No one should underestimate the importance of a good bed. On average we spend up to 17 years of our lives sleeping and that makes a bed and mattress arguably the most important purchase of our lives.
Contrast the cost of a bed and the hours that you spend in it with the equivalent cost and hours of use of your car and then re-assess the value and importance of this item of furniture.
Toddler Bed Mattress
Beds tend to start failing in performance after about 10 years, although high quality beds and mattresses can last much longer.
So, should you buy a new bed and should it be an orthopedic one? This is a big and health critical question.
Why buy an orthopedic bed?
Orthopedic beds are typically perceived as very firm beds, but today this is no longer the case. Modern materials like latex foam and memory foam can supplement or replace traditions bed springs to create supportive, yet body contouring beds.
These "new age" beds can be made of multiple layers of different materials with horizontal sections specifically designed to support, cushion and ventilate the human body.
The key to an orthopedic bed is however its ability to support the body, with special emphasis on the back and spine. Good orthopedic beds provide essential support where it is needed, but avoid applying undue levels of pressure on important parts of the body like joints.
All of this makes for a good and healthy night's sleep.
Orthopedic beds also offer a form of sleeping support that encourages the spine to maintain its natural double "S" shape and this makes orthopedic beds and mattresses vital to the health of the back and lumbar region.
Who could benefit from an orthopedic bed?
Although it is traditionally those with back disorders or advancing years who buy orthopedic bed products, orthopedic beds are good for everyone.
An orthopedic bed helps promote relaxed restful sleep and reduces the number of times that a sleeping person moves (and wakes up) in the night. These beds also reduce the feeling of stiffness, or a lack of rest, in the morning and actively promote the best forms of deep natural sleep.
What types of orthopedic bed are available?
Today orthopedic beds come in every material and standard bed size.
Mattress materials like the NASA developed space age "memory foam" can contour themselves to an individuals body profile. These bed types are now best sellers and prices have come down significantly over the last three or four years.
Other mattress fillings include Latex, which is similar but more springy than memory foam, along with a wealth of different independent and linked spring systems.
Ultimately an orthopedic bed can be found to suit every body shape, every habit of sleeping and every budget available.