The unknown a daunting prospect and yet it announces itself with constant reminders that it is there! The same is right for fibromyalgia. The symptoms of this chronic disorder vary from person to person. You may suffer from protracted headaches, irritable bowel disorder, aches of the joints and muscles and more.
You naturally make an appointment to see your doctor after having suffered from fatigue and pain for weeks on end. You are expecting to get a full explanation, but you do not get one. You are told that you have fibromyalgia and that women are ten times more commonly affected than men.
Your doctor can just about list the symptoms and give you some idea what he or she is going to recommend in the form of medication and other treatments – that’s about it.
There is no cure for fibrositis, and we do not know the disorder origins. All you can do if you have it is change the way you do things in life and take medicine.
One thing that suffers heavily when you have fibrositis is the quality of sleep. We aim to help you get a better understanding and give you some advice on the best mattress/bedding that will make all the difference for fibrositis sufferers.
Benefits Of a Great Bed When Suffering From Fibrositis
Better Sleep
Better sleep is what many of us pray for in a fast-moving and increasingly challenging world. There is so much to distract us, and so many chores to be done and the day is just too short to accomplish it all. And we are talking about the people without any pain or other conditions that might impede nighttime rest.
What’s the story if you have fibromyalgia? It’s even harder – that’s what. Battling day in and day out against ailments such as fibro-fog where your cognitive functions are not as clear as usual is a challenge no one wants. And the constant thrumming that comes and goes whenever it wants; dealing with all of that is a job in itself.
We know that you are brave. Now you have to be braver still and fight for that good night’s sleep you so rightfully deserve. You will notice the difference a good mattress can make on your wellbeing in a very short time – so, do the research and get one.
Relieves Pain
A good mattress has a significant impact on joint pain simply because it reduces pressure to those areas while providing support to other areas. It depends on what side you sleep on, but we will delve into more detail a little later on.
For the moment, let’s just focus on what the top-rated bed can do for you and your agony. Most of us know what it feels like if you sprained your ankle or pulled a ligament. And most of us know of the pain when we added pressure to the injured area – it hurt like crazy, and we needed to relieve tension to stop the agony.
A good mattress does precisely that. It aligns to the contours of your body so that problem zones on your physique, depending on whether they protrude or not, are adequately supported and cradled. For example, if you are on your side, the hips must be supported, and the shoulders need to be cradled so that the spine is in alignment.
Muscle
When the body is at rest during the night, the muscles relax and recuperate from the day’s exertions. Have you ever gone to bed with muscle ache from doing too much sport the previous night only to wake up feeling more refreshed? That is nothing other than the healing power of sleep working its magic. Lactic acid in the muscles caused by unaccustomed strain is dissembled and flushed away.
When you have fibromyalgia, regeneration and de-stressing are even more critical. The muscles need sufficient blood flow throughout the night. The best bedding can aid in that quest. Without any pressure and excellent support, the muscles get to relax and recuperate.
Muscle aches are seriously problematic because you feel them no matter how little you move. It makes sense to do everything humanly possible to alleviate that strain so that you can get the best night’s sleep.
Mitigate Fatigue
Fatigue can come in myriad guises and is caused by many different things like stress, allergies, depression and more. Sleep deprivation is apparently the most significant contributor to fatigue. Experts suggest that the average adult human needs about eight hours of sleep a night. Of course, there those people that suggest they don’t need it and maybe they are right. There is always an exception to the rule.
If you have the right bed that greatly suits what you need in terms of support against the aching joints and muscles, you are already halfway there in beating the fight against exhaustion. Fibrositis won’t make life any easier so let’s not make life any easier for fibrositis.
What you require is something that makes you want to go to bed. To do that, you must feel cozy and supported without any pressure to areas that hurt when you are lying on your mattress.
Diminish Depression
Depression is another disturbing side consequence of fibrositis because certain hormones linked to the condition affect your mood. Also, not being able to get enough sleep is a consequence of the disorder making the snowball role faster and faster down the hill until you are so down and fatigued that you won’t know what to do.
The right mattress can help alleviate some of these problems. Sure the hormone situation must be dealt with by a medical professional, but a bed can work wonders in helping you sleep.
If your body is well supported no matter what position you lie in, half the battle is won. If you no longer feel the pressure of the sleeping surface on the joints and the area that needs sinkage get it, you are very likely able to relax and fall into a deep slumber. Feeling rested will put a severe dent in your depression.
Perfect Spinal Alignment
Perfect spinal alignment makes all of the difference to your overall wellbeing. If the vertebrae are left without support over an extended period of time, backache, spinal disk shifts, and hip agony can kick in. These conditions are made worse by the fibrositis.
Therefore, it is paramount that you have the top-grade mattress for your condition. By relieving pressure off of the back and aligning the spine so that it is straight no matter what position you sleep in is the holly Grail of nighttime relaxation and wellbeing. You will notice the difference after one night.
If you do not have the right bedding aligning the spine can be a challenging task. Make sure you have the right mattress and pillows to go with it. In the next section, we will talk about the effects of fibromyalgia on your sleep so don’t make it worse by having the wrong accouterments.
How Fibromyalgia Affects Your Sleep
Having trouble sleeping is one of the most common side effects if you have fibromyalgia. More than three-quarters of people suffer from poor quality sleep thanks to the condition. It shows itself in various forms, and the worst of the bunch is insomnia when you are unable to fall asleep no matter how much you try. It’s a vicious cycle – you get nervous just by trying harder.
Other types of sleep disturbance are frequent awakening during the night because of jolts of pain caused by the inflamed joints. Another thing, you generally do not manage to enter a stage of deeper sleep.
If that is not enough to worry about, restless leg syndrome can affect some of us. It’s when you can’t find a comfortable position, and you keep moving about. Sleep apnea, resulting in cavernous snoring is another result of fibrositis, and this condition in itself can be life-threatening if left untreated.
Pain Sufferers Should Consider This Before Buying
Pressure Relief
Before making the decision to invest in something as expensive as a good mattress, it is vital that you consider pressure relief. Conducting your due diligence online is the way to start. Make sure you read all of the product features and reviews before buying. Also, take a good look at your current bed to ascertain its strengths and weaknesses.
But it would help to know what pressure relief is before going ahead. In conjecture with your bed, pressure relief deals with the ability of the sleeping surface to alleviate stress to problem areas on your body. For example, the wrong mattress aggravates pressure points like joints by pressing against them invasively. This can rob you of precious sleep because you will always feel the sleeping surface.
All bedding types are suitable for pressure relief, but memory foam and certain hybrids have the highest-quality and ability to shape to the contours of your body.
Comfortability
For some of us, comfort in the bed is of the utmost importance. However, it must not be mistaken for too soft that you almost sink into the bed to the slats underneath. Remember, if you have fibromyalgia, your body needs to be cradled in the right way so as not to apply strain to the spine. That would only make the situation worse.
What we mean by comfortability are coziness and snugness. In other words, you need to feel as if your entire body is kept in position no matter how you sleep. The right mattress that includes the section as mentioned above and the following attributes in the next part will cover all of the bases.
If you get it right, you might be able to strike off the symptom of your list. Hopefully, sleep deprivation will be a thing of the past.
Support
The right mattress for fibrositis sufferers is one that supports you without you even knowing it. Imagine feeling weightless and floating in thin air. There is entirely no friction or touch with any surface. Your joints and muscles will feel as if they are free of all pain.
The best mattress can assimilate something like that very closely. The surface will depress when a body protrusion touches the exterior and act according to your weight in perfect harmony with the parts of your frame that need support like the hips if you are lying on your side. This is what the expert calls ‘contouring.’
Many people claim that memory foam (learn more) and the hybrids do the excellent job in adapting to the shape of your body. But we have to take your sleeping position into consideration before we can make a definite decision. In the next section, we will look into this.
Sleeping Position for Fibromyalgia
Stomach
Some of us swear by sleeping on the tummy. We feel cozy, safe and in full contact with the sheets and the mattress. However, it is not the ideal stomach sleeping position with fibromyalgia.
More pressure is added to the lower back because of the natural arc in the spine. With the wrong mattress, your body will sink in causing pain to both the back and hips. Of course, you can get a firmer bed. Maybe add a pillow under the pelvis for extra support.
The most important thing is that the head is placed in such a way that the neck and vertebrae are in a perfectly straight alignment. In most cases, this means no cushion, as it will lift the head and cause tension to the neck tendons.
If you must insist on remaining on your stomach, bring the arms up around the head for extra support. This will add more surface mass to reduce individual pressure points.
Back
People who prefer to sleep on their back are the second most popular sleeping position. It is perfect if you get a lot of headaches as a result of your condition because if the head is slightly elevated, blood circulation to the brain is optimized.
Also resting on your back mitigates neck and lower back pain. With the right pillow and mattress, you can keep the spine nice and straight. Even, the lumbar area on the back will come into full contact with the bed allowing for complete body contact and minimized pressure to the problem areas.
As a back sleeper, you should also consider investing in an adjustable bed so that you can elevate the head above the heart and even the legs a few inches for the best blood circulation thus lessening the joint pain to the ankles as well. Experts call it the ‘Zero-gravity’ position due to the existence of virtually zero pressure points on the body.
Side
If you have it, fibromyalgia brings on a host of various pains that can affect your daily life. It does not end there. The problem continues at night. Finding the most recommended sleeping position to deter aches might make all of the difference.
If you suffer from pain in the upper back, shoulders, and hips, sleeping on the side is the recommended position.
In the case of the upper back, you do not apply pressure when your body is tipped to the side as opposed to adding pressure when you are on your back. The mattress cradles the shoulders, and the hips are supported – perfect spinal alignment all over.
We touched upon the hips and the shoulders just now and you have probably already deduced that these two body parts are held in position and supported if you have the right bedding.
A small note: Over seventy percent of us sleep on the side. It is position number one.
Do you sleep on your side and have a pain? Go to: Highest Quality Side Sleeper Beds For (Lower) Back Pain
Other Conditions
Sciatica
The sciatic nerve emerges from the spinal column at the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra and the second sacral vertebra, reaching down to the feet. It is the longest nerve in the human body and travels down the buttocks and hips of each leg in an interweaving way.
Sciatic pain usually appears suddenly and radiates from the lumbar region over the buttocks to the leg. Typically, the resulting severe pain only affects one side of the body, and therefore only one leg.
The agony can often be so severe making moving almost impossible. So bending over and turning the upper body causes immense problems.
Do you have this condition? See our guide: Highest Quality Beds for Sciatica Sufferers – Our In-Depth Research
Arthritis
Arthritis does not only occur due to the aging process – go to our buyer’s bed guide for arthritis. Arthritis is a rheumatic disease that transpires on its own, but can also develop after a joint inflammation or weak ligaments.
The pain experienced by a person with joint pain varies greatly. Joints can be so ‘fixed’ that they hurt significantly during movement. The joints can also be susceptible. For example, in the case of an unexpected collision, there is a piercing pain. The stiffness of the bones is also common.
The bone can become wider because it has to absorb the forces that are typically absorbed by the cartilage. It is also possible that the bone gets protrusions, resulting in the loss of function and pain. The complaints mainly occur after a period of rest and decrease again after some movement.
Scoliosis
Scoliosis is when the spine is three-dimensionally bent and twisted. This spinal curvature usually occurs during the younger years and may vary in severity. In 80 to 90 percent of cases, it is unclear why scoliosis develops. For example, congenital malformations, muscle or nerve diseases or accidents are less common.
Scoliosis is a lateral bending of the spine with a rotation of vertebral bodies that reduce a person’s mobility. This deformation cannot be compensated by a specific posture but does tend to persist (chronic). Without treatment, it usually increases and becomes more pronounced.
For an in-depth overview see: Our Highest Rated Beds for Scoliosis – Buyer’s Guide
Back Pain
Low back pain, lumbago, stiff back or just ‘having it in the back’: Back pain is a multiple facetted ailment that can plague people of almost any age – from schoolchildren to seniors. They are among the most common pain problems of all, with women suffering from backaches more often than men across all age groups – a phenomenon that is also seen in other types of pain.
The duration of back pain may vary. Most common is acute back pain (6 weeks). If the period of the pain exceeds six weeks, experts speak of subacute back pain. If the back pain persists for more than twelve weeks, it is chronic or chronically recurrent.
Do you have a lower back discomfort? Highest Recommended & Excellent Beds for Lower and Upper Bad Backs
Hip Pain
Hip pain is often equated with hip arthritis. However, the causes are mostly in the area of the muscles, tendons, bursae, and nerves.
The hip is composed of the femoral head and the pelvic bone, which are hinged together. Malformation (dysplasia), incorrect movements or unilateral stress can lead to hip pain. In addition to the hip joint itself, muscles, nerves (e.g., the sciatic nerve), tendons or soft tissue can be the cause of hip pain.
Hip discomfort can occur after heavy physical effort, but also quite independently – see our top mattress picks. It sometimes expresses itself in the form of morning pains or as persistent complaints. The result of hip pain is often instability, stiffness and a limitation in motion range.
Top 3 Fibromyalgia Mattress Reviews
Layla – Best Overall Comfort & Value
Features:
- One mattress two different surfaces
- 120-night trial
- Be cool with copper
Our Ratings: 9.8/10
Four levels of memory foam and a smooth cover make up the Layla mattress. Two layers are infused with copper for an excellent cooling effect. This company has taken thermal transference for viscoelastic foam to the next level. You will never have to sleep hot again with this bed.
If you suffer from joint pains or you are constantly restless at night because of them, the copper components inside of the bedding have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help alleviate discomfort. Have you ever seen people wear copper bracelets and wondered why? Copper improves blood circulation, and that is what the Layla can do for you while you are sleep.
Combine the coolness effect, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and you have the best-quality overall comfort and value for people with fibromyalgia. And we haven’t even mentioned the optimal pressure relief for the joints and muscles yet. This bed is one step in the right direction that is for sure.
See how well Layla did by reading our mattress review.
Casper – Excellent Pressure Point Relief
Features:
- Specific zoned support
- Risk-free trial
- The best customer service
Our Ratings: 9.5/10
Who would have ever thought that a one size fits all business model for the mattress industry would ever work? In the olden days, we would be faced with countless choices in stores and still we’d be disappointed. No more! Casper pioneered the online bedding solution, and their customers are happy, and they have the reviews to prove it.
But what does that mean if you have fibrositis? Casper offers excellent pressure point relief with their signature zoned support technology. No matter in what position you lay, the mattress adapts to the shape of your body with viscoelastic memory foam. And it is not hot at all. Open-cell layers make sure that thermal transference is at its best.
And it is so easy to get your hands on a Casper bed. The online ordering process is seamless and efficient. Before you know it, your new bedding will be shipped straight to your door. It’s customer satisfaction through and through.
See our complete layers and construction of Casper overview here.
Bear – Great for Fibrositis Pain
Features:
- Available in both memory foam and hybrid
- High quality at an excellent price
- Eco-friendly with CertiPUR-US
- Free shipping
Our Ratings: 9.4/10
The Bear mattress is right up there with the top brands when it comes to body contouring and relieving pressure points on your joints and muscles. The upper layer of mattress ensures a quick response so that the surface quickly adapts to the shape of your body no matter in what position you are in. It’s excellent if you suffer from pain.
An award-winning combination of the latest textile and foam assure a cool night’s sleep. If you have fibromyalgia, there are few things worse than heating up as it invigorates the pain making a restful night elusive.
If you share the bed with your partner, every move they make during the night may aggravate your condition, even more, making sleep more difficult than usual. The bear boasts excellent motion isolation so that you won’t even notice what is going on. It really is outstanding value for a product that offers so many benefits.
Are you considering this type? Read our complete review here.
Our Final Thoughts
Fibromyalgia is as sneaky as it gets! For years you may have never even heard of it and then it is upon you. In many cases, doctors have trouble diagnosing it because it can be a host of other things. And when they manage to find out the root of your agony, you are none the wiser.
But now you are. As we have learned, sleep deprivation is one of the major complaints when it comes to this condition. The best mattress for your bed can certainly make things easier for you in the short and long term. With our recommendations, you have the tools to make a start.
Resources:
- Fibromyalgia – https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/fibromyalgia
- Living with Fibromyalgia, Drugs Approved to Manage Pain – https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm107802.htm