Who does not know this: Sometimes you lie so badly at night that you already have back pain in the morning. If your back regularly tenses up overnight instead of recovering, it may be due to the mattress.
If the mattress does not fit, the muscles cannot relax and the bones are not sufficiently supported. This hits the inter vertebral discs particularly hard.
At night they should regenerate and fill up with fluid to get fit again for the day. If you have back pain and a mattress that is seven to ten years old, you should look for a new sleeping mattress.
Which mattress will give me a good night’s sleep?
On average, we spend about 2,500 hours a year in bed, about one third of our lives. That’s why you should take plenty of time when buying one. Because “the best” mattress does not exist.
The choice is a very personal matter – and a return is not possible at all or only at considerable loss. Sometimes, however, you can try it out at home for a few days.
Side, back or belly sleepers?
If the sleeper lies on his side, shoulders and pelvis should sink in so that the vertebrae on the back form a straight line. The pillow is also important: with a suitable pillow, the neck vertebrae are also at the level of the spine.
If you sleep in a bed as a couple, each person should have their own mattress and their own bed base so that each back has the best possible support.
It may also be possible to use a common mattress – but it should then be point-elastic. This means that each area yields individually without affecting the surrounding areas.
Caution: degrees of hardness are not standardized
Unfortunately, the degrees of hardness of mattresses are not standardized. Therefore, you should always try out the mattresses if there are different sleeping systems in several hardnesses.
But if basically everything fits, the rest is almost a matter of taste. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can go to a specialist shop that has been certified by the campaign for healthy backs.
However, back experts generally recommend the somewhat harder version of the mattress. Because on a mattress that is too soft, the sleeper sinks in and can no longer move sufficiently.
The flexible basis: the slatted frame
Even the best mattress is useless without good slat base. Today, the slatted frame no longer has to be made of wood. In the meantime there are a whole range of different solutions.
The experts speak of a sleeping system. The following also applies to the slat base: The slat base must be individually adjustable for shoulder and pelvis, the more differentiated the better.
Slatted frames made of beech wood are the most stable, but it is also important how often the slats are glued together. Heavy people should buy slats glued seven to ten times.
Exchange right only when buying by phone or internet
If you buy a mattress in a shop, you have no legal right to exchange it – but you can always ask if the salesperson will grant you one as a gesture of goodwill.
The consumer advice center advises to have such a goodwill agreement noted on the invoice. Many traders are accommodating because they know that there is a right to exchange goods when buying online.
When buying have a peek at this site over the Internet or by telephone, the Distance Selling Act protects the customer: He may “test” the product at home – in the case of the mattress, unpack it and try it out as thoroughly as he would in the shop.
If he does not like the mattress and/or the slatted frame, he may return both within a period of 2 weeks after receiving the goods. If the product cost more than 40 euros, the retailer must pay the cost of returning the product.