How to Find a Mattress for Your BMI

Can your mattress possibly affect your healthy weight management? Researchers think so. They believe that the comfort of your mattress affects sleep quality and duration–both factors that are also crucial for your weight management.

But how big is the weight management problem and why should you care? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of U.S adults exceed the excellent weight benchmark. And it’s not hard to see why.

The relationship between sleep and weight gain is a vicious cycle. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’re likely to gain weight, and weight gain has been fingered for some sleep disorders. And with about 30% of U.S adults not getting enough sleep, it’s crucial to ensure your mattress is not affecting your rest.

While what you eat can easily influence your Body Mass Index (BMI), so can low quality sleep. And one of the contributing factors to poor sleep is a mattress unbefitting of your BMI.

So what do we know about getting the right mattress to suit your BMI? And what should you be focusing on during this search?

Choosing a mattress that suits your BMI

When you use a mattress for sometime and realize that you always wake up feeling cranky or nursing body pain, your mattress may be too weak for your BMI. To fix this, you might need to engage a ‘BMI calculator’ to know your BMI. With your BMI sorted, there are specific factors that determine the right mattress to purchase.

Mattress thickness

The thickness of the mattress is one crucial factor. Persons who weigh 200-400 pounds will find the most comfort on mattresses that are 10 inches tall or more. For others who weigh above 400 pounds, mattress thickness of 14 inches and above will fit.

The trick is to have as much material thickness that would guarantee your BMI is adequately supported on the mattress. The higher BMI calls for thicker mattresses.  

Mattress type

The nature of the material used in making the mattress often defines the type of mattress. If your BMI is quite high, then what you might need is a firm mattress, made out of material that can last long under your weight and still keep you healthy.

The most common types of mattresses include the pillow top mattress, innerspring mattress, waterbed mattress, memory foam mattress, a gel mattress, air bed mattress, latex mattress, and adjustable base mattress. Each of these has unique characteristics that suit various BMI, durability and personal needs. Choosing a bed frame for heavy people can also help. 

How to ensure your mattress supports your BMI

Unfortunately, finding the right mattress for your BMI is not enough, you also have to ensure it stays that way. Here are a few tips you could follow to ensure your mattress stays fit for purpose.

Change your mattress at intervals

If you have been using your mattress for more than 6-8 years, you may need to change that mattress as soon as possible. According to the National Sleep Foundation, most beds have a lifespan of 8 years. It may be less, depending on the make or quality of materials used in producing the mattress.

So, if you start to feel like the quality of sleep you’re getting is wearing off, and your comfort levels dropping, then that mattress has got to go. This may occur faster for persons over the age of 40. It is also very common for those who possess a higher BMI to have a need to change mattresses more regularly.

Put up a healthy routine ‘off the mattress’

There are quite some cases where people have back aches and pain around the joints, after a long or short (but undoubtedly uncomfortable) sleep on a mattress. It can be attributed to sleeping on the wrong mattress for their BMI.

But it is also important to note that those body pains can return even after finding the right mattress. This happens when (and only when) you fail to put up a healthy routine ‘off the mattress.’

It would be vital that you schedule regular health checks with a physician at such times, and adhere to all the health tips you can find, from authorized practitioners.

Don’t let your body down

The decision to not compromise on quality sleep should be a priority always. Doctors usually find it most comfortable to advise patients to eat well, sleep properly and exercise regularly. Perhaps, we can include having a mattress that best suits your BMI to that list and to help you create a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle.

Final thoughts…

Weight management is not a stroll in the park. And your busy lifestyle makes it hard for you to get enough quality sleep and this affects your weight–putting you in an endless battle. You can change all that by practicing healthy habits and make significant progress. One of such practices includes knowing your BMI and sleeping on the right mattress for your BMI at every stage of your weight management progress.