’t know how it started or exactly which part of their back they have injured. The most common type of back pain is straining the band of muscles that sit around the spine, which could have been brought on from:
- Poor posture
- Overexertion
- Lifting or pulling incorrectly
- Sitting incorrectly at your desk or at home
If we look at the makeup of the spine, the two key areas that adults in the UK most often point to as the area of pain is around the lumbar and the sacrum. These form the lower part of your spine and are located above the tail (or coccyx).
In order to begin improving your physical health the first thing to do is assess your lifestyle, what you do during the day and what activities you carry out. Beyond that the key area that many people fail to consider is your sleep. When was the last time you flipped, turned or replaced your mattress? Is your mattress an orthopedic, soft, medium or firm mattress?
The quality of your mattress will affect the quality of your sleep and it’s so important to get a mattress that’s right for you. A good quality mattress should last you 10 years so it’s an investment into the next decade of your life – extremely important to get right!
Consider what type of sleeper you are
What we now know to be very important leads on to the decision of what mattress is perfect for you. This step depends on what type of sleeper you are. Someone who lays on their back to sleep may require a mattress which is different to a front or side sleeper, and so on.
- Back sleeper – medium/firm is most often ideal
- Side sleeper – slightly softer mattresses are often ideal to cushion shoulders and hips
- Stomach sleeper – firm mattresses are often ideal
- Moving Sleeper – quality memory foam mattresses that isolate movement are usually ideal
Lifestyle Changes for back pain to improve sleep
While the right mattress will go a long way to help relieve back pain, there are a number of lifestyle changes you may need to make throughout the day to aid your recovery.
- Caffeine – Sad news for coffee lovers but limiting caffeine will help ease back pain
- Alcohol – While this may numb the pain to help you sleep, it’s long-term effects will leave you worse off. Alcohol also disrupts the quality of your sleep.
- Yoga – taking up yoga or meditation has been proven to help both back pain and quality of sleep
Best mattresses for back pain
At Best Price Beds we have had hundreds of customers ask us what the best mattress is for a bad back but the important thing we have always stressed is that it is different for every individual and picking one based on someone else’s recommendation is not the answer.
Use our guides and also the doctor’s recommendation on mattress type and then the best thing to do is try a number of different mattresses and find out which one suits you best.
Looking for some advice? Give us a call on 01379 855456 to speak to our mattress expert and take a step closer to the comfortable night’s sleep you’re after.
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