A comfortable mattress is crucial to a good night’s sleep, and keeping yours at optimal condition is essential to maintaining its ability to provide such comfort. Not only does proper mattress care prevent waking up to aches and pains, but it can also extend the life of your bed by a considerable amount. How is this achieved? By regularly flipping, turning and rotating your mattress. It may sound simple, yet most of us struggle to decide how often it should be done or even forget to do so altogether.
After reading you will be able to:
- Appreciate the reasons for flipping, turning and rotating a mattress
- Extend the life of your mattress
- Understand how to correctly rotate and flip your mattress
- Know how often your mattress should be rotated
- Maintain a mattress that is slept on alone
- Deal with a mattress that accommodates a heavier partner
Very likely, everyone reading this sleeps on a mattress (apart from all our sailor friends who sleep in hammocks – a big ‘Hello’ to you and thank you for your service), and of course everyone wants to enjoy the best night’s sleep possible. Despite this, so many people struggle with aches and pains or a poor night’s sleep when their mattress isn’t providing the correct level of support needed. Keeping a mattress in its best possible condition is paramount for getting the most out of it. The best way to do this is to turn, flip or rotate it (providing your mattress can do so).
We would recommend turning / flipping / rotating your mattress once every 3 months to keep it at optimal performance.
In simple terms, the reason your mattress needs regularly turning is to keep the fillings within evenly distributed. Further to this, flipping / rotating your mattress means that each side is slept on in equal measure, extending and improving its lifespan and performance.
It is important to always check the manufacturer’s instructions regarding your mattress – if it is suitable for being rotated or flipped and how often they recommend doing so.
What Are The Main Reasons For Turning / Rotating / Flipping My Mattress?
The majority of us opt to sleep on the same spot in bed each night, which means that over time that particular part of the mattress will wear. As a result, those who aren’t flipping or rotating their mattress will find it wearing unevenly. Further information about this can be found in an article by the National Bed Federation.
There are several benefits of turning / flipping / rotating your mattress, but below are our top 3 reasons why you should be doing so:
- An even distribution of the mattress fillings leads to a more comfortable night’s sleep
- A reduction of sagging and dipping increases the lifespan and performance of the mattress
- Encourages a better overall support from the mattress
Is your mattress already sagging? The best course of action is to treat yourself to a new one. If that isn’t possible at the moment, then we recommend investing in a good mattress topper to improve your comfort and extend the life of your bed until a new one can be purchased.
When To Rotate And When To Flip Your Mattress?
Only some mattresses on the market are double sided, which makes them flippable. Single sided mattresses, such as memory foam ones for example, can not be flipped, but still rotated. The reason they can’t be flipped is simple – the underside is not suitable for sleeping on. Regardless of the type of mattress you have, you should always rotate it, even if you can’t flip it.
Every mattress needs to be rotated once every 3 months, and we recommend that any flipping that needs to be done take place at the same time.
Single Sided Mattress – Once every 3 months: Rotate end to end
Double Sided Mattress – Once every 3 months: Rotate end to end and flip over
How Do I Rotate And Flip My Mattress Properly?
- Step 1: Be sure that there are no potential hazards nearby or items such as lamps or mugs that could potentially be knocked to the floor.
- Step 2: Remove the duvet, sheets, pillows, or any other bedding and cushions from the bed.
- Step 3: With the sheets off, you should be able to see any handles on the mattress for turning. Unfortunately, not all of them have this feature. If yours does, we highly recommend using them to rotate the mattress.
- Step 4: With help from another person, lift the mattress up on to its side. Next, place it back down, but with the side that was previously facing down now facing up.
- Step 5: To rotate, carefully move the mattress 180 degrees while being mindful of the potential for its corners to knock into furniture such as bedside tables.
A Video Guide To Flipping Your Mattress
To make life easier for you, we have created a short video showing you how to best flip your mattress safely and efficiently.
As the handy ‘Top Tips’ video explains, a mattress should ideally be flipped by two people working together (if possible), as often they are too heavy for a single person to safely lift and control on their own. Before flipping your mattress be sure to remove your duvet, pillows, sheets, and any furniture near the bed (if you foresee a problem with them being there). Check to see if your mattress has handles as you can use these to aid in flipping. Following this, move your mattress 180 degrees from the head of your bed to the foot, rotate it, and finally lift your mattress onto its side and slowly place it down on the other side, to flip it over as displayed in the above video.
Rotating Your Mattress
Rotating a mattress is relatively straightforward, and although it can be done alone, is still easier when done with another person. To rotate your mattress, simply remove all bedding and any furniture close to your bed that could get in the way. Following this, simply move your mattress 180 degrees so that the foot of it is now at the head of the bed (note that some mattresses have side turning handles to make this process easier).
Is One Person A Lot Heavier Than The Other?
Many people sleep with a partner, particularly when married or in a relationship (or if you’re the grandparents in the Willy Wonka film, in which case you’ll need a larger bed that can accommodate 4 people). If you do have two people sleeping on the same mattress who are of significantly different body weight, then it is even more important to regularly rotate it.
If the heavier person sleeps on the same part of the mattress every night, then there is a strong likelihood it will start to dip on that side. To keep the fillings of the mattress evenly distributed be sure to rotate and flip the mattress as frequently as possible. Our guide to beds for heavier people can tell you more.
Sleeping Alone? You Still Need To Rotate!
Even if you sleep alone, you’ll still have to rotate the mattress at least once every three months, for all the reasons mentioned above. This is particularly relevant if you sleep on the same part of the mattress each night – you’ll need to rotate regularly to spread the fillings evenly. As a result, you’ll be provided with a more comfortable sleeping surface, for longer.
Firm VS Soft Mattress
No one should suffer from back pain, an infliction that can not only ruin your sleep, but your entire life. Every effort needs to be made to avoid it, and sleeping on a firm mattress is a great solution for many of us, particularly if you sleep on your front or back. Not only does a firmer mattress help with encouraging a healthy spine alignment via optimal support, but it also does a better job of distributing weight, which makes maintaining your mattress that little bit easier.
Most of us however, prefer to sleep on a softer mattress, and they require a bit more attention if you want to get the best out of them and extend their life. Our guide to firming up a soft mattress might be of interest to those exploring ideas of firm vs soft beds.
Looking for further advice on maintaining beds and bedding? The following articles might be of use:
Why You Need To Get That Bedding Washed Now!
How To Choose A Mattress Best Suited To Your Needs
Understanding What Pillow Is Best For You
Do You Need Help Choosing The Right Mattress For Your Needs?
Choosing the correct mattress for you and your needs depends on several factors.
- What type of sleeper you are
- What filling and materials you feel most at ease on
- What type of fabric would you be most comfortable with
There is no need to lose sleep over trying to choose the right mattress type for your bed. Our bed experts at Land of Beds pride themselves on their specialist knowledge and ability to guide you to the mattress that’s just right for you.
Our customer-first policy means we listen and give good, independent advice based on the needs of the individual. By pairing consumers up with ethically sourced, affordable, quality products, we provide as many people as possible with a great night’s sleep.
If you would like help being connected with your ideal mattress, feel free to get in touch with us on 01928 242829