Mattresses aren’t perfect and can sag over time, but you can combat this by flipping them. It won’t make the mattress last forever, but it adds comfort and prevents internal wear and tear. So, flip and rotate your mattress on a regular schedule—but how often should you flip your mattress?
Although not all mattresses are flippable, you can still ensure your mattress gets even wear by rotating it when flipping isn’t possible. Keep the following things in mind:
- Flip your mattress every three months.
- Rotate your mattress when flipping for best results.
- Ensure you rotate your mattress if it’s one-sided.
How Frequently Should You Flip?
How often you should flip your mattress comes down to the type of mattress you own. Advice varies, with some stating the following:
- Old innerspring mattresses should be flipped four or more times per year.
- Newer innerspring and memory foam mattresses need flipping twice per year.
Other sources state you should slip all mattresses every 3 months. We feel this is good advice—it stops your mattress from starting to sag before you get to flip it.
If you choose to flip the mattress twice per year instead, you should at least rotate it three or four times in between.
Why Does Flipping Your Mattress Matter?
Some of the reasons to flip your mattress are basic—but others are far more important and related to your overall health.
1. Support
If your mattress starts to sag, you’re not getting enough support. A supportive mattress is vital for a healthy night’s sleep.
There is no denying the importance of a pillow in sleep, it supports your neck and upper back. Those aren’t the only parts of your body that require support.
You need to support the rest of your back too to prevent back pain and injuries, according to experts at Mayfield Brain and Spine.
If your mattress is sagging, you’ll be sinking into it and therefore your spine will be out of alignment. Spinal misalignment can lead to a range of issues including stiffness, chronic pain, decreased mobility and more.
2. Comfort
Sleeping in a dent just isn’t very comfortable, is it? That’s why you should flip the mattress to prevent this dent from appearing in your sleeping spot. When flipping your mattress, you ensure it stays comfortable for longer and the comfort remains consistent.
3. Evening Out Mattress Fillings
One element that makes mattresses sag is your weight causing the fillings to shift. The springs and stuffing compresses and shifts to the side, which creates a lumpy mattress.
Flipping your mattress regularly ensures that any pressure put on one side is also put on the other, therefore keeping things even.
4. Bed Bugs
Though we all wish bed bugs were just a myth, these little mites exist and are more prevalent on innerspring mattresses than memory foam or hybrid.
It’s smart to wipe down your mattress when changing your bedsheets, but not everyone pays close enough attention to perform a deeper clean.
When flipping your mattress, you’re already shifting the heavy object around, so you might as well give it a wash down while you’re at it. Be sure to let it dry before you complete the flip.
Can All Mattresses Be Flipped?
Before you flip your mattress, you need to consider whether or not yours is actually flippable. In some cases, they’re not.
Hybrid mattresses are usually the non-flippable culprits. Hybrid mattresses are topped with a layer of foam—often memory foam which serves as the sleeping surface. Underneath you have a mixture of coils and other forms of padding and stuffing.
While you can sleep on the other side, it won’t be particularly comfortable and you may feel the springs under you as you move about in the night. Therefore, you should stick to the sleeping surface.
What Happens If I Can’t Flip My Mattress?
It’s not the end of the world if you can’t flip your mattress. Will it wear out and sag faster than one you can flip? Maybe, but hybrid mattresses are known to be quite sturdy anyway so don’t expect the sag to happen overnight.
You can still take some measures to prevent this wear and tear and keep your mattress comfortable, though: rotate it end to end.
The end of your mattress sees less wear as your legs are lighter than your torso. Flipping the mattress gives the top half a break, letting it settle and rise again, while the end sees the weight of your upper half.
When rotated regularly, your mattress will wear out evenly, rather than ending up with a sagging top but a perfect foot area.
You should aim to rotate your mattress about as often as you flip it—every 3 months.
It’s also good practice to rotate your mattress when you flip it to keep things even. In these cases, you’ll flip the mattress end to end rather than side to side.
How Do I Efficiently Flip My Mattress?
Mattresses are big, bulky things and the larger they are, the harder they are to flip. The video below will help you learn how to flip your mattress efficiently, so you can master the task. With time, it should start feeling like less of a chore.
Comment below if you have any questions or you wish to share any special techniques you have when flipping your hefty mattress.
