Getting sweaty is never a good feeling – especially when you’re trying to sleep. Nighttime sweating can certainly make it harder for folks to get a good night’s sleep. Not only can sweat affect sleep quality, but it can also affect the quality of mattresses.
Learn how sweat can affect the quality of a mattress, so you know what to do to preserve its quality!
What Sweat Does to Your Mattress
Some forget that sweat is made up of 1% salt and fat, with the rest being 99% water. People get the impression since sweat is mainly water, it’s harmless when it comes to maintaining a mattress’ quality. However, it does still count as a form of water damage to your bed.
Most people are aware that it’s best to avoid exposing their mattresses to liquids and fluids. For instance, you would be quick to pat dry a glass of water that spilled over your bed. After all, you’re thinking about the possibility of it absorbing into the deeper layers of foam that getting rid of its wetness can be difficult.
The same can be said of sweat on your mattress -especially in excess. Sweat, alongside your body’s natural oils, can easily seep into the top layers of your mattress. When this occurs, it creates a breeding ground for bacteria and even a lingering odour. Not only could this pose a health risk if not addressed sooner, but it can deteriorate your mattress’ material.
Sweat damages your mattress by gradually breaking it down, so it loses its resiliency. In turn, you can expect your bed to sag from it after a while. In which case, this can affect your sleep quality by messing with your spinal alignment. The sagging that occurs from the sweat creates an uneven surface, resulting in no proper support for your back. From that, you can end up waking up with a sore back or even tossing and turning at night to find an area with proper support.
That’s why reducing the amount of sweat can ensure a better quality of sleep but also allow your mattress to have a longer lifespan.
Protecting Mattress from Sweat
Unfortunately, you will always sweat. That’s to be expected. However, it’s not impossible to reduce the amount of sweat that seeps into a mattress. There are various ways to deter sweat from affecting mattress’ quality.
Cooling Mattresses
If you have the money for it, you can benefit from investing in a new mattress with cooling materials. Hot sleepers should consider this since they sweat the most. They avoid nighttime sweating by purchasing a mattress that includes cooling gels inside of it. In turn, it will help to reduce how much you sweat and improve your sleep. In which case, you want to avoid any memory foam mattresses if you’re mattress shopping. Memory foam absorbs the heat from your body and then reflects that heat to you. Therefore, it causes you to sleep hotter than you normally would.
Mattress Protector
Mattress sales people aren’t trying to upsell you when recommending a mattress protector. Mattress protectors are designed to protect your mattress from liquids and fluids from damaging it. It’s why you see some parents will invest in a mattress protector for their child. Children are prone to bed wetting. But, mattress protectors assure parents that it won’t seep through the mattress and ruin it. In which case, you can bet that it will help reduce sweat from getting into your mattress. However, ensure you buy waterproof mattress protectors. Other mattress protectors can cause breathability issues and cause you to sleep hot, which would only cause you to sweat still.
Breathable Sheets
Another way to help reduce sweating is by buying breathable sheets. Your current one’s material might be too thick and absorb heat into you, causing you to overheat at night and sweat. In which case, you want to find sheets that are thinner and made with materials that will regulate temperature. A few materials that help with that are cotton, linen, and bamboo. Also, keep an eye out for any sheets that help with moisture-wicking to reduce sweat from entering your mattress. Not only will it help improve your sleep, but it will also ensure no lingering odours!
Sweat impacts not only the quality of your sleep but also causes lasting damage to your mattress. When you address how to reduce sweat from your mattress, you can effectively increase the lifespan of your bed and ensure a good night’s sleep from there afterward!