The Bedr Sleep Blog is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Can You Place a Mattress on Top of Another Mattress?

It may be tempting to place a mattress on top of another if you want to improve the comfort, adjust the sleeping height, or if you don’t want to part with an old mattress just yet.

Can You Place Mattresses On Top Of Another Mattress?

If you have limited space, you might stack your mattresses while you wait to dispose of the old one or decide what you want to do with it. 

So can you place mattresses on top of another mattress? Is it wise to do so?

QUICK TAKE: The quick answer is. NO, you should not stack mattresses on top of each other.

A mattress should be put on a solid surface like a platform bed, bed slats, box spring or even the floor to properly support a sleeper.

Putting your mattress on top of another mattress will increase the amount of bounce, decrease the support of your mattress and is not the safest idea as your mattress could slide off the other mattress pretty easily.

Why Shouldn’t You Place A Mattress On Top Of Another?

It Can Damage The Mattress

When you stack your mattresses, you destabilize their overall structure. The mattress on the bottom will likely be taking more weight than it was meant to, and the downward pressure of the top mattress will eventually crush the bottom mattress.

The top mattress will also sustain some damage. Depressions, dips, and indentations will form, especially in a memory foam mattress. 

If your bed has slats, the additional weight will cause the bottom mattress to sag between the gaps.

Eventually, the top mattress will develop corresponding bulges on its underside. Even if you add extra slats the bed will sag at the edges of the bed frame. 

It Can Aggravate Allergies

Hypoallergenic covers are meant to decrease the amount of allergens present in the mattress, such as dust mites.

If the bottom layer of the mattress cover is below another mattress, the cover becomes less effective. The increase of moisture and heat also causes mold to form.

It Will Make The Warranty Void

Just like with any other warranty, mattresses are backed by a policy unique to the manufacturer, and is only valid if the mattress is used in a specific way. Mattresses are not meant to be stacked, so doing this will void your warranty if the mattress breaks. 

It Can Worsen Back Pain

Mattresses aren’t just comfortable slabs for sleeping on, they’re designed with posture and ergonomics in mind, and manufacturers draw on sleep research when engineering their mattresses. 

Positioning and posture when lying in bed play a huge part in how comfortable you are when sleeping. Stacking mattresses changes their structure, either because there will be additional weight on places that weren’t designed to take weight, or because of degradation of the materials.

This changes how the mattresses can support your body and exacerbate or cause back pain and other muscular pain. 

It Will Make Your Bed Hot

Memory foam mattresses are designed to keep heat in, and body heat is what triggers a memory foam mattress to adjust to the shape of your body.

The memory foam has molecules that alter under pressure, and your body heat helps the memory foam mattress achieve that.

If the memory foam mattress is on top, more heat will become trapped inside, and the extra weight will affect the aerated layers and cause the bed to overheat. 

A Mattress Needs A Strong Foundation

A mattress has to rest on a sturdy foundation. When a mattress is used normally, this foundation will be made out of wood or steel. In a divan bed, this will be a solid upper layer.

Many people falsely believe that stacking their mattresses will give them a strong base, but this is not the case. It’s better to place a mattress on a floor rather than stack them. 

When you place a mattress on top of another mattress, it is bound to wobble. When you get in and out of bed, and when you turn over in your sleep this motion will cause your mattress to gradually move.

Mattress borders tend to not be flat and will dip a couple of millimeters before the stitching of the rod edges. A lot of mattress covers are made out of silky, shiny materials which just makes the mattresses slipperier!

You will probably end up having to shunt the mattresses back level with each other daily. These consistent movements will affect the structure of the mattress.

If the mattresses have coil springs on the inside, these will become warped and break. You may wake up on the floor if the top mattress eventually falls off!

Your Mattress Will Be Unable To ‘Breathe’

Mattresses are designed so that air can flow through their layers. This ‘airs’ the mattress out and helps it keep its structure. The bottom of a mattress is almost half of a mattress’ surface area.

When air can’t get into this part of the mattress, heat and moisture will increase which will negatively impact the performance of the mattress.

Can You Place Mattresses On Top Of Another Mattress?

Are There Are Advantages To Sleeping On Two Mattresses?

Getting a good night’s sleep is so important for your health and wellbeing. When your mattress is no longer doing its job but is not totally broken and is still pretty new, you may be tempted to add another mattress. Seems like a simple solution, right?

While we’re all tempted by the cheapest option, the inexpensive option isn’t always the best one. But does it mean there are no advantages at all to sleeping on two mattresses? 

If you have a box spring, you might be able to place a new mattress on top of your old one. As we’ve mentioned, mattresses needed a strong foundation like a box spring, to keep its structure intact.

But new mattresses may just need a sturdy metal frame to maintain their strong structure and shape. 

Placing a memory foam mattress on a normal mattress may also work. It can improve your sleep and is supported by the traditional box spring and bed frame construction.

A memory foam mattress isn’t as thick as a normal mattress and can cut out motion transfer and give you a more comfortable sleep overall. 

What Is An Alternative To Stacking Your Mattress?

Rather than risking voiding your warranty and wasting your time stacking mattresses, you can get a platform bed for your new mattress. This gives you a strong platform for your mattress while maintaining good airflow.

Can You Put A Foam Mattress On A Normal Mattress?

Yes, it is possible to place a foam mattress on a standard mattress. Foam mattresses tend to be slimmer than other kinds of mattresses, so they’re simpler to stack. Let’s take a look at a couple other advantages to sleeping on a foam mattress:

They Assist With Motion Transfer

The material of a foam mattress stops motion from rippling across the mattress and disturbing your sleeping partner. 

They Offer Improved Spine Alignment

If you often wake up feeling achy, then a foam mattress can lower joint pain when you wake up. The additional support assists restless sleepers to sleep more comfortably as they move about in the night.

It’s important to bear in mind that while there may be benefits to stacking a foam mattress on top of a standard mattress, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits.

Foam mattresses will soon wear out when stacked on top of older mattresses and are more likely to attract mites and develop mold. 

What Are The Best Ways To Protect Your Mattress?

There are a few easy ways to maintain your new mattresses. Let’s take a look!

Don’t bounce on your mattress: While bouncing on your mattress is fun, it does cause your mattress to wear out quicker. 

Clean Your Mattress Regularly

Vacuuming your mattress at least once a month helps remove dead skin cells, debris, and dust mites.

Your mattress should also be deep cleaned every 2 -3 months with sunlight and baking soda. This keeps your mattress disinfected and keeps it smelling fresh.

Flip Your Mattress

Most manufacturers recommend that you flip your mattress at least twice a year.

Use A Mattress Cover

Mattress covers provide a protective layer that protects your mattress against mites, mold, spills, and other things that could damage the material of your mattress.

A mattress cover needs to be taken off your mattress and cleaned separately every two months.

Final Thoughts

If you have two mattresses and you want to stack them to make your sleeping experience more comfortable, you should instead just buy a new mattress.

If you can’t afford one right now, a good placeholder would be to buy a foam mattress topper to enhance your comfort.

Resist the urge to stack your mattresses toppers too, as they will definitely not have the support you need for a comfortable sleep.

It’s always best to just buy a new mattress, especially if your mattress is over 10 years old. You might be missing out on some enhanced mattress technology that can enormously improve your sleep!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *