Are you feeling sharp pain or stiffness in your back when you wake up in the morning? What about right now? Feel like nothing has changed in your routine to cause back pain?

It can be incredibly frustrating to pinpoint the cause behind what’s causing you back pain. But it shouldn’t be something you just live with or even worse, think will magically go away. While back pain can be brought on by a number of different factors (i.e. aging, chronic pain, old injuries, etc.), your mattress is a likely culprit.

Truth be told, your mattress is a good place to start when you’re evaluating the source of your back pain. And below we’ll give you easy, recognizable ways to tell if this applies to your current situation.

The 6 tell-tale signs your mattress is causing you back pain

You feel pain first thing in the morning

Robert Hayden, a chiropractor in greater Atlanta states: “If you wake up every morning hurting, there’s a possibility that the source of your pain is your mattress.”

It’s normal to wake up feeling a little stiff after a long night of rest, but you shouldn’t be experiencing acute pain. You can tell if a mattress is causing back pain if you went to bed feeling good but woke up feeling sore as soon as you try to get out of bed. Then if it takes longer than 20 minutes to stretch it out, your bed is to blame.

You’re tossing and turning all night

Our bodies need to be fully supported and comfortable to have a restorative night of sleep. Tossing and turning all night trying to find a good sleep position is a sign that your mattress is causing you back pain. Because if you can’t get comfortable, you feel intense pressure on the wrong parts of your body and as a result, your back will be hurting.

Your mattress feels too firm or too soft

A mattress that’s too firm will cause joint pressure and stress to the body while a mattress that’s too soft will cause your body to sink and push your spine out of alignment, causing back problems. This study revealed that a medium-firm mattress improves lower back pain better than a very firm mattress. Consult our guide on choosing the best mattress.

Your mattress is cheap or low quality

If you underinvested in a mattress or bought one made of low quality materials, then the condition it’s in could be responsible for your back pain. A low quality mattress will affect the quality of your sleep, your comfort and back support. Cheaper (under $300) or low-grade mattresses lack the structure and materials needed to properly promote rest and alleviate pressure. Check out this article to get a quality mattress without overpaying.

You haven’t had a back injury

This is a tell-tale sign that your mattress is causing back pain. Of course, if you have a past injury, your mattress could still play a role in hindering or helping your healing process. But if you haven’t had an injury and you’re waking up with back aches and pains, all signs point to your mattress.

You’ve had your mattress for over eight years

Unlike wine, mattresses don’t age finely. After eight years or more, mattresses begin to lose their responsiveness, shape and quality. Evaluate how long you’ve had your mattress and consider whether it’s time to replace it if you’ve been waking up with back pain every morning.

Can the right mattress ease your back pain?

We emphasize the important role of mattresses because it’s a deal breaker in your quality of sleep. Why is that? If your head, shoulders, hips and spine aren’t fully accommodated by a sleep surface, you will experience back pain. The wrong mattress can make you restless, cause body pain, hygiene issues, allergies, lose sleep…need we say more? Furthermore, all of these negative effects don’t do you any good when you’re trying to live a happy, healthy life.

But when you invest in the right mattress and especially after you go from sleeping on a low-grade mattress to the proper one—you’ll notice a transformation in your body and your sleep. In fact, this study had subjects with beds for more than five years replace them with a new mattress; the results were that these individuals reported less back pain and better sleep.

There’s no single mattress that will be a one-size-fits-all for everyone with back pain, but there are some helpful elements to keep in mind if you need a new mattress.

How to pick the right mattress for your back

Below are the main things to consider when looking for a mattress. Keeping in mind that there’s no ‘perfect’ mattress, only ‘perfect’ for you and your situation.

Firmness

As mentioned previously, studies have pointed towards medium-firm mattresses as a happy medium that achieves good posture, spinal alignment, support for your natural curves and enough cushion. Check out our breakdown of firm vs. soft mattresses.

Materials

The materials used in mattress construction will be responsible for the comfort, contouring and pressure relief properties that a mattress offers to you. In this way, there is also no exclusive mattress material that is the standard for back pain sufferers.

The most popular mattress materials are memory foam, latex, hybrids and innerspring. Michael Breus, a well-known sleep expert, recommends latex for its firm responsiveness, yet supportive qualities. But if you want a “best-of-both-world” type scenario of support and comfort, a hybrid may be just what you need. It’s constructed with an innerspring support core and topped with layers of comfort materials made from foam or latex.

Trial and error

Ensure that as you’re shopping around and looking at mattresses, you pick one that has a generous return policy. If you can test run a new mattress for at least a month, observe whether it’s helping your back pain and sleep quality. Then, you can rest assured that a return is possible if necessary. Don’t settle on a mattress after just one night.

Sleep position

Because the way you sleep affects the areas of the body that experience pressure, it’s crucial to be cognisant of your own sleeping position. Overall, sleeping on your back or side is preferred to the stomach, which puts added pressure on your neck and lumbar area. And luckily, a medium-firm mattress is the recommended range for back and side sleepers. Check out out list of best mattresses for stomach sleepers.

Is your mattress causing you back pain?

It’s definitely likely. If you notice any of the above signs, then your mattress could be underperforming in support or putting too much pressure on your body. Either way, it encourages poor sleeping positions and restlessness, both of which lead to back pain issues and irritations. A good mattress needs to support your spine.

If you’ve been experiencing back pain, take a closer look at your mattress and talk to your doctor.