How often should you replace your mattress?

Key takeaways

• The usual answer is every seven to 10 years. That number comes from the mattress industry, and no medical body or published study sets a replacement age.

• Mattresses wear where you lie. Studies of used mattresses found the middle sinks much more than the edges, and the wear isn’t always easy to see.

• How you sleep tells you more than the date. Waking up stiff or sore, sleeping better away from home, and a dip you roll into are better signs than the mattress’s age.

• A new bed helped in small studies. People who swapped mattresses averaging about nine years old reported less back pain and better sleep, though the studies had no control group.

• A topper changes how a bed feels, not how it supports you. It can make a firm bed softer, but it will not fix a mattress that sags.

Where the seven-to-10-year rule comes from

Search for how long a mattress lasts and you’ll see seven to 10 years almost everywhere. The figure traces back to the Better Sleep Council, a consumer education group run by the mattress industry’s trade association, the International Sleep Products Association. It suggests evaluating your mattress for comfort and support about every seven years. It’s advice to check the mattress, and it says nothing about replacing it.

No health body or government agency gives a number of years. The closest anyone gets is a large European study of mattress dust, which found that older mattresses were more likely to hold high levels of dust mite allergen and advised replacing mattresses “regularly,” without saying how often.

So treat seven years as a reminder to check, the way you might treat one to two years for a pillow. A well-made mattress that one person sleeps on lightly can go longer. A cheap one shared by two people, a child, and a dog may not make it that far.

How to find out how old your mattress is

If you can’t remember when you bought it, check the labels sewn to the side or end. In the US, every mattress has to carry a permanent label with the month and year it was made, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

How each type wears out

There’s no good research on how long each type of mattress lasts, and the year ranges you’ll see online come from retailers and brands. Each type does tend to fail in its own way.

Whatever the type, the mattress is only as good as what it sits on. A broken slat or a sagging box spring can make a decent mattress feel worn out.

Signs it’s time for a new mattress

• You wake up stiff or sore, and it eases soon after you get up.

• You sleep better on a hotel or guest bed than on your own.

• There’s a dip where you sleep, or you roll toward the middle or toward your partner.

• You can feel coils, ridges, or lumps through the top.

• The springs creak or squeak when you move.

• Your allergy symptoms, like a stuffy nose or itchy eyes, are worse in bed.

• The mattress no longer suits you. A bed that was fine for one person may not be for two, and a body that has changed through pregnancy, injury, or age may need a different feel.

Old mattresses wear more than they look

Sagging doesn’t always show. In a 2022 study, researchers at Oklahoma State University took apart 32 used innerspring mattresses and tested their coils. Coils from the middle of the mattress sank 2.78 cm under a test load, compared with 1.52 cm for coils from the head and foot. The authors noted that this kind of wear “may not be visually apparent.”

Foam behaves the same way. Dutch researchers pressed a test gauge into 50 foam hospital mattresses after about 15 years of use. It sank about 27 mm at the hips, against about 12 mm at a little-used corner.

If you want to check yours, strip the bed and lay a long, straight edge, like a broom handle, across the middle. A clear gap under the handle suggests the support is gone.

Does a new mattress help with back pain?

Small studies say it can, though they come with caveats. In a 2008 study, 62 healthy adults whose own beds averaged 9.5 years old rated their sleep and back pain for 28 days at home, then for 28 days on a new medium-firm mattress. Every measure improved on the new bed. A 2009 study of 59 adults found back pain dropped by about half on new beds, and sleep quality improved by roughly the same amount.

Neither study had a control group, the scores were self-rated, and the 2009 study was paid for by the Better Sleep Council. People who know they’re sleeping on a new bed may expect to feel better. Still, the results fit what you’d expect if old mattresses lose support.

The firmness question has better evidence. In a 2003 trial of 313 adults with chronic low back pain, people given a medium-firm mattress had about twice the odds of reporting less pain in bed and less disability after 90 days as people given a firm one. A 2026 review of 47 studies called medium-firm “the most defensible general recommendation,” while noting that people differ.

If your back hurts all day, not just in the morning, see a doctor or physical therapist. A mattress can make back pain better or worse, but it’s rarely the whole cause.

What’s living in an old mattress

Mattresses collect sweat and the skin flakes that dust mites feed on. The mites are harmless to most people, but their droppings carry an allergen behind a lot of nighttime allergy and asthma symptoms.

Age plays a part here too. The European mattress dust study, which sampled 3,580 homes in 10 countries, found that an older mattress was one of the factors linked to high mite allergen levels. A study of 178 student homes in Dunedin, New Zealand, found more allergen in mattresses more than a year old than in newer ones.

Allergen-proof mattress covers cut the allergen, but on their own they don’t seem to ease symptoms. In a trial of 1,122 adults with asthma, covers lowered allergen levels at six months, but by 12 months there was no difference, and lung function was no better than with ordinary covers. A trial in 279 adults with allergic rhinitis found that covers cut allergen but didn’t improve symptoms. If you have a mite allergy or asthma, use a cover alongside the treatment your doctor recommends.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences also suggests keeping indoor humidity at 50% or below and washing bedding every week in hot water, 130°F to 140°F.

Can a topper make a mattress last longer?

A topper, a removable layer of foam, latex, fiber, or down that sits on top of the mattress, changes how the bed feels. It can soften a mattress that’s too firm, add a little cushioning for side sleepers, or buy some time if you’re saving up for a new bed.

What a topper can’t do is fix the support underneath. A soft layer laid over a sagging mattress follows the sag. Research on toppers is thin, and no study shows one rescuing a worn-out mattress. If the problem is a dip, lumps, or coils you can feel, a topper hides the symptom at best.

How to make a mattress last longer

• Use a mattress protector. A washable, waterproof protector keeps sweat, spills, and stains out of the mattress, and many makers’ warranties exclude stained mattresses.

• Rotate it. Turning the mattress head to foot every few months spreads the wear. Only flip it if the maker says it’s double-sided.

• Give it the right support. Use the base or frame the maker recommends, with slats close enough together and a center support for larger sizes.

• Keep it clean and dry. Vacuum it now and then, and deal with spills quickly so moisture doesn’t soak into the layers.

• Don’t treat it as a trampoline. Jumping and sitting on the same edge every day speed up wear.

What a warranty does and doesn’t tell you

A long warranty doesn’t mean a mattress will feel good for that long. Mattress warranties usually cover defects such as sagging beyond a set depth or a split seam, not a bed that has simply softened. Read the terms before you buy. The Federal Trade Commission advises that if something isn’t listed in a warranty, you should assume it isn’t covered, and that coverage can depend on proper use and care, so keep the receipt.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a memory foam mattress last?

Online ranges come from mattress sellers, and no study backs them. Watch for a body-shaped dip that doesn’t spring back, or a mattress that feels much softer than it did. Denser foams tend to hold up longer.

Is it bad to sleep on an old mattress?

Not if it’s still comfortable and supportive. Age matters less than whether you wake up stiff, roll into a dip, or have allergy symptoms in bed. Older mattresses do tend to hold more dust mite allergen.

Should you replace your mattress after 10 years?

Ten years is a reasonable time to look at it closely, but it is not a deadline. If you sleep well and wake up without aches, and the mattress has no dips or lumps, there’s no medical reason to replace it.

Can a sagging mattress cause back pain?

It can contribute. A mattress that sags lets your body sink out of line, and in small studies people reported less back pain after switching from old beds to new medium-firm ones. Pain that lasts through the day needs a doctor’s look.

How do you know if your mattress is too old?

Check the labels for the month and year it was made, then look at how you sleep. Morning stiffness, a dip in the middle, lumps, noisy springs, and sleeping better elsewhere are the signs to watch for.

What should you do with an old mattress?

Many cities and some retailers offer mattress pickup or recycling, and four US states (California, Connecticut, Oregon, and Rhode Island) have statewide mattress recycling programs. Check with your local waste service before putting one on the curb, since some don’t take mattresses with regular trash.