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You should rotate all mattresses every 3 to 6 months, but only flip mattresses that are designed to be slept on both sides.
This guide explains the differences between flipping and rotating, how to tell whether your mattress can be turned, and the benefits of regular rotation.
You should rotate your mattress rather than flip it, unless you have a double-sided mattress.
Most mattresses sold today are one-sided and can only be used one way up. Flipping a one-sided mattress results in the underside, which is not designed to be slept on, ending up on top.
A double-sided mattress can be flipped as well as rotated, because both the top and bottom are made to be slept on.
Rotating a mattress is safe on both single- and double-sided mattresses.
The difference between flipping and rotating a mattress is as follows.
Before deciding which action to take, you need to know whether your mattress can be flipped or not.
To tell if your mattress can be flipped, read its care label, then look at its underside.
The table below shows which mattress types can be rotated and which can also be flipped.
| Mattress type | Rotate | Flippable | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory foam | Yes | Only if sold as flippable | The dense base foam sits under the soft comfort foam, so the top face alone is made for sleeping. |
| Latex | Yes | Only if sold as flippable | A latex mattress has a firm support layer at the bottom unless it is made with a sleeping face on both sides. |
| Hybrid | Yes | Only if sold as flippable | The coil unit sits under the comfort layer, so the underside is the base of the coils. |
| Innerspring | Yes | Only if double-sided | A traditional innerspring has padding on both faces of the coils. A newer innerspring has padding on one face only. |
| Pillowtop or euro top | Yes | No | The padded top is sewn to one face only. |
| Double-sided | Yes | Yes | Both faces are made for sleeping. |
Regular mattress rotation and flipping (where applicable) is an important part of mattress maintenance and has several benefits.
The benefits of flipping or rotating a mattress are that it spreads wear across the whole surface, which reduces sagging and helps the mattress last longer.
Rotating spreads wear across the whole mattress by swapping the part under your torso with the part under your legs. Your torso is the heaviest part of your body, so the part of the mattress under it wears fastest.
Your legs weigh less than your torso, so the worn part of the mattress then wears more slowly.
Regular rotation and flipping reduces mattress sagging and body impressions because no single part of the mattress stays under your torso long enough to sink into a dip.
A body impression is a dip that stays in the mattress after you get up. The springs under a body impression weaken long before the dip shows (Jacobson et al., 2022), so rotate or flip your mattress regularly, before a dip appears.
Rotate your mattress every 3 to 6 months, or more often when it is new or if the care label says so. Flip a double-sided mattress on the same schedule, taking turns between a flip and a rotation.
The schedule changes with the age and type of mattress.
Follow the schedule printed on the care label over any general rule, because some brands make that schedule a condition of the warranty.
A double-sided mattress has a sleeping face on both sides, with cushioning layers above and below the support core.
Double-sided mattresses come in two kinds.
The Latex For Less two-sided latex mattress is a dual-firmness example, with a medium face, a firm face, and a layer of wool under the cover on both. The Latex For Less mattress is one of the picks in our sustainable mattress guide.
A dual-firmness mattress suits anyone unsure which firmness they want, or a guest bed for people with different needs.
Flipping mattresses is still common practice if you have a two-sided mattress.
However, mattress flipping is less common these days because many modern mattresses are one-sided, so they are only designed to be used one way up.
The golden rule for flipping a mattress is to flip only a double-sided mattress and to rotate every mattress, whether it can be flipped or not
When a mattress can be flipped, alternate each flip with a rotation so both faces and both ends wear evenly.
If you don't rotate your mattress, it wears unevenly and sags under your body sooner than it would with rotation.
Failure to rotate your mattress may also invalidate your warranty with some brands.
There are no mattress types that do not need to be rotated, only those that do not need to be flipped. Rotation is beneficial for any type of mattress.
To flip or rotate a heavy mattress, ask somebody else to help you. Two adults can usually manage to move a mattress up to king size.
Yes, both flipping and rotating a mattress make it feel firmer. After flipping or rotating the mattress, your torso is supported by foam or springs that have carried less weight and kept more of their support
Rotating and flipping are two free, effective ways to make a soft mattress feel firmer.
No, you cannot flip a pillowtop mattress unless it is a double-sided pillowtop with padding on both faces.
A pillowtop mattress has an extra layer of padding sewn onto the top face. If you flip a pillowtop mattress, you end up sleeping on the plain base fabric while the padding is squashed between the mattress and the bed base.
