When last did you look at your base and mattress?

The theme of this year’s World Sleep Day on 17 March was “Sleep soundly, nurture life”, flagging up how vital a good night’s sleep is for our physical and mental wellbeing.

Sleeping well helps our brains function better, making us more successful in our jobs and at learning, as well as helping to protect us,” says Ras Erasmus, Sales and Marketing Executive at Bravo Group Sleep Products “A very high proportion of road accidents are due to impaired judgement because of sleep deprivation.”

Plenty of us forget one of the key fundamentals when we worry about how to improve our sleep quality, though. “Adults spend a third of their lives asleep,” says Erasmus. “But we all tend to spend less time on selecting the right bed and mattress to help us sleep better than we do on buying a car in which most of us spend only about an hour or so a day. That is why one of the first things to check if you are suffering from poor sleep is the surface that you are trying to sleep on.”

Check whether your mattress and base are worn out. Red flags include looking saggy, uneven or out of shape, says Erasmus.

“Your body might also warn you that the bed you’re trying to sleep on is past its best,” he says. “A good night’s sleep should mean that you wake up refreshed and re-energised, ready to take on the day’s challenges. But a worn-out bed might wear you out instead so that you toss and turn at night or get pins and needles when you’re lying down, giving you poorer quality sleep.”

Ideally, you should replace your mattress and base at least every 10 years, says Erasmus – sooner if you have developed sleep problems as updating could transform your night’s sleep. Erasmus believes that anyone who has not bought a bed in the past decade will be astonished at how developments in mattress technology based on the comfort-sell concept have spread across all levels of products to ensure that consumers achieve a much better night’s sleep.

Well-established dealers now spend time with customers in a bed comfort test area to narrow down your comfort preferences before you even start shortlisting possible bed purchases. Key technological advances to look for include: layers of memory foam that adapt to compensate for pressure points when you are lying down, new forms of springs with hinging to support your weight better and distribute it more comfortably; gel beads to give a cooler feel; and coverings derived from materials such as bamboo pulp, which are antibacterial, antifungal and vaporise moisture easily, as well as being from sustainable sources.

Remember to budget for a new base and not just a new mattress, notes Erasmus.

“Usually the base sags along with the mattress so replacing the mattress only will solve just a part of your problem,” he says. “It would be like buying a new car but keeping the chassis from your old one!”