Mattress Selection Tips For People With Active Lifestyles

Muscle recovery is an important aspect of physical training, and one of the best ways to ensure optimum restoration is by getting enough sleep. Runners, CrossFit buffs, dancers, weightlifters, and other people with active lifestyles all need to let their body rest for their cells to repair themselves, and there’s no better way to do this than to sleep comfortably in mattress that’s designed just for that purpose.

There are many mattress companies that offer products aimed at athletes. You have customized memory foam beds that have recovery technology integrated into them. Some also make use of Celliant technology, which is a synthetic and responsive textile material that has been shown to increase oxygenation in the body’s tissues and therefore speed up recovery.

Whatever activities you engage in, you need to have a bed that would meet your fitness needs. According to Dr. W. Christopher Winter of the Martha Jefferson Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, if you’re an athlete, it’s necessary for you to create a situation where you’ll be excited to get in bed because it’s set up for you.

Here are some tips to help you find the right mattress, AKA your nighttime recovery equipment.

Look for a mattress with cooling technology.

Advancements in mattress design and technology have enabled manufacturers to come up with mattresses that don’t sleep hot. Athletes and other people with active lifestyles need to keep their bodies cool because of their increased metabolic activity. You can find gel-infused memory foam mattresses now as well as mattresses that are constructed with breathable materials and air flow cushions, which allow for a cooler, more restful sleep.

Choose memory foam.

What’s great about memory foam is that it contours to the shape of the body, promotes better spine alignment and provides pressure relief. All in all, memory foam allows you to become comfortable in any sleeping position so that you toss and turn less, allowing you to have a deep, uninterrupted night’s sleep, which your body needs to recover from a high-energy activity.

Select a mattress that is resistant to dust mites.

You may be doing your best to keep your muscles toned, but if your mattress is triggering some nasty allergic reactions such as asthma, runny nose or dermatitis, you’re overlooking one aspect of your fitness regimen. Mattresses, carpets, draperies, stuffed animals and pillows are just some of the favorite hangouts of dust mites.

This is why it’s recommended to choose a mattress that’s dust mite-resistant. Latex and memory foam mattresses are good options as these are more solid than the traditional innerspring mattress and are therefore resistant to dust mites.

Consider mattress customization.

If you’re a lot taller or heavier than most people, you may find readymade mattresses too short or lacking in support. Basketball players, for instance, tend to have their feet sticking out the edge of the bed because it’s too short for them. Or, heavyweight athletes may find that they wear out a traditional coil spring mattress more often.

If you’ve got the extra height or bulk, it would be good for you to consider having a mattress custom-made for your needs. Mattress customization may be a bit more expensive, but the payoff in terms of comfort, relaxation and of course, physical recovery will all be worth it.