You’ve been told since you were a baby that a good night’s sleep does you wonders. Ever wonder if that was true or if your parents just wanted the advantage of quiet rental living after 7pm? Good news, even though your parents probably enjoyed some quiet time after you went to sleep, getting a good night’s sleep is essential for a healthy body.

A good night’s sleep will help boost your immune system along with recharging your heart and cardiovascular system. It improves brain function by increasing your ability to concentrate on work and be productive. Have you ever noticed that when someone doesn’t sleep well they are more irritable or get short with you? That’s because a good night’s sleep also improves your ability to interact in social situations and it balances out your emotions.

Being a healthy person doesn’t just require good nutrition and regular exercise, it also requires a good night’s sleep. If you aren’t getting a good night’s sleep it might be time to check the condition of your mattress and decide if you should upgrade it or not. 

Signs It’s Time To Upgrade

Not getting a good night’s sleep can be attributed to many reasons like stress or anxiety, but it can also be because your mattress needs replacing. Here are some signs you can look for when trying to figure out if it’s time to upgrade your rental living experience.

• You find yourself waking up most mornings with various aches and pains in your back or shoulders.
  
  
• You find yourself constantly tossing and turning all through the night to try and find a comfortable position to lay in.
  
  
• You can clearly see or feel lumps in your mattress.
  
  
• You can feel either sagging in different places or you feel like your body is hammocking in the middle of the mattress.
  
  
• You feel the springs through the top of your mattress.
  
  
• If you share a bed and you wake up anytime your partner moves even the slightest bit. Mattresses reduce motion transfer but overtime this ability can decrease.
  
  
• You find yourself exhausted or tired even though you slept a full 8 hours.
  
  
• You get a better night’s sleep in another bed whether it be at friends, family members, or hotels.

If you find yourself with any of the above problems, then it’s time to bite the bullet and get a new mattress. The only question is what kind of mattress should you invest in?

Types Of Mattresses

There seems to be a million different mattresses to choose from in this day and age. You have gel, pillow tops, memory foam, latex, hybrids, etc. How do you know which one will give you the best rental living sleep of your life? Without going to all the mattress shops in town and laying on every single bed how can you determine which type you’ll like?

The Sleep Judge gives you a list of 15 different types of mattresses and all the pros, cons and comparisons between all of them along with pictures and videos. Although, you may not even know if your body requires a certain type of mattress based on the way you sleep or your body weight. Luckily, Sleepopolis has a 6 step by step guide to finding the best mattress type for your body.

Out With The Old In With The New

Now that you're getting a new mattress what are you supposed to do with your old one? There are several ways you can dispose of your old mattress -- it all depends on the condition it’s in.

If it’s still in decent shape and you just wanted something with a little more comfort consider these options after you’ve had it cleaned.

• The Salvation Army and Goodwill will accept used mattresses; you can also check with your local pet rescue to see if they could use it as a bed for pets waiting to be adopted.
  
  
• You can also check with friends or family to see if anyone is need of a mattress.
  
  
• Last option is to try your hand at selling it on Craigslist or Facebook’s Martketplace.

If you know that it’s just too worn out to donate, sell, or give away then it’s a good idea to dump it. If you're thinking of just taking it out to the dumpster think again -- you’ll need to give your manager or waste service a heads up beforehand. 

One of the best times to get a new mattress is when you're moving. That way you don’t have to figure out how to move your old mattress to your new place. Your new rental living space might also have more room therefore allowing you to not only upgrade the quality of your mattress but also the size.

For other ways to make your moving process simpler check out our Ultimate Guide to Moving.