How Much Weight Does A Mattress Gain

Helen Skeates
Helen Skeates
11 min read

How much does a mattress sag over time? You may expect your bed to gain almost twice its initial weight after 8-10 years of use.

You may find that your mattress no longer provides the same level of comfort it did when you originally bought it.

It is inevitable that objects will show signs of use as time passes. Your beds are covered by this as well.

If a mattress were to grow weight, how much would it be?

In particular, the weight gain is suspect because so many variables might influence it.

The allegation that it causes weight gain is also unsupported by the available scientific evidence.

To speak from personal experience, I can attest to the fact that cushions, sofas, and other pieces of furniture gradually gain weight with time in my own home.

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Why Does Your Mattress Get Heavier?

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While you sleep, they feast on your body’s natural fluids, including the oil, sweat, and dead skin.

Your bed gets heavier over time from the accumulation of the waste products you expel while sleeping.

Weight gain from using a pillow is to be expected over time.

A recent article claimed that dead mites and their feces made up 10% of the weight of a cushion that had been in use for 2 years.

The weight of your mattress and linens increases without question.

Also, according to the same article, we lose around a tenth of an ounce of skin each year. Bedding including mattresses and pillows are targeted.

These elements also increase the risk to the sleeper’s health. If dust mites are prevalent in your bedroom, you may be at risk for developing allergies, a cold, or a bacterial infection.

The Truth About Dust Mites

What might come as a surprise, though, is the high concentration of dust mites in your mattress.

In a used mattress, you might find anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites, according to research conducted by Ohio State University.

A cushion that is two years old may contain ten percent of its weight in dead mites and their waste.

It is estimated that dust mites spend a third of their life cycle in our mattresses.

This is because they thrive in warm, damp places, such as the area just beneath your sleeping body.

They also devour dead skin cells, of which the average person loses approximately a quarter of an ounce per week, making your old mattress a veritable feasting ground.

Dust mites not only inhabit your mattress, but also your bedroom carpet and your furniture.

What Dust Mites Mean

Unless you have allergies or asthma, dust mites aren’t a major concern for most individuals.

In fact, you’ll need an electron microscope in order to make out any details, as they’re far too small to be seen with the naked eye.

They are only a quarter to a third of a millimeter in length, and their bodies are transparent.

But if you have allergies, a high dust mite population might cause a variety of problems.

In most cases, dust mites themselves are not the cause of an allergic reaction, but their droppings and decomposing carcasses might cause significant reactions in certain people.

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Furthermore, Ohio State suggests that dust mites may contribute to as much as 80% of all asthma cases.

The Mayo Clinic reports the following symptoms associated with dust mite allergies:

  • Sneezing
  • I have a stuffy nose.
  • Dry, itchy, or bloodshot eyes
  • Congestion in the nose
  • Itchy nose, roof of mouth or throat
  • Nose, palate, or tongue itch
  • Stress and discomfort in the face
  • Bluish puffiness under the eyes
  • A common behavior in children is to massage their noses frequently.

Those are some of the signs of hay fever, too.

A dust mite allergy can exacerbate asthma, and the Mayo Clinic suggests you keep an eye out for these additional symptoms.

  • Respiratory distress
  • Uncomfortable or painful constriction in the chest
  • a whistling or wheezing sound on exhalation
  • Difficulty falling asleep because of breathing issues (such as shortness of breath, coughing, or wheezing)
  • Symptoms of asthma, allergies, or emphysema that include coughing or wheezing

What to Do If You Have Symptoms of Dust Mites

It’s problematic that these symptoms are shared by so many different medical conditions.

It’s not always easy to discern if dust mites are the cause of an issue or if it’s something else.

However, if you’ve been experiencing any of these signs for more than a week, it’s generally best to see a doctor.

When symptoms are severe, it’s time to make that phone call to the doctor.

And if symptoms like wheezing or shortness of breath worsen rapidly, you should go to the emergency room.

How Much Weight Does Your Mattress Gain?

Conspicuously, people gain weight while sleeping due to shedding skin, sweating, and oil secretion.

The frightening proliferation of dust mites will cause a mattress to gain weight.

How much weight does a mattress gain? It is usually claimed that beds double their weight over 8-10 years.

Some folks may be frightened by the prospect of a hefty mattress since they haven’t replaced it despite its obvious wear and tear.

In addition, dust mites only add a negligible amount of extra weight to your bed, but they can cause serious health problems.

It’s important to remember, though, that keeping dust mites at bay and your mattress’s weight from increasing requires regular cleaning.

How To Protect My Bed From Dust Mites?

Eliminating dust mites from your bed could preserve your health and extend the life of your mattress.

Here are some measures you can take to prevent dust mites from making your bed their home.

Tip #1. Using mattress bags

There is no better way to safeguard your bed from harm.

Use dust-proof or hypoallergenic bags to enclose your mattress and pillows.

You may rest assured that this will prevent any new dust mites from making their way into your bed.

Tip #2. Watch out for humidity

Humidity is a dust mite’s best friend in your bedroom. It is excellent to set your AC unit down or might use a dehumidifier to decrease the humidity.

Tip #3. Cleaning

Humidity is a dust mite’s best friend in your bedroom. It is excellent to set your AC unit down or might use a dehumidifier to decrease the humidity.

When it’s humid in your room, dust mites thrive. It is fantastic to put your AC unit down or can employ a dehumidifier to lower the humidity.

When it’s humid in your room, dust mites thrive. It is fantastic to put your AC unit down or can employ a dehumidifier to lower the humidity.

Tip #4. Go for anti-dust mite furniture

When it’s humid in your room, dust mites thrive. It is fantastic to put your AC unit down or can employ a dehumidifier to lower the humidity.

In your room, humidity is a dust mite’s best friend. Dehumidifiers and air conditioners can be used to bring the humidity level down.

A combination of a memory foam cushion with a waterbed or air mattress could be quite beneficial.

Fluffy pillows and blankets are like five-star hotels for dust mites, so it’s best to stay away from them.

Best Mattresses for Keeping Out Dust Mites

It’s time to review the material we’ve already covered.

One thing you shouldn’t believe is that every decade your mattress adds another 20 pounds to its weight (or ever, for that matter).

However, it probably does contain thousands upon thousands of bugs that feed on decaying skin.

And if you have respiratory problems or allergies, such as asthma, you shouldn’t keep your dust-mite paradise around for too long.

It’s a bleak outlook, yet things aren’t necessarily as they seem.

Many companies now produce hypoallergenic mattresses that can help you rid your bedroom of dust mites and other allergens.

Mattresses made of memory foam or latex, for example, are too dense for dust mites to establish a comfortable habitat in.

In the same way that waterbeds and air mattresses can aid with this issue, so can memory foam pillows.

Basically, anything other than your traditional innerspring mattress is the way to go.

Just about any mattress design that isn’t an innerspring model is preferable.

Your Mattress Likely Needs Replacing Anyway

Even if the thought of bedbugs crawling about on your mattress doesn’t give you the willies, there’s a strong possibility that it’s time for a new one.

Mattresses may not get noticeably heavier with the passing of each decade, but the adage nonetheless holds some water.

Best high-end mattresses only have a ten-year lifespan at the very most.

Mattress replacement is recommended every 7 to 10 years; health concerns like allergies and asthma are just the beginning.

A mattress’s quality will naturally decline over time.

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When a mattress is kept past its useful life, it can cause a significant increase in aches, pains, and soreness.

A significant change in your body form or health may also prompt you to consider a new mattress before its ripe old age.

Finishing Things Up!

Great! Mattresses do get heavier over time, as you know from experience.

There is, however, no truth to the widespread belief that beds gain twice their initial weight after 8 or 10 years.

Dust mites, which thrive on human skin flakes, dead skin, sweat, etc., are mostly to blame for this weight gain.

They also pose a number of health dangers to people who, like us, mostly spend our time sleeping.

Fortunately, I gave you some advice on how to protect yourself from harm.

Please let me know how this article made you feel. If you or anybody you know has ever wondered how much a mattress can hold, please pass this along!

Helen Skeates

Helen Skeates

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