I have a foam mattress. It says it’s “extra firm” but I toss and turn throughout the night and by the time I wake up I find myself in a depression of 1 or 2". It screws up my back something fierce.
Of course, the foam resets throughout the day and it’s firm enough to use again the next night but the cycle repeats and I’m in a depression again.
I’m persuading myself that there’s no such thing as reliable foam. they’ll all break down like this throughout the night and I’ll be left with a sore back and neck no matter how many I try.
Really I’m this close to just sleeping on my floor at this point. I need the surface to be the same at the end as it was at the start. Is that really not possible in this day and age?
Thank you all in advance for your advice as I struggle with this!
I totally get your frustration,sleeping on a mattress that does not hold up through the night can really mess with your back and leave you exhausted. I have been through a similar struggle myself while recovering from neck pain and I learned a few things that might help.
Not all foam mattresses sag like that every night. What you are describing sounds like a lower density or poorly layered foam construction that does not offer lasting support under pressure especially for side or back sleepers. A good high density memory foam or a hybrid mattress usually holds its shape much better overnight and can provide the consistent support you need.
You might also want to look into mattresses with zoned support—these are designed to hold up better in areas where your body needs it most like hips and shoulders without collapsing by morning.
In the meantime, using a firm mattress topper can help even out the surface and reduce that sinking in feeling while you explore better options.
Do not lose hope,there are options out there that stay firm and supportive. You do not have to give up and sleep on the floor.
Hope this helps and wishing you pain-free sleep soon.
Best regards by sana
Well it is sort of a loaded question. What time of foam? What firmness? How thick is the comfort layer. What is the manufacturers definition of extra firm? Do they offer an ILD rating? What support layer is supporting the mattress, it is all foam, or a hybrid. I know you stated foam mattress, but having some specifics would be helpful. What is your height and weight, body type and do you sit up in bed, only sleep, and not work on a laptop, like I do.
What foundation are you using? What is it made of. What brand is the mattress and foundation?
Mattresses are very nuanced. One bad layer on a great mattress can take a mattress down. " A mattress is only as good as it’s weakest layer" This is true for a $500 mattress or a $5000 mattress. A bad or low quality layer or bad foundation, can cause issues with the best of mattresses out there.
Sorry to hear your struggles but, we need a bit more information to help solve the issue. There are certainly different levels of foams. Foams do break down over time, but density, processing, quality control, location of manufacture and manufacturing processes are all critical concerns to be able to answer your issues.
Looking forward to the rest of the vital information, as it does matter.
Well I don’t have a lot of details about the mattress in terms of construction. I know it’s an Ikea Morgedal. That’s about it.
As for me, I’m a “big and tall” kind of guy. 6 feet, 250lbs. Always been a rotisserie kind of sleeper. I start on my side and rotate many many many times throughout the night.
I have a platform foundation. It’s a hard plastic box from an old Sleep Number bed that I got rid of a year ago. It started forming a depression after 10 years and I went with the Ikea because it felt really firm the day I bought it.
Really I just can’t have a depression while I sleep. I’ve considered buying a futon just so I could have something immutable but cushioned under me.
I don’t know if what I need exists out there, but I’m really hoping it does.
The first thing I would do is rotate the mattress and place it on the floor and sleep on it to determine if it is the mattress or the foundation. I was working with someone on reddit recently and they were convinced their foundation was great, and it could not have been their issue… Until they placed their phone under the mattress and recorded what was going on under the mattress once he put his body on it while sleeping. His foundation met all the usual specs, 3/4" thick, proper spacing and slat width. The slats were bowed and flexing when he got on the mattress causing the sagging. He was rushing out to HomeDepot to get 1.5" thick slats that he intends to close the spacing and screw into the bedframe. I am waiting to hear if it works for him.
Your Ikea mattress is said to have Foam Layers
Top Layer (Comfort Layer):
Material: Zoned polyurethane foam
Thickness: ~2.4 inches
Density: 2.2 lb/ft³
Features: Grooved zones for pressure relief at shoulders and hips
Bottom Layer (Support Layer):
Material: Polyurethane foam
Density: 1.7 lb/ft³
Function: Provides foundational support
The high-resilience (HR) foam layer falls short of the recommended minimum density of 2.5 lb/ft³, and the polyurethane base foam is also below the commonly advised 1.8 lb/ft³ threshold for mattress support. As someone who is on the heavier side (I was over 250 lbs at 6’ tall when I bought my mattress, now down to 220), this is especially important. Heavier individuals typically need even denser foams to ensure proper support and durability. While the shortfall in density might seem minor, it can significantly impact comfort and longevity for larger bodies.
First thing, try the mattress on the floor rotated away from the already sagging area. You do need to consider that the sagging from your sleep number may have been due to the foundation, and when you tried the Ikea in the store or when you first got it home, it will always feel more firm for a while, until all of the nuanced factors start to kick in. Although, I am surprised you actually got 10 years from your SN, consider yourself lucky, unless there were signs of compromise years earlier and you just glossed over it for a while, which happens. I did that with my 11 year old Sealy PosturePedic prior to my purchase of my Brooklyn Bedding Plank Luxe 3/4" - 50lb quilted cover foam, 2" of HD1.8lb 36 ILD foam, and 13.5Gauge firm spring support system 9-9.5/10 firmness. It is a two sided mattress, with a slightly less firmness on the flip side 8-8.5/10, but we use the firmer side.
All of these things matter. Even a 1.5" mismatched loft of your pillow is enough to cause neck, back and should pain when sleeping. This is particularly true the older we get (I am 65). Which is why I generally will ask about height, weight, sleep position and age, when offering suggestions for solving issues.
If the sag seems to recover with the mattress on the floor, that is promising. In addition to sleeping on the adjacent side of the mattress after rotating and placement on the floor. If you dont notice the same sagging, you know the foundation is an issue. If your start sagging the mattress on the floor, it is the foam densities and mattress that is the issue. Furthermore, if the mattress does not sag on the floor, rotate the mattress back if the sag on the original side has recovered. Sleep on it again, on the floor. If it sags again, you know that it was the foundation that may be the initial cause of the sag, but now the mattress has taken on the sag that is not recoverable. So you have to sleep on the rotated mattress and get a new foundation, for as long as that will hang in there, or you may need to consider a completely new system foundation on up.
Sorry about what you are experiencing, but with a little bit of finesse, we can get to the bottom of this.