Sleep Tips For A Bad Back

Sleeping with a bad back is the worst. Whether it’s chronic or from an injury, back pain always hits hard at bedtime, and this can impact your sleep quality, affecting your energy levels and making you irritable during the day.

This article explores several ways you can sleep better with a bad back – feel free to skip any you have already tried that don’t work.

Let’s jump in!

Get a medium-firm mattress to support your back

You probably sleep on your back or side if you have a bad back. Back sleepers need firm support, and side sleepers need medium support. You can strike a balance with a medium-firm mattress, which is suitable for both positions.

Science shows that medium-firm mattresses are best for back pain. Avoid soft mattresses unless you weigh under 130lbs and extra firm and orthopaedic mattresses unless you are over 220lbs. Firmness is relative, meaning heavy people find firm mattresses soft while light people find them rock hard.

Go for memory foam or latex foam for pressure relief

Memory foam contours to your body, helping relieve pressure on your spine and hips, and latex foam does the same with more bounce.

People with a bad back often cite memory foam as the gold standard for back pain, and it works well but suffers from low breathability. A bamboo-charcoal memory foam mattress like the Mlily Bamboo Superb offers better airflow.

Pictured: Internal Components of the Mlily Bamboo Mattress, Available from Bedstar.

If you dislike the squishiness of memory foam, then latex foam is a better option – the Giltedge Beds Pocket Laygel has a latex foam comfort later with gel infusion to keep you cool and 1,200 pocket springs for support.

Pictured: Giltedge Beds Pocket Laygel Mattress. Available from Bedstar.

Can’t afford a new mattress? Get a firm mattress topper

If you don’t want to get rid of your old mattress, you can breathe new life into it and improve your back pain with a firm mattress topper.

A firm, memory foam mattress topper will help relieve pressure on your back and joints, making it easier to get comfortable at bedtime. Just beware of the limitations – the topper is relatively thin, so it isn’t as good as a new mattress.

Set up the correct bed height

You can improve your bedtime comfort by making mobility easier (the ability to get in and out of bed without grimacing). The trick is to choose a bed height that makes it easy to pivot your legs and rise with minimal standing motion.

A high bed frame is your best bet – you ideally want a mattress platform at least 32cm off the ground paired with a mattress at least 25cm thick.

We list the dimensions you need on all our products to make life easier. For example, the Tour High Bed Frame has a height-to-mattress of 32cm – adding a 30cm mattress gives you a high platform, making getting in and out of bed easy.

Pictured: Tour High # Wooden Bed Frame – Dark Grey. Available from Bedstar.

Change your sleeping posture to align your spine 

If you go to sleep without back pain but wake up with it, or if your back pain gets significantly worse by morning, then an unnatural sleeping posture is probably to blame.

Your spine needs to be in a natural curve to relieve pressure on your muscles because when your spine is flat or arched, it increases stress on nerves and muscles.

Your head, neck, and torso need to be in line with one another. This means sleeping with one firm pillow on a suitably firm mattress to support your weight.

Try heat therapy with a heated mattress topper

If you find that your back pain is reduced in warm weather and after your bed heats up, a heated mattress topper will be a godsend.

With adjustable heat settings, heated mattress toppers plug into the wall and heat your bed in around ten minutes.

Something to remember is that heated toppers do not perform the same role as regular toppers – they are thin and don’t have much cushioning, so you should still use a standard mattress topper if you usually use one.

 

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