Most people only sleep on an air mattress out of necessity – and rightfully so! The majority of air mattresses are uncomfortable. We know! After all, we reviewed many of them!
But what most people don’t know is that poor quality air mattresses can also lead to back pain – and not just the short-term kind!
Now you’re asking… “Joe, what causes the back pain?”
Great question!
There’s several reasons as to why your air mattress is causing you back pain. These reasons are similar, for the most part, to why a regular mattress would cause you back pain.
First and foremost – you need to make sure you have the proper support!
This is a given… you need to make sure that the air mattress you are sleeping on is properly inflated.
The easiest way to test this is to simply sit on the mattress! Wait, what? Yes! Just sit on the mattress and see how much it sinks.
If the top of the mattress sinks more than 1/3 of the total height from the floor, then odds are that mattress is not going to give you the proper amount of support.
You’ll usually find this kind of, or well, lack of support in cheaper, Wal-Mart air mattresses.
This is why it’s important to get yourself a quality air mattress!!!
The second most common reason for back pain after sleeping on an air mattress is….
…because your air mattress is too firm!
But Joe, you just said that you need to make sure your air mattress has proper support. Wouldn’t a firm mattress give you that support?
Well, yes and no. Just like your mattress that you have at home, you want the air mattress to not be flat as a board when you lay on it.
You want the air mattress to contour to the shape of your body. This will cause your spine to properly align when sleeping.
Ok, great… so the final verdict is…
Make sure you are choosing the proper firmness for your air mattress!
Doing this will, for the majority of cases, prevent you from getting back pain when sleeping on an air mattress!
You (and your doctor) know your body the best. Use this knowledge, combined with what you learn from our reviews, when you’re choosing to buy your air mattress.
Happy dreams!
