Mattress Toppers: Could You Need One?

It’s been a decade since the beginning of your relationship, and things have been great. You’ve moved through three houses together, from a tiny basement where you both barely fit, all the way up to your new suburban ranch style house. You’ve been through everything together, for better or worse,  for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. There is just one small thing. As you’ve both aged, she just doesn’t meet your needs anymore. She’s too firm, and the years have taken a toll on her once smooth and soft surface. 

Sound like a familiar tale? I hope you were thinking of your mattress too! 

Mattress toppers are an easy and cheap solution to a number of mattress related problems. They are often used to adjust the firmness, height, or temperature control of a mattress, and they’re pretty effective. Toppers are more than just a second choice to a new mattress, as they can be very useful and exactly what you need for a situation. 

Mattress Toppers

Mattress toppers are generally a single layer of material that adds cushioning to a mattress. Most commonly, they are made of memory foam, which is becoming cheaper and more widely available. Memory foam mattresses offer the same benefits of a traditional memory foam mattress. These benefits include better support for your spine, padding for your sensitive joints, and motion transfer reduction.

Some mattress toppers are even made with gel infused foam, which does a wonderful job of cooling you off while you sleep. However, if cooling is all you need, then a mattress pad may be a better investment. It’s important to buy according to your needs, as more expensive does not always translate to better for you. 

Why get a Memory Foam Topper 

There are a number of reasons to get a memory foam topper rather than a complete mattress. Cost is the first reason, as mattress toppers are considerably less expensive than traditional mattresses for obvious reasons. They use much less material and cost the company far fewer resources to manufacture and ship because of that. Mattress topper prices range from about $75 to $150 usually. The more expensive options usually have features such as cooling gel and quilted tops to give it a more premium feel. Of course, expensive does not always mean better, and you should shop according to your needs. 

Another reason people get mattress toppers is to make up for a quality that their mattress lacks. Usually, memory foam mattresses are put on top of firm mattresses to give it a more cushiony surface to sleep on. The memory foam conforms to your body, but still supports your spine like a traditional memory foam mattress. It’s important to keep the condition of your mattress in mind. Although mattress toppers can breathe life into an older mattress, or make a mattress in a guest room more flexible, it won’t make your old beat up mattress feel brand new. Memory foam mattress toppers need a firm surface to sit on, so if your mattress is lumpy or sagging in places, that will reflect in the mattress topper. 

Sometimes we just have to have the really nice bed frame that leaves a couple inches of space between the headboard and mattress. It can be tiresome, always having your phone slip through the space and hit the ground with a thud. To combat that issue, you can get a mattress topper to raise your mattress up and fill that space in. Most mattress toppers are about 3” tall which adds a good amount of fluff on top of most mattresses which range from 8”- 12” in depth.

The uses of a memory foam mattress topper are infinite and only limited by your imagination, but there is one more conventional reason to buy a mattress topper, and that is cooling. You can get a memory foam mattress that’s infused with cooling gel to get the most cooling out of a mattress. Having a topper also keeps the mattress underneath cooler, which translates to a firmer base and a more stable sleeping surface.

Summary

Memory foam mattress toppers are a wonderful way to add a little fluff to the top of your mattress, whether it’s for comfort, height, or cooling. Mattress toppers come in a variety of materials, but memory foam toppers are most common, and tend to be very affordable. A memory foam mattress topper can save your mattress and extend its life for a couple more years. Maybe all you need to save a good thing and extend it a few years is a face lift..