Best Mattress for Pectus Excavatum [2023]: A-Z Guide + Tips

Written by Mihail Veleski

Last updated on

Evidence-Based This post has medical citations

Suppose you tried sleeping on the floor with pectus excavatum, and you find it very uncomfortable no matter how long you tried. In that case, you should choose the right bed mattress.

Always look for one sturdy and holds your body in a natural position. A mattress that feels like you are floating on without pressure on any part of the body is ideal. I suggest a medium-firm bed.

That will comfort you and reduce any pain caused by abnormal body posture while sleeping. Make yourself a priority, and never forget to give yourself a rest!

How to Tell If Your Mattress Needs to be Changed

If you wake up tired and feel severe pain in your shoulders, neck, and back, you need to change your mattress.

We often blame other possibilities for poor quality sleep or inability to fall asleep, but the problem is usually more straightforward: an incorrectly chosen mattress.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is a Firm Mattress Required for People with Pectus Excavatum?

No. Although it provides several health benefits, not everyone should sleep on a firm mattress. Some people still prefer to sleep on firm mattresses because of back problems due to chest wall deformities.

2. Can an Excessively Soft Mattress Cause Back Pain?

Yes. Soft mattresses cause your spine to curve and become crooked, worsening your posture. Sleeping on a firm mattress might help you find your spinal alignment and relieve back and joint issues.

3. What is a Good Mattress?

A suitable mattress will hold your body in a neutral position. Your head, shoulders, buttocks, and heels will adjust well. And most importantly, the spine lies in its natural mild bend. You should feel no pressure and feel almost as if you're floating.

The appropriate mattress can help you relax the muscles, promote better sleep, and improve posture over time, which is crucial for easing pectus excavatum or pectus carinatum pain symptoms.

4. What Will a Bad Mattress Do?

The improper mattress might cause you to wake up with back pain, especially near the base of your spine, and can also prevent you from getting a good night's sleep.

Significance of Mattresses and Pillows

Often, our cell phone ringing or making noises, the temperature of the room we sleep in, or perhaps the irregular biorhythm can also be a problem. But, when we put this to the side, the mattress and pillow can be responsible for sleep difficulties.

Such unpleasant and uncomfortable pains can cause additional problems over time, and that pain deprives us of the energy we need to have an active and effectively satisfying day.

Back pain can be anything from a dull muscle ache to a shooting, searing, or stabbing pain. Furthermore, discomfort may travel down your leg or intensify when you bend, twist, raise, stand, or walk.

When Pectus Posture is Worsened

People with pectus deformity can also have shoulder pain. Such unpleasant pain can worsen our poor pectus posture, which is certainly not desirable in chest deformities.

The most common symptoms you may experience are deep distress in the shoulder joint and upper arm and shoulder movement problems (especially evident while lifting weights), where you may notice a reduction in mobility and discomfort.

Over time, sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress will give you some upper body pain difficulties, and you'll never be able to rest well.

If you have all these symptoms, it may be another health problem. Please don't try to diagnose yourself. Always seek medical help first.

If you made sure you had no other health problems, feel free to use the sleep mattress tips for pectus excavatum in the article.

Example of a Health Problem:

·Sleep apnea - Sleep apnea is characterized by loud snoring and frequently choking noises and deprives your brain and body of oxygen, resulting in repeated awakenings throughout the night.

How Firm or Soft Should Mattresses Be?

There is a big dilemma for people with pectus excavatum about which mattress is best for them. Therefore, all possible information on this topic would be helpful.

Benefits of Sleeping on a Firm Mattress

Your spinal cord tends to straighten when you sleep on a firm mattress, which improves your posture. Try to sleep on a solid mattress topper to relieve your back discomfort.

A firm mattress provides the proper support for your joints and spinal cord, allowing you to get deeper sleep every time.

Also, a correct and comfortable sleeping position will make your breathing natural and normal, which will help people with sunken chests as their lung capacity is decreased.

Best for Back Sleepers

A firm mattress is also best for back sleepers since it delivers the necessary and much-needed support throughout the night. Sleeping on the right pillow would provide all the comfort that side sleepers require.

Equal Weight Distribution

A solid or hard surface is more comfortable for the body to rest well. When you sleep on a firm mattress, the weight is equally distributed on your bones, putting less pressure on your muscles. Firmness improves the sleep quality you can get each night and leave you with energy for the next day.

What Studies Show

Few studies show the importance of using a firm bed and all its positive effects.

The positive effect of mattress firmness on back pain is proven.

Although data supporting this claim is limited, a firm mattress is considered helpful for low-back discomfort, whether chronic or due to pectus deformity.

Patients with ongoing non-specific low-back pain benefit from a medium-firm mattress, which reduces discomfort.

The Cons of Firm Mattresses

Switching from a softer to a firmer mattress might be inconvenient for you at first. With time, you will get used to this. A firm mattress might aggravate discomfort in those with certain back disorders like arthritis and scoliosis.

(If you have scoliosis and pectus excavatum deformity, look for a medium-firm mattress).

Best Materials for Mattresses

  • Memory foam
  • Gel-infused foam
  • Latex
  • Adjustable
  • Hybrid mattresses

When choosing an adequate mattress material, please keep attention to allergies. Allergies can cause additional breathing difficulties, which is not desirable in cases of chest deformity.

Tips for Buying a New Suitable Mattress

Choosing the best mattress isn't as simple as you think it is.

After all, you spend about one-third of your life in bed, and unfortunately, most great mattresses aren't very cheap, so you need good preparation before choosing one!

1. Size

When it comes to the size of a mattress, there are several crucial steps that you need to take into account.

Of course, your body length and then the size of your room. The bed frame is also essential. It would be best to make a few measurements to ensure the dimensions are correct. 

2. Preferences

Make a list of all the things you liked while you slept on your old mattress. Do the same for the things that bothered you.

Write in detail and consider everything while you are choosing the best one.

3. Your Finances

The best advice on this topic is to set a clear budget for your new mattress. When you put the lowest and highest limit, you can pay for a new bed; you are automatically selected.

This tip will make your choosing progress much easier, and you will not find yourself in awkward situations.

Possibility of Buying a New Mattress Online

The ability to buy online can be worthy and practical. Please choose a quality brand and buy their product online for a trial period, usually unavailable in stores.

Taking Care of Your Current Mattress

Maintaining the mattress is very simple. The cost of maintaining a firmer bed is significantly lower than a softer one. Knowing how to firm up a sagging mattress will save you money in the long run.

How to Fix Your Current Mattress

There are a few things to fix the problems with your current mattress before you buy a new one.

Mattresses may drop or lose firmness with time, and if purchasing a new one isn't in your plan, you'll need to know how to repair a sagging mattress.

The lack of support in your mattress can induce aches and pains by disrupting your spine's alignment.

There are a few options for making a soft mattress firmer, which is less expensive than purchasing a new mattress. Mattress toppers and the proper bed foundation can help you a lot.

Use Plywood Boards

Sliding plywood planks between the mattress and the bed frame or box spring may assist and stop the mattress from sagging or dropping too much if it is too soft. This solution may provide additional support and allow you to sleep better at night.

Adjust the Room Temperature

The room temperature can impact the sort of mattress you have. A memory foam mattress tends to get softer when your room is heated.

Use a Mattress Topper

You can make a soft mattress harder by adding a mattress topper. Mattress toppers come in different materials and include harder foam and memory foam.

A memory foam mattress topper comes in different hardnesses, allowing you to choose long-lasting firmness for your bed. You can use a topper made of polyurethane or latex.

Pads are typically thinner and filled with polyester or other materials that may not provide the firmness you need.

Turn Your Mattress Over

You can use some mattresses on both sides. Switching them over might be beneficial. Flipping your mattresses may help you balance the wear and strain and keep it firm. You can do this every six months or so.

Put the Mattress on the Ground

Only use this tip when you have hard pains in the back and shoulders and don't have another solution at the moment. This tip is temporary until your pains are relieved.

Place the mattress on the floor to firm it up. However, it would be best if you remembered that putting your mattress on the floor exposes you to dust, grime, and pests that may get into your bed.

If you think this will help firm up your mattress and it doesn't annoy you, lie down on the ground and get some rest. 

Deep Clean Your Mattress

If your mattress is more than a few years old, it's likely acquired a lot of dust, dust mites, and debris that might worsen allergies like our pillowcases. 

Deep cleaning the mattresses is a simple way to make them feel much newer again, unconsciously making us more comfortable laying on them and feeling more rested.

The Bottom Line

A decent mattress is the basis of a good night's sleep, so choosing the correct one is very important. You consume a third of your life sleeping, and poor sleep significantly impacts your quality of life.

Getting a healthy sleep is critical to one's overall health and well-being, especially for someone with additional postural issues like chest wall deformities.

Because there are various types of mattresses, choosing one may be very difficult.

The biggest dilemma arises when choosing between a softer and a harder mattress. But the best suggestion I can give you is to always listen to yourself and your body. Try different types of beds and search well, so you can finally choose the right one.

6 Sources
  • Back pain - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic [Internet]. [cited 2022 Dec 2].
    Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/backpain/symptoms-causes/syc-20369906
  • Effect of firmness of mattress on chronic non-specific low-back pain: randomised, double-blind, controlled, multicentre trial - ScienceDirect [Internet]. [cited
    2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673603147927
  • 10 Best Mattresses for Scoliosis from 2022 [Internet]. Healthline. 2022 [cited
    2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/best-mattressfor-scoliosis
  • Blog: Respacare: Bridgewater, NJ [Internet]. [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from:
    https://www.respacare.net/blog
  • How To Make Your Mattress Firmer: A Step-by-Step Guide | Nectar Sleep [Internet]. [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.nectarsleep.com/posts/how-to-make-mattress-firmer/
  • Yes, Your Mattress and Pillows Could Be Sabotaging Your Sleep - CNET [Internet]. [cited 2022 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.cnet.com/health/sleep/yesyour-mattress-and-pillows-could-be-sabotaging-your-sleep/

Article by:

Mihail Veleski

I am Mihail Veleski, the person behind this website. Established in 2015, Pectus Excavatum Fix has helped thousands of people improve their sunken chest deformity, both physically and mentally. I pride myself on ensuring the information and methods I share are tried by me and backed by research. I improved my concave chest and rib flare deformities non-surgically.

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