IT’S NO SECRET that many Americans are totally sleep deprived. If you’re one of those people craving a good night’s rest, your mattress might be trying to tell you something. In fact, the older your mattress is, the louder it’s calling out to you, letting you know that it’s time to give up the ghost and get a new one.

How, exactly, do you know when you need a new mattress? How long should you expect your old one to last before you give up on it entirely?

So glad you asked.

Top 5 Signs You Need a New Mattress Right Now

1. You wake up tired instead of refreshed, even if you’re technically getting a decent seven or eight hours of sleep each night. If you’re still tired, you’re probably doing a lot of tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable on a mattress that’s just not supporting you properly any more. All that moving around in your sleep isn’t exactly restful.

2. Your mattress looks older than it is. Strip the sheets and the mattress pad for a good look at what you’re sleeping on. If you can see stains or tears in the fabric of your mattress, it’s time to let it go. Visible depressions where you or your partner sleep? That’s not what it’s supposed to look like, and it’s a sure sign that your mattress is worn out.

3. You sleep better on the road. You know that feeling you get when you come home from a long trip and get to sleep in your own bed again? If you actually sleep better in hotels, it’s a sure sign your mattress is no longer up to the job of giving you the high-quality sleep you deserve.

4. You’re feeling more aches and pains than usual. If your mattress isn’t supporting you properly, you can end up with a sore back, sciatic nerve pain in your hips and headaches from tension in your neck and shoulders. If you can’t figure out why your muscles are so sore all the time, your aging mattress could be the culprit.

5. You’re not getting any younger. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but we’re all getting older. Along with all that wisdom comes some changes in your body as you age — changes that may require you to have a firmer or softer mattress than you did in the past. Even if you haven’t maxed out the warranty, those aches and pains are telling you that your mattress is no longer working for you. Listen to your body: You don’t have to live with discomfort!

Hemming and hawing about buying a mattress can add up to weeks of lost sleep, which, in turn, can be detrimental to your overall health. Even if you think you can live with the aches and pains — though, really, why would you want to? — losing sleep is a big deal. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to everything from heart disease to memory problems. It should come as no surprise that sleep deprivation also has a negative impact on your mood — we’re sure your family agrees!

The good news here is that buying a mattress is nowhere near as uncomfortable as sleeping on an old one. With the help of a Verlo Comfort Coach, you can figure out which mattress is best for your needs today — not what you liked a decade ago.