Check these carefully'is the mattress is sagging? Has the mattress developed depression in the middle? Do you feel pain in your back or neck on waking up in the morning? If the answers are in positive, you need to change the mattress immediately. Yes it is important and any excuse against the change is immaterial as nothing can be more important than a peaceful sleep through out the night. Here are some tips to help you select the right mattress.

Look for Comfort
The mattress is like the cradle that supports you throughout the night. So buy a mattress which you feel most comfortable to lie on. If a hard mattress seems comfortable to you, there is no harm in buying a hard mattress, only keep in mind that too hard mattresses may cause pains in the areas near shoulder and hips. These days, mattresses are made with extra-soft, cushioning materials with surface treatments that give you a cozy and comfortable feeling while you sleep.

Support
The mattress should give you proper support while you sleep. A good quality mattress will give gentle support to all parts of your body when you lie over it. Proper support means your spine rests in the same shape at the time of sleep, as it would have been with a good standing posture. A proper support also means that the heaviest portions of your body like hip, shoulder and lower back do not experience uncomfortable pressure. Different people like different degree of firmness for their beds. If the basic support of the mattress is good, then any kind of firmness is fine with it.
Durability
Often people mix up between the warranty period and durability of a mattress. When you are talking about the durability of a mattress you are referring to the time over which it is capable of providing you the same level of support and comfort. It depends on the quality of the materials used in it.

Space
You need adequate space when you sleep at night, for a healthy sleeper is supposed to move almost40-60 times at night, and turn sides for almost a dozen times. So cramped quarter mattresses will not give you the required comfort when you sleep. Make it a point to go for a double bed size mattress if you happen to sleep with a partner.

A last piece of advice: if you are shopping for mattress, don't go by the brand names only. If you want to get the right thing you have to try it, you have to lie down on it, roll over it and so on to get the right feel of the mattress. You can not afford to be shy here; if you buy a product without trying it, it may prove to be a costly mistake.