How Hard Should Your Mattress Be?

How Hard Should Your Mattress Be?

Finally, a study published in Lancet analyzed how hard a mattress should be. We've all been told the harder the firmer. Orthopedic physicians will even recommend a firm mattress to alleviate low-back pain. In this study they had 133 people with chronic low-back pain sleep on either a firm or medium-firm mattress for three months.

Surprisingly, the medium-firm mattress won! The patients who slept on the medium-firm mattress were twice as likely as those sleeping on the firm ones to report reduced pain while lying in bed or getting up in the morning. They also had less disability associated with back pain and were less reliant on pain-killing drugs.

CHRONIC LOW BACK PROBLEMS CAN EFFECT MEMORY

In the newsletter, "To Your Health", by Dr. John Thie, he reported a study where a patient's low back problems were assessed at the beginning of rehabilitation and then six months later. The researchers found that the pain, the psychological distress and the general disability actually hampered short-term memory, which resulted in a decreased speed in processing information.

If you have low back difficulties, I have two recommendations.
 First, I'd suggest you go to a chiropractor, as research has shown people recover faster from chiropractic treatments vs. the standard medical approach of drugs.

Second, there is also a Shiatsu finger pressure treatment you can do on yourself or someone that will either stop the low back pain or speed up the healing process. I have that treatment in my book, "Managing Your Stress: How to Relax and Enjoy". You can go to www.Teplitz.com/books to order.

BACKACHES - TAKE WILLOW BARK

In a study in the American Journal of Medicine reported that for a group taking 240 mgs a day of willow bark, 40% of them became pain-free. The study had 191 people with lower back pain. Half of them took a sugar pill and the other half took 1 or 2 doses of willow bark extract. In addition for long-term treatment willow back is better than aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs because it prevents cartilage damage and a lower risk of side effects.

You can get willow bark from Nature's Way. Take two to four capsules daily for pain.