What to Use on a Bad Mattress

It's Too Hard

• If your mattress is too hard, then the pressure you feel on your body can make you roll and tumble all night as you try without success to get comfortable. Softening a bed that is too hard requires the addition of a mattress topper. The type of mattress topper you buy will make a major difference in the result. Not all toppers will make your bed softer. Try using one made with feathers or wool. These materials will soften the surface of the mattress and could help you find comfort when you try to sleep. Wool toppers work to add softness and regulate temperatures, but they can also be expensive in comparison to feather toppers.

It's Too Soft

• Some people find that they cannot get comfortable on their mattress because the surface is too soft. Soft mattresses tend to give you a "sinking" feeling and can make some people feel trapped in one position because it takes more energy to roll over when embedded in a soft material. A mattress topper can help solve this problem, too. To firm up a bed, you will need to try a different material such as dense memory foam or latex. These materials mold to your body and are soft and comfortable to many people.

It's Too Bouncy

• If your mattress feels like you are on a trampoline, you may have some trouble becoming completely comfortable on it. A bouncy mattress could be the fault of the mattress, and if so, there is not a lot you can do about it. Often, excessive bouncing and motion transfer from person to person in a bed is because of the box spring. Putting the mattress straight onto a wooden platform bed can help settle down the motion, or if your box spring is the type with actual springs in it or it is broken, you can add a solid wood and steel version that will help keep the mattress from bouncing. If the main problem is with motion caused by a restless bedmate, then adding a memory foam topper could reduce the movement.

Mattress Covers

• A good mattress isn't always a good mattress. Just because it is constructed properly doesn't mean you can't ruin it in another way. Dust mites feed on dead skin cells and are present on most every mattress. They can eventually congregate in mattresses and pillows in such numbers that they will begin to cause allergy problems for those who sleep on it. A way to prevent this problem is to use a hypoallergenic mattress cover that encases your mattress to keep your good mattress from becoming a bad one. This will increase the mattress life considerably.