The Mattress for Athletes; the Key Traits You Must Consider Before Buying

An athlete’s body requires optimum sleep to recuperate after strenuous physical activities. Healthy sleep is crucial if an athlete want to perform at optimum levels in their craft. Research carried out by Free Your Spine says, while in sleep mode, your body releases hormones for the body to recover and heal.

Additionally, an athlete on training mode usually requires up to 10 hours of sleep in a day. When you do not have enough rest, your reaction times and focus drops. An athlete with poor sleep patterns performs dismally; therefore it is important that they find a suitable mattress.

Why Sleep Is Important To an Athlete

With good amount of rest, an athlete will speed up their performance and reaction times. A split second lapse in judgment might make one loose first place in a competition. Some studies show an improvement in performance by up to 5 percent with and additional two hours of sleep.

Moreover, sleep improves the alertness and mood of an athlete. While asleep, the body gets into REM cycle, which is important for cognitive muscle memory. A sportsperson usually has multiple repetitive actions; therefore, a relaxed mind remembers these patterns better. While in sleep mode, the body releases hormones that assist in muscle building and bone growth. In addition, the immune and nervous system recovers while at rest. No athlete would want to antagonize these processes due to a poor mattress.

Types of Mattresses for Athletes

A sportsperson requires a mattress that promotes deep sleep and is comfortable to their needs. Before getting into the considerations, first, we must understand the different types of mattresses and which is best for an athlete.

• Memory foam: These type of mattresses come in different types of high, medium, and low densities. When in use, they promote spine alignment if you sleep in the correct positions. However, you should be careful when selecting the right one for you, since memory foams hold onto a lot of heat. There is a variant with cooling properties, which might help an athlete’s tense muscles heal more rapidly.
• Innerspring mattress: even though this type is costly, it usually provides service for a long period. Additionally, you will not have to worry about sweating at night because of the excellent cooling properties. Nevertheless, an athlete should be mindful of the noise cause by the innersprings as they twist and turn on the bed.
• Latex: with latex mattresses, you will get 100 percent natural materials on your mattress. They have hypoallergenic tendencies, thus good if you suffer from allergic conditions. Furthermore, an athlete will appreciate the fact that they are not destroying their playing field.
• Hybrid: A hybrid mattress is a mix and mash of the previously mentioned types. With a little more of another material, some properties change like the cooling properties or durability.

What Athletes Should Consider When Buying a Mattress

For an athlete to be on the top of their game, they need a comfortable rest. Here are some of the things they should consider

• Firmness: an athlete should feel comfortable with where they choose to sleep on. A heavy artist like a weight lifter is better suited to a medium mattress. A lighter athlete like a sprinter will need a firmer mattress for that contours their bodies perfectly at rest. A lighter athlete will likely puncture into a light density mattress, thus change their spine alignment when asleep.
• Hardness: A hard mattress will leave a heavy athlete feeling pressure on contact points due to their bulky weight. Understandably, they do not want that so a softer one is a good alternative for them.
• Size: It is recommended that an athlete acquire a size much bigger than they are comfortable with. The main reason being that with a larger mattress, you can do some exercises to keep fit and move freely on it. Additionally, with a large mattress, an athlete who has a partner will be isolated better and sleep soundly without distractions.
• Cooling properties: To recover better, research shows a cool environment works best for aching muscles. That is why an ice pack is always close by in case of a muscle injury. Therefore, athletes should strive to get a mattress that cools down their bodies increasing recovery time.