Using an old mattress does more than just give you a backache. It can actually affect your health in a number of very detrimental ways. As with any piece of furniture, mattresses do wear down over time. The basic rule of thumb is that you should replace your mattress every eight years. However, that rule isn’t set in stone. Some mattresses may wear out earlier, while some may last ten years or more if you take care of them.

What can happen to your health if you continue to use a mattress that should be replaced? While it may not kill you, it can certainly damage your health, affect you mentally, and even damage your relationships. Here are some of the dangers of using an old mattress.

Your Back Hurts

One of the most common dangers of using an old mattress is that it causes you pain. Sleeping on a mattress that has worn-down padding and coils provides less support than your body needs. This can cause pain in your back, hips, and other parts of your body. If you wake up sore every morning, it’s likely caused by your mattress. This type of pain can cause muscle spasms, plus it can make it easier to pull a muscle or hurt yourself in other ways.

Your Chronic Conditions Could Get Worse

A lack of sleep from an uncomfortable mattress does more than just make your back hurt. It can keep you up at night. You might toss and turn, unable to get comfortable or fall asleep for hours. Once you do fall asleep, you may wake up several times in the night. You might not even be aware that you’re waking up because you don’t become fully conscious. However, your brain still wakes up enough to reset your sleep cycle. This means you’re not getting enough deep sleep for your body to fully heal and recharge.

While this lack of sleep may not be the direct cause of a chronic health condition, studies have indicated that poor sleep can make these conditions worse. Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other medical conditions have been linked to sleep deprivation. If you’ve been diagnosed with any of these conditions, your old mattress could be making them worse because it’s preventing you from sleeping. Your body needs sleep to keep these diseases under control and prevent further damage. A lumpy, uncomfortable mattress prevents that.

You Gain Weight

Gaining weight you just can’t seem to get off? It could be because you’re not sleeping very well. In addition to affecting chronic health conditions, poor sleep can actually cause you to gain weight. This is because sleep affects how your body creates and balances your hormones. This includes the hormones that control appetite. If those hormones aren’t balanced correctly, your appetite can increase despite the fact that your body doesn’t actually need more food. The end result is weight gain. Once you get rid of your old mattress, you may find that you drop a few pounds and aren’t as hungry as you once were.

Your Mental Health Can Be Affected, Too

Your old mattress and the lack of sleep it causes can affect you mentally, too. Sleep deprivation has been tied to depression and anxiety. Even if you don’t suffer from either of those, when you don’t sleep well, you can’t mentally function efficiently. You may find it hard to gather your thoughts or do basic mental tasks such as math or spelling. You might make mistakes that could affect your work performance. Tossing and turning can also make you irritable. You may find yourself getting angry at very minor things that normally wouldn’t bother you at all. If you snap at the wrong person, it could greatly damage that relationship or even cause you to lose your job.

Your Breathing Can Be Affected

Do you often have allergies or asthma attacks? If so, your mattress may be at fault. While sleeping on an old mattress won’t cause these conditions, it can make them much worse. That’s because mattresses, over time, become full of dust and other stuff such as dead skin cells and pet dander. The biggest issue, though, is dust mites. These mites create dust, which is actually their feces. They eat dead skin cells, which means your bed is essentially an all-you-can-eat buffet.

If you have a dust allergy, you’re breathing in all this stuff while you sleep. This can cause your eyes to water, your nose to run, and lead to sneezing, coughing, and wheezing. Even if you have a mattress protector on your bed, it won’t be enough to keep all these microscopic pests out. Once dust mites are in your mattress, there’s often no real way to get them out. In fact, over time, so many dust mites, living and dead, will accumulate in your mattress that it can double in weight.

In addition to dust mites, if you have pets, their dander is going to accumulate in your mattress. Those who only have mild pet allergies may find that their reaction gets worse over the years because they breathe in dander while they sleep.

Mold Is Another Concern

Another way your mattress could be affecting your breathing is by being a breeding ground for mold and mildew. Fungi love dark, warm, moist areas. The underside and inside of your mattress are certainly dark, and it gets very warm when you sleep on it. If you sweat a lot, you’re providing a good amount of moisture, too. All of this can create a space for mold to grow and spread. You may not necessarily be able to see it, either. Mold is often an invisible threat, so even if you notice your asthma or allergies getting worse, you may not immediately think mold is the issue. Many people think mold only grows around damp places, and few people associate dampness with their mattress.

When Should You Look for Mattress Disposal in Dayton?

While you definitely don’t want to sleep on an old mattress that’s full of dust and mold, how can you tell when you need a new mattress? Many people will tell you that your mattress is good for eight years, but what if you start waking up stiff and sore in half that time? You can’t always go by age, especially for cheap mattresses. If your mattress feels lumpy and isn’t supporting you while you sleep, get rid of it.

Other signs that your mattress needs to be tossed out include visible rips and tears in the cover, stains on the mattress, and weird smells. While flipping your mattress can help if it’s a coil mattress (you can’t flip memory foam mattresses), it won’t extend its life forever. The same goes with rotating a memory foam or coil mattress. It can help by changing the part of the mattress you use, but it won’t repair any damage that’s been done.

How to Get Rid of a Mattress

Once you’ve decided that your mattress needs to go, what do you do with it? If you don’t have a truck, getting it to the landfill on your own can be difficult. You could put it out for the city bulk trash pickup, but that’s not always convenient since it’s only at specific times of the month. If you need that old mattress gone right away, calling Junk King Dayton is your best option. We will come and pick it up as soon as possible.

In addition to old mattresses, we can haul off a large variety of different things, including furniture, appliances, electronics, yard waste, DIY project waste, old hot tubs, and much more. As long as it doesn’t contain any type of hazardous material, Junk King can get rid of it for you. Our team of professionals will even remove the items from your home, so you don’t need to try to get your mattress out the door. Just point it to us, and we’ll do the rest. We know how to carefully remove items so we don’t hurt ourselves or damage your home in any way.

Call Junk King Dayton Today for a Free, No-Obligation Estimate

When you’re ready to get rid of your old mattress or anything else, the first step is to give us a call for a free estimate. There’s no obligation, so even if you decide not to work with us, there’s no cost. You can call us at 1-888-888-JUNK to talk to one of our representatives. If you just have a mattress or a few basic pieces of furniture you need hauled away, we can likely give you a quote over the phone. If you have unique items or a lot of stuff, we may need to do an in-person quote. The best thing about this is that we try to bring our truck whenever we do an in-person estimate. If you agree to the cost, we can go to work right away.

Don’t have time to call us? You can text images of what you need hauled away to 1-737-888-5865. You can also go online and use our free quote calculator. Regardless of how you reach out, Junk King Dayton is here to help you get rid of all that junk cluttering up your home.