How Often Should You Really Replace Your Mattress?
You spend a third of your life in bed. If your mattress has quietly stopped doing its job, that's a third of your life spent sleeping worse than you should.
The answer is 7 to 10 years. But that number hides more than it tells you. A mattress used every night by two adults wears differently to one in a spare room. The real question isn't "how old is it" - it's "how is it performing right now."
Signs It's Time for a New Mattress
You wake up with a stiff back or aching hips. Support has usually broken down before you notice visible sagging.
You sleep better elsewhere - hotels, a friend's spare room, anywhere but your own bed.
Visible sagging or lumps, especially in the middle third where most body weight sits.
New creaks or noise from springs that have lost tension.
Increased allergies or stuffiness, often a sign of dust mite build-up that cleaning can't fully fix after several years.
If two or more of these sound familiar, age is almost beside the point - it's time.
Lifespan by Mattress Type
Not all mattresses wear the same way:
Pocket sprung - typically 6-8 years. Individually wrapped coils hold support well, but spring count and build quality make a real difference to how long that lasts.
Memory foam - depends heavily on density. Lower-density foam can soften within 5-7 years, while high-density foam typically holds up for 8-10 years.
Hybrid (spring + foam) - typically 7-10 years, depending on the quality of the coil unit and comfort layers. Combining springs with foam gives a good balance of support and pressure relief, though it's not automatically longer-lasting than a well-made mattress of either type alone.
Higher density materials and better craftsmanship generally mean a longer honest lifespan - worth checking what's actually inside a mattress, not just the price tag.
How to Get More Life Out of Your Current One
Rotate it head-to-foot every 3 months (flip too, if it's designed to be flipped).
Use a mattress protector - sweat and moisture break down materials faster than use alone.
Make sure your base is actually supporting it. A worn-out divan base or slatted frame can make a good mattress fail early.
When You're Ready to Replace It
A mattress is only half the equation - the base underneath matters just as much for how long the whole set-up lasts. MnM mattresses and divan bases are made to order in Britain, sized to match properly, with free UK delivery as standard. No inflated "was" prices, no countdown timers - just straightforward pricing on things built to last the years above, not just squeeze past the return window.
Browse the mattress range or the pocket sprung mattresses collection to see what's actually inside what you're sleeping on.