Whether you have a new mattress or trying to give new life to an old mattress, the question may come up whether or not you should rotate your mattress.
Is there a benefit? Is it recommended by the manufacturer? Let’s get to the bottom of this.
In This Guide
Is it good to rotate your mattress?
How often should you rotate a mattress?
Do you need to rotate a memory foam mattress?
Should you rotate a pillow top mattress?
Does rotating your mattress help your back?
Should you flip your mattress?
Is it good to rotate your mattress?
In most cases, the answer is going to be yes. Rotating mattresses can be a good way to extend the life of a mattress and help it to wear evenly.
What does it mean to “rotate a mattress”?
When you hear this phrase, it means to turn the mattress 180° from its original position. The part of the mattress that what once the foot of the bed is now the head of the bed.
A rotated mattress, much like rotated tires, typically wears more evenly and reduces indentions or support issues.
How Often Should You Rotate A Mattress?
The frequency of how often you may need to rotate a mattress depends largely on the manufacturer’s recommendations. Various mattress companies will have different policies.
It’s important to know the fine print here. Forgetting to rotate a mattress can shorten the lifespan of your mattress or even void the warranty in some cases.
Generally speaking, you should rotate the mattress in the first 6 months and then every 12 months after that.
How long do mattresses usually last?
Regularly rotating your mattress can help it last longer. Typically, a high-performance mattress will last 10-12 years. Though their are exceptions. See here for further reading on how long mattresses usually last.
Do you need to rotate a memory foam mattress?
Yes, you need to rotate a memory foam mattress. Unless the manufacturer specifically states that you should not rotate your mattress, then you should rotate the mattress.
This applies to not only memory foam mattresses, but essentially all mattress types.
Should you rotate a pillow top mattress?
Yes, you should rotate a pillow top mattress. Just as with memory foam mattresses, unless the mattress manufacturer specifically states you should not rotate the mattress, then you should plan to rotate the mattress regularly.
Typically, you want to rotate the mattress once per year.
Always double check with the manufacturer, as not all mattresses should be rotated. But the vast majority will.
Alternative to Rotating A Mattress
If you do not sleep with a partner, you can also try sleeping on the opposite side of the bed to help the mattress to wear evenly.
Switching sides combined with rotating the mattress allows you to use the entire surface area of the mattress and help prevent uneven wear.
Does rotating your mattress help your back?
In many cases, yes, rotating your mattress can help alleviate back and other pains by ensuring you’re getting the best performance possible from the mattress.
If you don’t rotate your mattress you may find you see permanent indentations and sagging earlier. By rotating the mattress, you’ll utilize the full surface of the mattress and ensure it wears evenly.
This can help your back and reduce other pains by helping the mattress create the best support and comfort it can.
What About Zoned Mattresses?
As with any good rule, there are always exceptions to the rule. The exception here is zoned mattresses.
What are zoned mattresses?
Zoned mattresses are designed to sleep one way—head at the top, feet at the bottom.
Unlike traditional support systems, which are consistent across the surface of the mattress, a zoned support system varies.
Zoned mattresses have anywhere from 3-7 different zones that react to surface pressure differently and span from head to toe.
They may have coils that are close together on the midsection or softer foams at the head or foot of the mattress.
Rotating these mattresses can throw off these comfort / support zones and result in poorer performance overall.
Some top-rated mattresses that we’ve personally reviewed with zoned support include:
| Name | Type | Score | Read Review | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Elite Hybrid | Hybrid | 9.74 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Zoma | Foam | 9.62 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Leesa Legend | Hybrid | 9.56 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Nolah Natural | Hybrid | 9.67 | Read Review | Check Price |
Because zoned support systems vary widely by brand, you always want to double check with the manufacturer to see if you should rotate the mattress. Generally, the warranty will offer guidance of if and when to rotate.
Should you flip your mattress?
The next question that is commonly asked—should you flip your mattress? The answer to this is probably not.
Generally speaking, mattresses follow the traditional makeup of three consistent layers. They have a cover, a comfort layer, and a support layer.
- Cover: The cover can be thin, plush, quilted, or pillow-top. This is the first layer that your body interacts with when you lie on the mattress.
- Comfort Layer: The comfort layer can be made of memory foam, poly foam, micro-coils, pocketed coils, latex, or other organic or manmade materials. This layer is designed for contour, comfort, and pressure relief.
- Support Layer: The support layer is the bottom layer of the mattress and essentially provides support for all of the layers above. It can be foam, coils, or other materials.
How do you know if your mattress is flippable?
Because of the nature of how these layers are put together, you cannot flip the mattress over and receive the same support that you receive when used as intended.
The only exception would be a flippable mattress.
How do you know if your mattress is flippable?
Flippable mattresses will have a comfort layer on both sides of the mattress.
You can see how the makeup of a flippable mattress is different, as shown on right in the image above. A flippable mattress is specifically designed to be flipped over.
Often times flippable mattresses feature two different firmnesses within a single mattress.
Some examples of flippable mattresses we have personally reviewed include:
| Name | Type | Score | Read Review | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EcoSleep Hybrid Luxe | Hybrid | 9.67 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Nest Bedding Robin | Hybrid | 9.65 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Layla Original | Foam | 9.49 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Layla Hybrid | Hybrid | 9.59 | Read Review | Check Price |
| Helix Kids | Foam | 9.37 | Read Review | Check Price |
Can you flip a non-flip mattress?
No. If you were to flip a non-flippable mattress you would be sleeping on the bottom side of the hardest support materials within the mattress.
At the same time, you would have comfort materials as the support layer.
This would create worse support, worse comfort, and a terrible sleeping experience.
Extending the Life Of Your Mattress
Rotating a mattress or flipping a mattress can be effective ways to extend the lifespan and prevent sagging or uneven wear.
As with anything, be sure to check the fine print from the manufacturer. If they have specific recommendations, always follow those guidelines above any third-party recommendation online.
FAQ
Rotating your mattress is a good way to help the mattress wear evenly, especially if you do not sleep with a partner or if you and your partner are drastically different sizes or weights.
You should rotate a new mattress twice within the first year and then once a year after that.
Yes, rotating your mattress can help to prevent sagging or uneven wear on the mattress.
Need A New Mattress?
If your mattress is already too far gone, let us help you find a new one. We are always happy to make personalized mattress recommendations to find your best fit.
Click here to take our 2-minute mattress quiz to help us understand your needs better. We will write up a custom recommendation just for you so you can buy your next mattress with confidence.
