This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

Most everyone has experienced a restless night at some point. Many people experience the frustration of tossing and turning with sleeplessness several nights per week. Sleep is essential for health and wellness; you need to be able to catch a full night of Zs if you hope to be effective at work and engaged at home. But, if you can’t sleep (and none of the other insomnia solutions seem to be working) you might turn your attention to your bed. Not all beds are created equal. You need to build your bed around your body size, shape, sensitivities and sleep style, and if any one element of your bed is off, you won’t be able to relax and feel as rested as possible. Here are a few common complaints about beds, and how you can change them to improve your sleep.

Your Bed Is Too Small

As it turns out, a bed can’t be too big for a person...but it can definitely be too small. It should go without saying that if you have a larger frame, you probably need a larger mattress. The same goes for if you are sharing your bed with a partner, or with your pets or kids. When your bed is too small, you could feel cramped into certain uncomfortable sleeping positions, or your sleep could be disturbed by others moving around in the night. A larger mattress will give you more space to spread out without bumping into your bedmates, helping you achieve a better sleep. You should always try to get the biggest bed possible for your space, so you can obtain the highest level of comfort.

Your Mattress is Old and Lumpy

Believe it or not, your mattress has an expiration date. If you are taking impeccable care of your mattress (flipping and rotating it on a schedule, using a mattress protector, cleaning it every few months, etc.) your mattress will last a maximum of 10 years. An old mattress past its prime could be interfering with your sleep for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Lumps and bumps. The cushion of your mattress will wear down in the shape of your body, creating uncomfortable high and low points that can put stress on your joints.
• Allergies. As you shed dead skin cells into your mattress, your mattress will attract dust mites, which produce feces that can irritate your skin, airways and eyes. 

If the time for replacing an expired mattress is nigh, you might as well upgrade to a luxury mattress to give you the best chance at a restful night’s sleep.

You Have the Wrong Mattress for Your Sleeping Style

Different sleeping positions demand different types of support from your bed and bedding:

• Side sleepers need soft mattresses that allow their shoulders and hips to sink in without creating pressure points that cut off blood flow.
• Stomach sleepers need especially firm mattresses to support their midsection, which shouldn’t be allowed to sink into the mattress to pull the spine out of alignment.
• Back sleepers need medium-firm mattresses, which should cradle the back without permitting excessive sinking.

If you can’t sleep because you can’t get comfortable in your bed, you could be suffering from a case of improper mattress. You can take note of your most-used sleep positions and use them to guide you toward a better bed.

You Are Allergic to Your Pillow

After just two years of use, your pillow is 10 percent heavier due to the excess skin cells you shed into it every night. As with your mattress, your dead skin attracts dust mites, which chow down your shed cells and drop feces in their wake. Though you might not be able to see the mites or their droppings, your body is almost certainly reacting to them with a typical allergy response: runny nose, itchy, watery eyes, red, irritated skin, sneezing and coughing — the works. If you notice that your allergies are particularly bad in the morning, just after you wake, you probably need to toss your pillow and buy a new one. The best pillows are made of natural, non-allergenic materials, like natural latex or organic cotton.

Of course, there are a tremendous number of reasons you might not be sleeping as well as you should — but making your bed a more inviting place is a good way to start addressing and sleep struggles you might be suffering. The perfect bed for you is waiting, and with it, the perfect sleep.

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