How Often Should You Replace Your Mattress?

A mattress is not something you often fixate on. You only ever think about it when you're sleeping on it, and mattresses are typically built to last pretty long, so it might slip your mind that it needs to be replaced every so often. However, there are many reasons to replace your mattress when it starts to show certain signs. Read on to understand how long certain types of mattresses last, and what to look for when they need to be replaced.

Why Do I Need to Replace My Mattress?

With enough time, after sleeping on the same mattress every night for many years, it will simply start to deteriorate. You'll start to get worse and worse sleep every night, or you may wake up with a stiffness in your body. Sometimes you may even begin to have allergy symptoms more frequently. Sleeping on a worn-out mattress will lead to you getting poor quality of sleep, and we need good sleep to function properly. In general, you need to replace it because after a while it will start to become a hazard to your health.

How Long Should You Keep a Mattress?

Though you can typically expect a mattress to last anywhere between five years and a decade, it actually heavily depends on the type of materials:

• An Innerspring mattress will usually last someone between five and eight years before it needs to be replaced.
• A Memory Foam mattress actually has a relatively large variation when it comes to how long it can last. The window is somewhere between six and ten years, but it will most likely depend on how you treat it while you have it.
• A Hybrid mattress makes use of both springs and memory foam, and they typically last anywhere between six and ten years. You need to treat this mattress well in order to make it last.
• Polyfoam mattresses and Latex mattresses will typically last between 10 and 12 years.

What Causes a Mattress to Wear Out?

Now that we've discussed how long the different types of mattresses can last, we can get into the environmental factors that contribute to their wearing-down. The biggest contributing factor is the weight it's holding every night. If you sleep alone most nights, then your mattress isn't likely to get saggy as quickly as it would for someone sleeping with their partner and their dog every night. It also matters which spot you sleep and in what position. If you're sleeping in the same spot each night, with a partner or without, it'll begin to wear out and get saggy faster. Mattresses are meant to be soft enough for your body to essentially create a mold of sorts that fits comfortably around you in most cases. The problem only starts to occur after countless nights of sleeping in the same exact position. That's why certain mattresses last longer than others - the materials they're made out of are simply better suited to handle the weight for a longer period of time than other materials. The only real way to prevent this wear on your mattress is to try and adjust your sleeping position once in a while, but that can be a tall order when you're comfortable one way or another. As long as you keep your mattress in good condition otherwise, you most likely won't see aggressive wear for many years after you buy it.

How Do You Know When You Need a New Mattress?

Though we touched on the kinds of health problems you may come across after using a mattress for too long, there are a few ways you can tell when it's time for a new one. If you encounter bad sleep for many nights in a row, body soreness and increased allergy symptoms, your mattress might need a replacement. You can also usually just tell by looking at it - more often than not there will be some level of wear and tear that will be clearly visible to you when your mattress is old enough. It also might be very noisy, especially if it's an old innerspring model. If you've encountered these situations and you have a mattress that's many years old then you should start shopping around for a new one. Fortunately, there are a huge variety of mattresses available today to suit any sleep need and budget. No matter what size or material you're seeking, you're sure to find the perfect mattress for your needs, delivering the comfortable night's sleep that you need and deserve!