If you’ve spent every night with your mattress for years, maybe now’s the time to think about replacing it. While there is no official ‘use by’ date on a mattress, there is definitely a best before. And that means before your sleep starts suffering!
Yet most people only replace their mattresses when they’re finding them truly uncomfortable. We often don’t take into account that it is not just about how the mattress looks or feels – there are other factors involved. Your mattress may look okay to the naked eye but what’s really going on inside? Is it still supporting you correctly? Is it still offering the optimum levels of comfort?
There’s also the hygiene aspect too. Each year you shed a pound of skin (454 grams) into your mattress and lose around half a pint (285 ml) of moisture while sleeping each night. Plus regular mattress replacement is vital to reduce the prevalence of the house dust mites linked with many allergic health problems.
Don’t forget if you’ve had your mattress more than 10 years your body may be sensitive to new problems (i.e., you may be experiencing different health issues), you may have lost or gained a sleeping partner and you may have got slimmer or bigger.
If you were asked how long do you think a mattress should last, what would your answer be? Five years? 10 years? Or would you say something shocking like 15 years? It’s not uncommon for people to believe that a mattress should last around 10-15 years, even if they’ve only paid a couple of hundred pounds for it.
We generally advise people to start thinking about replacing their bed around seven to eight years. Remember, £1,000 spent on a new bed over seven years only works out at 20p per night. It’s not a huge price to pay for getting a good night’s sleep – especially when we know how important sleep is to our health and wellbeing.
The bed itself is of critical importance to quality sleep. The foundation of good sleep is a comfortable bed and the right mattress can make the difference between a restorative night’s sleep and poor quality sleep that results in tiredness and fatigue. A bed with the correct support, comfort and space will ensure you wake less, move about less, are less disturbed by your partner and are less likely to wake up feeling tired or aching. In fact, research shows that an uncomfortable bed can rob you of up to an hour’s sleep a night – so don’t put a time constraint on it.
If you are unsure whether your mattress needs replacing or not, take a look at our bed buying advice here.
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