Chances are good that you're one of the 88% of Americans that experience at least one bout of insomnia or sleep disruption a few nights a week or more.

Mattress care and maintenance contribute to not only a long-lasting mattress but a better night's sleep, too. We're going to tell you some ways to keep your mattress feeling (and smelling) as fresh as the day you first slept on it. It's best, though, to do these things from the start.

Want to know a few of the things you should and shouldn't do now? We've got mattress care tips for days.

Read on, weary friend, to learn how to make your mattress last longer and sleep better!

1. You Should Use a Mattress Protector

Do you remember those vinyl mattress protectors of yesteryear? It was almost like someone padded one side of a thin plastic shopping bag and wrapped the mattress in it.

Thankfully, this's no longer the case, and mattress protectors, as well as mattress pads, come with many highly desirable features! They prevent liquids from going through to the mattress and create another barrier for fungus, molds, and dust mites.

Some common liquids that mattress protectors defend against are:

• Water
• Wine
• Sweat
• Body oils
• Urine (dog or otherwise)

Liquids are some of the worst things to touch your mattress and cause corrosion or a home for bacteria, mold, mites, and more. Dust mites are related to ticks and are an allergic irritant for more than 20 million Americans.

Five-sided protectors protect all sides except for the bottom of your mattress and are effective for liquids, spills and body oils. Encasement protectors, on the other hand, close up around the entire mattress and are usually zipped shut. These will protect against spills as well as bed bugs and mites.

2. Clean Your Mattress

Mites and bacteria thrive in the dark and in moisture and love mattresses that never see the sun or fresh air. After you leave the bed, leave it unmade for about an hour to allow it to "dry out," keeping it smelling and feeling better as it awaits your return.

However, you'll have to take off the protector to let it air out. If you aren't using a protector, in addition to liquids, you could have these things to contend with.

• Fungus
• Dead skin
• Bed bugs
• Dust mites
• Mold
• Bacteria

Body oils and dead skin cells aren't only smelly and host bacteria, but they're often acidic, corrosive, and feed mites. Your sheets are not enough of a barrier to keeping your mattress fresh. It's a good idea to wash your bedding and duvet cover (if you have one) weekly.

Everyone produces sweat and natural oils during sleep in different amounts due to natural body chemistry, diety, and so on. As far as sweat and moisture, it depends on your hydration level, your temperature and the temperature of your room, and other factors.

Cleaning the mattress itself could take the form of using baking soda spread across the bare mattress and allowed to sit for a couple of minutes before running a vacuum to suck up all that dead skin and baking soda full of fluids. Ick!

Even if you have a protector, it's a good idea to do this seasonally. That is to say, every three months.

3. One Good Turn Deserves Another: Turn Your Mattress

We all have a favorite sleeping position. It might change over the course of your life as you age and take up different routines.  But, sleeping in the same position over time isn't healthy for your mattress.

Over time it'll create a divot or dip in your mattress you won't be able to fix. But you can slow the process by rotating your mattress 180° and even flipping it if your mattress is double-sided. Do this every three months or so, and for the first year, you'll have slept on a "fresh" mattress for a whole year!

You're quadrupling the mechanical lifespan of your mattress using this technique.

Since you'll be cleaning the mattress every three months, you might as well rotate or flip it too!

4. Don't Use It as a Trampoline

We've talked about how sleeping in one position after a while will make mechanical inroads into the integrity of your mattress. Can you imagine if you decided to jump on it? Mattresses aren't designed to take extreme, sudden, force like jumping. It actually causes heat to build up inside the metal springs.

They could break or deform, even from your first jump session.

If you think your platform frame and foam mattress are an exception, you'd be wrong. Not only are they not as fun to jump on, but you can also still damage the frame irreparably or tear the foam

Well, that was pretty straight forward, so let's move on to that damaged frame of yours.

5. It's Poorly Framed

A broken or deteriorated frame is no good for your mattress or your back. If you think otherwise, you'll have a poorly framed argument.

Bed frames and box springs work together to support you and your traditional spring mattress. Jumping on a spring mattress doesn't just stress the metal springs, but the box spring for your mattress as well. Given that most of them are made from wood for reduced weight and increased flexibility, you can easily snap a box spring's internal supports.

The metal frame most people use for beds also isn't intended for sudden force and weight shifts. Even if you don't add excessive force to it, over time and several moves from one room to another or one home to another, or just time, they begin to loosen at their stress points.

Platforms are meant for foam beds, but some people even use them for spring mattresses, too. You can find out what kind of support your mattress is intended to use by searching for the model online and looking at recommendations. You can also find the tag attached to it and find out there.

Eventually, all the tossing, turning, jumping, plopping, location changes, and other force shifts will wear out your bed frame, no matter the style. 

Mattress Care and Maintenance 101: Class Dismissed

Mattress care and maintenance is easy to forget since most proactive actions are taken at weekly, monthly, and seasonal time-frames.

Nest Bedding is a helpful, stress-free and just darn nice group of individuals dedicated to helping you sleep better. We've done our best to do this against the wall that big-name brands and high-pressure sales have built over the years. Nest Bedding products are proudly by Americans, in America, with American quality and service.

Part of that service is helping you choose the best bedding products available, and keep them serving you as long as possible. Check out our other blogs and products, and get in touch if you want help finding Zs!