How to Extend Your Mattress’ Lifespan

Your mattress is an investment, which means you want it to last for a long time. This means you need to take care of it so it stays in good condition for years to come. Constantly having to replace a mattress can get expensive. If you treat your mattress right, it’ll treat you right for a long time. Here are a few tips to extend your mattress’ lifespan.

Invest in a Good Mattress

Step one of making your mattress last a long time is buying a good quality mattress. For example, the handcrafted mattresses we make typically last for ten years or more if taken care of properly. Secondhand mattresses can be cheap, but they only last a few years, at best. Mattresses in a box aren’t much better, as they too last only a fraction of the lifespan as a good, high quality mattress.

Regularly Rotate Your Mattress

We all have that specific spot on the bed we sleep on. For some people it’s the middle, while others take the left or right side. However, the more we sleep in a specific spot, the more wear-and-tear that spot gets. The materials inside compress and sink and mold to your body, and after a while this causes that spot to be less supportive.

Rotating your mattress can fix this. By rotating your mattress, you give your body a new spot to sleep in that can better support your body weight while the old spot decompresses. This means your mattress can “heal” itself while you still get a good night’s rest. If your mattress is flippable, this extends its lifespan even further, as you can sleep on the flipped side of the mattress as well as rotate it.

Generally, a memory foam mattress should be rotated every six months. Meanwhile, newer innerspring mattresses should be rotated every six months, while older mattresses should be rotated up to five times a year. 

Only Use Your Bed for Sleep

Presumably, you use your mattress for 6-8 hours every night. That’s 2,190-2,920 hours each year. That’s a lot of time spent on your bed, and it’s naturally going through wear and tear as you use it. This is why you should only use it for sleeping.

Sure, it’s nice to lay around on the bed as you watch TV, read, or talk on the phone, but that’s additional time that your mattress is supporting you, which can add up. It’s also better for your ability to fall asleep when you only use your mattress to sleep. If we only use our beds for sleep, our brains associate it with sleep and will shut off more easily. This is also why if you are having a hard time sleeping, get up instead of tossing and turning in bed – you’re just putting unnecessary stress on your mattress and your mind.

Add a Plywood Plank for Support

No matter how well you treat your mattress, it will likely start to sag in the middle towards the end of its lifespan. If you’re looking to keep it going a little while longer while you shop for its replacement, a plywood plank under the mattress is a good hack. This will offer a bit more support until you can find a better, more comfortable replacement mattress.

Extending your mattress’ lifespan is easy – just take care of a good mattress. Rotate it regularly and avoid unnecessary wear-and-tear by using it only for sleeping, and you’ll have a comfortable, high-quality mattress for many years to come.