Getting a good night’s sleep is a nightly focus for many South Africans. Some of the most popular google searches on the internet include questions about sleep like;

• Why am I not sleeping well?
• Why can’t I get to sleep?
• Why can’t I stay asleep?

If you think about it, one of the first questions we ask each other in the mornings is often, “did you sleep well?” Sleep quality is an age-old issue that people for generations have understood to be an important one. We all know how much better we feel, physically, mentally, and emotionally, after a good night’s sleep.

But what exactly is good sleep and what are the main reasons why we don’t get good quality sleep? Can a simple, yet hugely important thing, like our mattress affect our sleep? In this article, we unpack what sleep quality is and look at the reasons why you might not be getting it, including what makes a good mattress.

When experts talk about sleep quality, they are referring to how restful and restorative your sleep was for your body. This is linked to the kind of sleep you’ve gotten in a night, which is broken down into the stages of sleep. Sleep is broken down into REM and NREM sleep, and it’s essential we experience a balance of both stages in the night for quality sleep.

NREM Sleep

Non Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the first stage of sleep for most people. In very simple terms, non-REM sleep includes light sleep and deep sleep. We generally move from all these stages of sleep throughout the night in cycles, with most cycles lasting around 90 minutes.

REM Sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep is otherwise known as the dreaming stage in which our brains are as active as they are when we’re awake.

If you have too little Non-REM or too much, too little REM or too much, this can be considered as an unbalanced night’s sleep which can result in poor sleep quality. There are several factors that can affect both types of stages of sleep.

There are several detailed reasons why sleep quality can be affected which can differ from person to person. Trauma, violence and other major stresses will, of course, affect a person’s sleep quality on a very deep level. In general terms though, what can cause you to not sleep well the most?

#1 - Alcohol and Caffeine.

These two stimulants have a major effect on the brain and can affect the brain's ability to move between sleep cycles well during the night.

#2 - Exercise late at night.

When you do high-intensity exercise in the evening, it can cause a spike in certain brain chemicals and hormones which can impact sleep quality.

#3 - Over-stimulation of Screen.

Sitting on mobile devices like phones and tablets for hours in the evening can actually inhibit your brain’s ability to calm and rest.

#4 – Stress and Worry.

If we are in a particularly stressful state or are worrying about something going on in life, it can cause a spike in the stress hormones in your body like cortisol which can impact good sleep.

# 5 – A Poor Quality Mattress.

This is often overlooked as sleep disturbance reasons, because people think a bed is a bed, right? An old or broken mattress, or a mattress that does not support your body and its physical needs well, can actually impact your brain’s ability to rest.

At Dial-a-Bed, we often get asked, “does a mattress affect sleep quality?” The resounding answer is, yes! You might think you have a good mattress, but it might actually be affecting your brain and body in more ways than you know. If you are sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress, it can inhibit your brain’s ability to move in and out of REM and non-REM sleep stages with ease.

A good quality mattress should offer you these five elements.

• Medium to firm support.
• Promote good spinal alignment.
• Offer edge support.
• Offer good temperature control.
• Excellence in price (within your budget).

Apart from getting yourself a good quality mattress that suits your body and improves any health, alignment, or structural issues you might have from Dial-a-Bed, there are a few other tips to try too:

• Avoid caffeine or alcohol at least 6 hours before bed.
• Avoid high-intensity exercise at least 2 hours before bed.
• Avoid devices like phones and tablets at least an hour before bed.
• Practice a calming, relaxing routine before bed.

Wondering how to deal with not sleeping well? Our first suggestion would be to get down to any of our 76 stores nationwide and find the right mattress for you and your body now. You can also view our wide range of bedding brands online 24/7 at www.dialabed.co.za.

1. Does a good mattress improve sleep?

Absolutely! A good mattress promotes rest for your body which in turn allows your brain to rest and restore too.

2. Does Your Mattress Affect Your Sleep Quality?

If you do not have a mattress that promotes restful sleep for your body it can affect your brain’s ability to move in and out of the various sleep stages easily.

3. What affects good sleep?

There are many things that affect good sleep with the main ones being alcohol and caffeine, high-intensity exercise, stress and trauma, over-stimulation, and a poor quality mattress.

4. Why am I not sleeping well at night?

There could be many reasons. Read our blog above to see if any areas that we’ve mentioned could be factors in your life affecting your sleep.