Rotating or flipping your mattress can often be the key to its comfort level and the long lifespan that looks after the bed.
When we sleep in the same place on our bed every night, our body weight will inevitably cause it to sag and make an impression in that area of the mattress.
Not rotating your mattress in a particular area will generally cause it to wear, making it more likely that you will have to replace it sooner.
With a newly innovated bed in a box mattress, rotating and flipping may no longer be necessary.
How often should I rotate my mattress
That being said, some mattresses do require it, so you have to be careful when getting a new mattress hence why some people have some unanswered questions:
Why do I need to rotate my mattress?
Which is better for my mattress, rotating or flipping?
What's the best way to flip or rotate my mattress?
How often should you rotate your mattress?
The difference between flipping and rotating your mattress
Both flipping and rotating can have an impact in terms of leveling out where a mattress wears.
This means your mattress will help you enjoy a good night's sleep for more years. Not all brands/models desire to be flipped or rotated.
Flipping can have a negative impact on some of them.
If you flip one-sided mattresses, this may even lead to some warranties becoming void.
Flipping is a process that allows you to sleep on both sides of the mattress. Rotating your mattress is the process where your head and feet interchange between which position they rest upon the mattress.
Rotate your Mattress or Flip it. Which method should I do?
The general rule is that unless it's specifically marketed as a double-sided mattress, you shouldn't flip it.
Most memory foam, latex, hybrid, and pillow-top mattresses are one-sided. Flipping one-sided mattresses means putting extra pressure on the comfort layer, which will now be at the bottom of the mattress.
Flipping memory foam beds that are not designed to be flipped can cause discomfort as the layer that should usually be on the bottom won't offer the same comfort levels.
The mattress's core layers support the memory foam layer providing durability and support. The core has to be quite firm. If the softer layers become the core, it will lead to quicker deterioration.
If you aren't lying upon the comfort layer, you can't enjoy the experience you paid your hard-earned money for.
On the other hand, hybrid mattresses have at least 2 inches of comfort layer and a coil layer at the base.
Hybrids are heavy mattresses because they include more materials than other mattresses. Flipping them will create excess pressure on the comfort layer and damage it.
Pictured: Exploded internal view of a Sleepeezee Hybrid 2000 Mattress, showing internal materials.
Some latex mattresses can be flipped. But you don't need to flip them as much as you think, as it takes them at least two or three years to start to wear them.
Before flipping your new mattress, check with the manufacturers to ensure flipping is recommended for the specific model you have because only some latex mattresses can be reversed.
If you flip a pillow-top mattress, you can't make the most of the extra padding on the comfort layer. Most innerspring mattresses have a pillow-top layer which provides extra cushioning.
Conclusion
Overall I recommend that you flip or rotate your mattress once every three months to ensure that you get the total durability out of the mattress.
However, make sure you check the packaging of the mattress to check any specific details in terms of whether the company doesn't recommend flipping or rotating the mattress.
