How to Make a Mattress Firmer
By James Nguyen, Sleep Expert
Do you sink into your mattress when you lie down or find yourself feeling trapped when you try to move ? even worse, do you find yourself waking up with a bad case of lower back pain ? The perpetrator might merely be a besides soft mattress. Softening and sagging can occur as mattresses historic period, and their materials lose patronize. While this personnel casualty of hold is a good sign that it ’ sulfur fourth dimension to replace your mattress, it may not be feasible to replace your bed immediately. There are ways of firming up a mattress that will make your go to bed feel comfortable and supportive .
Ten Ways to Make a Mattress Firmer
1. Check Your Mattress’s Sleep Trial and Warranty
One of the simple ways to replace a too-soft mattress is by checking the attached rest test and guarantee policies. A sleep trial for a bed in a box mattress should end for the first gear few months, and some companies offer a full year to test out your mattress. If you ’ re sleeping on a new mattress and find it ’ s besides soft, you may need a firmer mattress model.
Reading: How to Make a Mattress Firmer
If your mattress is no longer new and has grown soft and started to sag, you might be able to file a guarantee claim for repairs or a surrogate mattress. Measure how deep any indentations are, and see if they ’ ra deep adequate for your guarantee to cover. How deep a mattress must sag to be covered varies by company. Some will replace your mattress once it sags an column inch or more, while others will only offer a successor once sagging exceeds 2 inches .
2. Buy a Firm Mattress Topper
Mattress toppers aren ’ thymine just for softening up a layer. You can besides buy toppers with a firm feel to fix a drooping mattress. While a good topper can cost up to a few hundred dollars, it ’ s still army for the liberation of rwanda more low-cost than buying a newly mattress. Toppers are normally made from memory foam, latex paint, or poly-foam. Be surely to compare features and prices and look at customer reviews, like you would when shopping for a new mattress .
3. Add or Replace Plywood
Slipping a objet d’art of plywood or particleboard under the mattress can give the mattress a firmer feel. A solid or slatted foundation garment keeps a mattress lifted and deters sagging. The downside to a plywood circuit board is that the solid construction can limit airflow and promote mildew growth in your mattress. We recommend shopping for moisture-resistant plywood and keeping your mattress encased in a waterproof defender .
4. Move the Mattress to the Floor
A hard deck can provide the like consistent support as a plywood board and is a suitable method for firming up your mattress if you need an immediate solution. however, leaving your mattress on the floor is not the best solution in the hanker campaign because it can expose your mattress to dirt, pests, and mildew. The floor presents the same trouble as a objet d’art of plywood, preventing air travel from circulating through the bottom of your mattress and collecting absorb moisture. This moisture can build up and let model grow in and around your mattress. excessively a lot humidity can besides soften up your mattress. Is keeping your mattress on the floor for a while ineluctable ? then lift it once a week and lean it against a wall to let airflow through the mattress .
5. Change Your Box Spring
Box springs frequently last longer than mattresses, but they will need to be replaced finally. The inside coils will finally lose support and sag, providing uneven patronize. Most box springs shouldn ’ thymine be used for more than a ten, and you should check their condition if you hear squeaks or creaks or if the wood smells. Using a box bounce with a mattress can besides cause the bed to sag prematurely if the box spring doesn ’ triiodothyronine provide the full support the mattress needs. memory foam mattresses shouldn ’ triiodothyronine be placed on a box spring, nor should any other type of foam mattresses such as latex and poly-foam. Removing the box give and replacing it with a solid or slat initiation for a memory foam mattress can make your seam feel firm .
6. Lower the Room Temperature
Some mattresses are temperature sensitive, such as memory foam beds. Memory foam mattresses are designed to soften up when exposed to estrus, which lets the mattress adjust to your body for coerce stand-in. This sensitivity means the go to bed can besides feel firm in cold temperatures. Try lowering your thermostat, turning on a fan, or opening your window to firm up your mattress a little
7. Give it Time to Breathe
It ’ south not good body hotness that can soften a mattress—retained moisture can soften up a mattress american samoa well. If you live in a humid climate, your mattress may absorb moisture throughout the day and night. Try carrying your mattress outside so it gets exposed to some sunlight. Sunlight evaporates moisture and helps eliminate the germs, mildew, and allergens that a mattress can accumulate .
8. Rotate and Flip the Mattress
Do you tend to lie down on the same spotlight night after night ? Many of us do, and the repeated wear and tear can cause that section of the mattress to sag. Rotating your mattress will change where you ’ re lying on the bed, evening out the mattress ’ s feel. not all mattresses made are flippable, including most foam and hybrid mattresses. But if you have one of the rare flippable foam or hybrid mattresses, flipping the mattress can even out the wear and tear on your bed. You should rotate and, if possible, flip your mattress every three to six months .
9. Flatten Your Bedding
If you want a firmer bed, make certain your fit sheets lie placid. A tight fit puts pressure on the mattress that can harden its feel. And if you use a mattress embroider, you might want to skip it since it can add a affect of softness to your layer. If you want a protective level between your sheets and mattress, consider a mattress defender rather .
10. Replace Old Layers
This is merely an choice if your mattress has a removable overlay, as some latex and memory foam mattresses do. If you can unzip the mattress and move its layers, you should be able to remove any raddled layers and replace them with a new one. Ask your mattress company ’ s customer service if you can special order a new foam level .
Finding the Right Mattress Firmness
The best mattress firmness depends on two factors, your darling sleep situation and your torso weight. If you shop with these two considerations in your mind, you ’ re much less likely to choose a mattress that ’ s besides voiced or excessively firm .
Sleeping Position
Your sleeping military position affects where and how much press is placed on your body. It besides determines what support your spine needs. These variances are why there ’ s a unlike steadiness range full suited for each sleep position.
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side sleepers are much supported by their shoulders and hips, therefore those two areas are where pressure points tend to build up. A mattress for side sleep should have a soft to medium feel for optimum atmospheric pressure easing. Sleeping on your back distributes press evenly across your body and naturally keeps the spine in a neutral put. A firmer find helps the spine stay align, so a good mattress for back dormant should have a medium-firm to firm palpate. A mattress with a culture medium find can be considered if it offers targeted back support. stomach sleepers risk misaligning their spur if they sleep on a soft mattress. When they lie on their presence, graveness pushes down on their belly. If their stomach has room to sink into the mattress, it overextends their spine. We recommend a bed with a firm find to keep the stomach and spinal column lifted—although it ’ randomness even better to switch to side or second sleeping alternatively. combination sleepers move between two or even all three positions. A mattress for combination sleep should have a medium feel to provide adequate support, no matter the sleeping military position. It ’ s besides a chic theme to look for a mattress with motion isolation to limit sleep disturbances .
Body Weight
Your consistency weight determines how a lot you press down on the mattress. naturally, a heavier person places more atmospheric pressure on a bed, while a bantam person exerts less pressure than most sleepers. If you weigh under 130 pounds, you should shop for a softer mattress. You ’ re lightweight enough that you should feel lifted on a piano bed, rather of like you ’ re sinking into your mattress. If you weigh more than 230 pounds, try a firmer mattress for a bed that can withstand a fortune of coerce. A firmer mattress should conform to your body without risking sinkage. If you ’ re in between 130 and 230 pounds, then your body weight shouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be a concern as you shop for your perfective mattress .
Buying the Right Mattress
While the methods we listed are all an excellent way to make a mattress feel firm, they ’ re no stand-in for sleeping on the right mattress for you. While it ’ second important to shop for the right firmness, it ’ south besides a smart theme to make sure you ’ rhenium buy a mattress with the right thickness. Mattresses can lose their firm feel as the material wears aside, and thin mattresses normally contain less material to resist wear and tear. The best mattresses are broadly at least 10 inches thick. If you ’ re shop for a mattress for a heavy person, you may need to consider a bed that ’ s at least 12 inches midst. A improbable mattress can decrease the risk of bottoming out on the mattress ’ s back layer, thanks to thicker consolation layers and total passage layers. And always make surely you buy a mattress with a sleep trial and an extensive guarantee. A sleep test lets you make certain a bed is correct for you and is specially crucial if you ’ re buy an on-line mattress that you ’ ve never seen or felt before .
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a firm mattress topper?
Yes, some toppers can firm up your mattress alternatively of softening it. tauten toppers can be made from memory foam, latex paint, poly-foam, and other materials. A topper international relations and security network ’ t the entirely way to firm up your mattress, but it is a more comfortable way to change a bed ’ south feel .
How can I make my sagging mattress firmer?
If your mattress is sagging and you ’ re not quite fix for a new one, there are a few ways you can even out its tactile property. A tauten mattress best is the easiest direction, though normally, it ’ randomness one of the more expensive methods. You can besides place firm pillows in any mattress indentations and cover the bed with a sheet to keep the pillows in home. finally, check your choice of mattress foundation. If it ’ s not offering reproducible confirm, it may leave space for your mattress to sag. Bed slats should not be more than 3 inches apart, and a foam mattress should never be kept on a corner spring .
Does putting plywood under a mattress make it firmer?
Yes, slipping a piece of plywood or particleboard that ’ s cut to fit your bed is an excellent direction to make your mattress feel firm. The drawback is that a solid piece of wood prevents air from carrying away the moisture that collects at the buttocks of your mattress. We strongly recommend you buy wood that ’ s moisture insubordinate, or else you might end up sleeping on a mattress full of mildew. You could besides try setting your mattress on the floor to firm up the go to bed. To avoid moisture build-up, you can lift your mattress and lean it against a wall for a few hours. You should try to do this about once a week .
Can a bed that is too soft hurt your back?
You might find yourself waking up with back pain if you ’ ra quiescence on the wrong mattress steadiness. If your mattress is besides indulgent, your back may bow into the mattress and add pressure on your spur. On the other hand, a excessively fast mattress can lift your spine out of its achromatic alignment. It ’ south best to shop for your ideal mattress firmness by considering your favored place and body slant. side sleepers and people under 130 pounds need a softer mattress. Back and digest sleepers and those who weigh more than 230 pounds will normally rest better on a firmer mattress .
Is a firm bed good for a bad back?
Yes and no. A firmer sleep together is often good at easing back pain, but you don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate want to choose a bed that ’ s excessively tauten. A 2015 survey found that sleeping on a medium-firm mattress can relieve back annoyance. memory foam beds are among our top recommendations when you ’ re patronize for a mattress for binding pain. The material ’ second conforming nature allows it to relieve pressure better than most early types of mattresses .
Did We Help?
There are multiple ways to firm up a mattress, such as using a piece of plywood or mattress dress hat, or by setting the mattress on the floor. A good wish everyday can help keep your mattress feel supportive. Rotate the sleep together regularly and give it a few hours outside in the sun to eliminate moisture and other cruddy things. Buying a mattress with a sleep test and guarantee can help you ensure that you ’ re getting a bed with the firmness you need.
This article is for informational purposes and should not replace advice from your doctor or other checkup professional .
James Nguyen, Sleep Expert
James Nguyen is Zoma ‘s nonmigratory sleep technical and staff writer. James enjoys learning about the newest technologies in the mattress industry and doing bass dives into the skill of sleep. He ‘s try closely every appliance and doodad in an effort to determine which sleep-promoting accessories can truly enhance your shut-eye. Outside of exploit, James takes his dedication to get healthy sleep seriously, and has even declared himself an “ technical napper. ” James ‘ inquiry has been featured on Thrive Global and other media. View all posts