Re(1): Which type of matress should be used at home? Posted on May 5, 2013 at 04:13:49 PM by Dr. Deepak Sharan
Dear Rohit,
The answer to your question is that the mattress should be firm in consistency. The brand name is irrelevant.
When a mattress is too soft, places where body weight is concentrated (e.g., the hip zone) will sag into the mattress. Some muscles may be well relaxed in this position, but the spine certainly will not; when lying in a supine position, the pelvis will cant backward resulting in a excessive and unnatural smoothening of the lumbar lordosis. At the anterior side, intervertebral disks will be compressed, while soft tissues (e.g., ligaments) will be under tension at the posterior side. When sleeping in a lateral position the spine will be loaded asymmetrically.
When sleeping on too firm a mattress, the spinal column will be supported incorrectly; for a lateral position only places with a large body width—the shoulders and the hip zone—will be supported. The lumbar region will bend down, especially with people who have a more pronounced contour (e.g., women). In a supine position the pelvis will first cant forward under influence of muscle tension in the legs; after muscle relaxation, it will cant backward as is the case on soft mattresses. The consequent flattening of the lordosis is less pronounced and harmful as compared to a mattress that is too soft, which means that sleeping too soft is worse than sleeping too firm. A typical solution for a mattress that is too soft (e.g., because it is worn down) is to put a stiff wooden board under the mattress, which can only serve as a temporary solution because it insufficiently corrects the support properties and may cause ventilation problems.
In addition, beds that are constructed for two people, such as queen-size beds or similar have an understructure that spans the entire width of the bed. To avoid any vertical deflection in the middle, these structures need the aid of a central leg.
Mattresses with different stiffness zones (e.g., a softer shoulder zone) are a good option for all people, but not mandatory for the entire population. For a large number of people relatively good support can be obtained with sleep systems with homogeneous stiffness . Nevertheless, a soft shoulder zone will improve spinal alignment for male subjects, and this type of zone is mandatory for subjects with an athletic body build (large shoulder or thorax width). A firmer pelvic zone is less important for male than female subjects, but still is advisable.
(Source: Bart Haex. Back and Bed. Ergonomic Aspects of Sleeping. CRC Press 2005)
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