Sleep

How Often Should You Flip Your Mattress? And Why It’s Important!

Sep 5, 20180 comments4 min read

Mattress maintenance is an under-addressed topic that could lead to huge benefits for those looking to extend the life span of their mattress. It is important to know the proper approach to take with your type of mattress.

When we sleep in the same spot every night, our body weight leaves an impression that can become worn into the mattress. As your mattress becomes worn over the years, it can become less comfortable indicating a good time to flip or rotate your mattress. The main reasons you should rotate or flip your mattress are:

  • You are experiencing discomfort leading to back pain.
  • You want to extend the life of your mattress to avoid purchasing another one.

Proper care and maintenance of your mattress will lead to long term savings and prevention of sagging in the material your mattress and pillow topper is made of, contributing to an improved sleeping posture and a better nights sleep.

Flip Your Mattress to Prevent Sagging

Sagging is when your mattress starts to develop an uneven surface to sleep on.  An uneven mattress will result in an unsatisfactory sleeping experience. This creates an unnatural curvature of the spine that will prove to be extremely harmful over time.

You have to consider that you spend a significant amount of time in your bed and spending 8 hours a day in something that does long term damage to your body is not a good idea.

If you frequently wake up in the morning feeling aches and back pain, then you are most likely suffering from this overwhelmingly common problem.

To Flip, Or Not To Flip?

The most important thing is whether your mattress actually needs to flipped or not, or rather if it would benefit from flipping in the first place.

Mattresses should generally not be flipped unless they are designed to be flipped. A flippable mattress is two-sided and designed so that you can sleep on either side. In the past, when mattresses were more primitive, they would simply be flipped. Now, mattresses are created with different materials, varying designs, and require an understanding of how they work to properly maintain them. So, most modern mattresses do not need to be flipped.

Really the only deciding factor is whether your mattress is doubled sided or has a topper:

  • If your mattress is double-sided, then you will benefit from flipping it onto the other side.
  • If your mattress is only intended to be used on one side, you will need to consider another option, like rotating your mattress.

How To Properly Flip Your Mattress

One of the important aspects of flipping your mattress is to rotate it as well as part of the flipping process. Otherwise, you are simply sleeping on the other side of the spots you always do.  You will benefit from a more effective flip If you rotate the headboard side of the mattress to the foot of the bed as part of the flip.

This can be done by first rotating the mattress to be sideways on the bedframe, lifting it up vertically against the headboard, and then flipping the mattress by pulling the bottom side towards the foot of the bed.  From there you will have the mattress in its original position on the other side, and you just need to rotate the side that used to be at the headboard to the foot of the bed.

Depending on your kind of mattress this could prove to be a difficult task, so consider enlisting the help of another person to make the job much easier.

How to Rotate Your Mattress

If your mattress has a topper or is only for one side, there is still something you can do to even out the wear of your mattress. You can rotate your mattress, such that your head is now where your feet used to be, so that you are not creating excessive wear in one spot.

Mattresses that generally need to be rotated are:

  • Memory Foam
  • Innerspring
  • Latex Foam

This is beneficial to the lifespan of your mattress and overall comfort of your sleep, even if you are not utilizing both sides. The mattress and topper will wear more evenly if you rotate it frequently enough.

How Often Should I Flip or Rotate My Mattress?

In general, it is suggested that you flip or rotate your mattress at least once a year. You can flip it more often than that as well, which is generally recommended by mattress manufacturers.

The problem is that flipping or rotating a mattress is no easy task. You should be very cautious when approaching this, as it could be much heavier than you expect, depending on what kind of mattress you own.

Do I Need to Rotate My Sleep Number or Select Comfort Air Mattress?

While you should definitely consult your manufacturer’s manual, it is generally advised to set your mattress firmness to the maximum setting (100 in most cases) to prevent the mattress topper from becoming deformed when not in bed. These beds generally don’t need to be flipped or rotated.

Note: Some of these smart mattresses will automatically inflate to their maximum potential after detecting that the mattress is no longer in use.