Mattress Sagging vs Body Impressions: What’s The Difference?

When you get a new mattress, the last thing you want to have to think about is sagging. However, the reality is that sagging will eventually happen to all mattresses. Similarly, body impressions happen to just about all mattresses. This can make it difficult to tell the two apart.

So how can you tell the difference? And, more importantly, what can you do to delay or prevent sagging or body impressions from developing? We discuss the distinction between the two and how you can avoid both.

Mattress Sagging

Mattress sagging is when your mattress starts to lose its flatness and dip down, usually in the middle. Sagging is a lasting impression that often results from age or lack of mattress maintenance. These impressions are most likely to occur under the heaviest parts of your body, like your torso and lower back.

Sagging is one of the most common customer complaints about their mattresses. It’s a major problem that can mess up your spinal alignment, reduce your bed’s longevity, and interrupt a good night’s sleep. Some mattress manufacturers cover sagging in their warranty, and others don’t. If that’s something you care about, make sure to read the fine print.

Causes of Sagging

There are several causes of mattress sagging, and it depends on:

• What type of mattress you have
• The mattress’s age
• How well you maintain the mattress

The type of bed can determine how long the mattress should last since different materials wear out at different speeds. Caring for a mattress can extend its lifespan while neglecting it can leave you replacing the bed sooner than expected.

Coil Tension Loss

Hybrid and innerspring mattresses both have coil support cores, which means they’re vulnerable to the sagging that occurs as the individual coils lose their tension and shape over time.

This sagging will eventually happen to all mattress springs. However, lower gauge springs and tempered springs are more resistant to wear and tear. In other words, they’ll maintain their shape longer.

Foam Aging

While foam mattresses have no coils to lose tension, latex and memory foam mattresses experience age-related sagging all the same. Foam mattresses tend to soften under the pressure and heat from your body, which can lead to sagging and soft spots.

As a general rule, latex mattresses are more durable and resist sagging longer than their memory foam counterparts. You can read our memory foam vs latex mattress guide for a more in-depth comparison.

It’s possible to improve the feel of a sagging memory foam mattress until you’re ready to buy a new bed. However, it never feels as it once did.

No Maintenance

Sagging will occur in all mattresses eventually, but failure to maintain your mattress will speed up the process. If you don’t flip or rotate your mattress, it will always experience pressure in the same spots, which will cause it to sag much faster than it would otherwise. That’s why it’s crucial to flip a two-sided mattress or rotate a non-flippable one at least twice per year.

Body Impressions

Body impressions is a succinct, self-explanatory term. They’re the indentation your body weight makes when you lie on a mattress night after night. Most mattresses will develop body impressions within a few weeks after purchase.

Unlike sagging, body impressions aren’t long-lasting because they only extend through the plush materials of your bed. These impressions are normal, and as long as they’re not deeper than 1.5 inches, they shouldn’t affect the performance of your mattress.

Body Impression Prevention

While body indentations are harmless and normal, if you don’t like the look of them, there are a couple of things you can do to get rid of them.

Rotating and Flipping Your Mattress

If you want to allow your mattress to regain its shape, a quick flip or rotation could help restore your bed’s aesthetic and get rid of any impressions in its comfort layer.

Purchasing Responsive Foams

Viscoelastic memory foam or latex mattresses are responsive enough to bounce back without extra rotations. These are excellent options for anyone who doesn’t want to move their mattress every few months.

If you don’t want to replace your whole mattress, consider purchasing a mattress topper made of one of these materials to help even out your mattress’s look.

FAQS

Which mattress types are most and least prone to sagging?

All mattresses will sag as part of their normal breakdown process, but some will do it faster than others. Spring mattresses with an open coil system are the most likely to sag. Pocket coils resist sagging better than open coils, as do tempered coils and coils with a low gauge.

Foam mattresses will generally last longer than mattresses with coils, and natural latex foam will stand up to wear and tear better than memory foam. That means an all-latex mattress will be the most likely to resist sagging the longest.

What can I do to prevent sagging and body impressions?

One of the best ways you can prevent sagging is to purchase a high-quality mattress specifically made to resist the decay of time and the pressure of your body weight. If you don’t want to spring for a new bed, make sure you’re flipping or rotating your mattress at least once per six months. You might also try a firm mattress topper.

Will a mattress foundation or platform bed help prevent sagging?

In a word: yes. Mattress foundations and platform beds have rigid slats that provide sturdier support than box springs, which can help avert sagging longer. Box springs are not rigid and tend to sag on their own, so laying your mattress on them can contribute to faster or more severe sagging.

For this reason, swapping your box springs for a bed base with slats can help increase your mattress’s durability.

How long should I expect my mattress to resist sagging?

That depends on what it’s made of and how you maintain it. Open coil innerspring mattresses aren’t very durable, and they may sag to the point of needing replacement in as little as six years.

On the other end of the spectrum, quality natural latex mattresses can resist sagging for up to 20 years. Properly maintaining your mattress through sufficient rotation and flipping can also add years to its lifespan.

Can sagging be reversed?

Sagging goes all the way down past your mattress’s comfort layer, so not all of it can be reversed. However, you could try using thin pillows underneath a mattress topper to even out a severely saggy mattress. Flipping or rotating your mattress can also help ease sagging.

Lastly, you can consider your bed base. Trading your box springs for a rigid bed base or sliding a bunkie board between your mattress and its base can shore up support.

Bottom Line

There’s nothing you can do to stave off sagging and body impressions forever. However, there’s plenty you can do to delay their formation.

What’s the best thing you can do for both body indentations and true mattress sagging? Rotate your mattress regularly, and if the design permits, flip it, too. That way, the pressure from your body weight will help your mattress wear evenly.