No turn mattress

The no turn or non turn mattress has become increasingly popular over recent years, mainly due to the new ways in which many beds and mattress products are made. The alternative is the reversible mattress.

With a no turn mattress, the mattress has a top and bottom surface and it cannot be flipped over. It is however important to periodically spin these mattresses through 180 degrees so that the end of the mattress that was at the head of the bed is reversed and placed at the foot of the bed. This helps with even wear and it will prolong the life of the mattress.

Why are some mattresses no turn?

Once nearly all mattresses needed to be turned over to balance wear. However with the changes in mattress technology, the new materials like memory foam and latex, and the increase in orthopedic mattress and wellbeing mattress models, most good quality mattresses are now no turn.

The reason for the no turn stipulation is because these mattresses are designed and assembled to have a top sleeping surface and a bottom base or support surface. In other words the composition of the mattress is different at the top and at the bottom.

A good example of this is the one of the many composite or combination mattresses that mix pocket springs as a base with memory or latex foam as a top cushioning layer. If a mattress of this composition were reversed (turned over) the cushioning layer would be at the bottom and the benefits would not be enjoyed.

Many visco elastic memory foam mattresses also have a multi layer construction, only in their case it is different layers of different density memory foam. The top layers will often be lower density foams that are more able to shape themselves around the person lying on them whilst the base level foams are firmer for deeper support.

How can you tell if a mattress is no turn?

A no turn mattress will normally have a label or sticker on the mattress, the packaging, or both, pointing out that the mattress needs to be rotated but not flipped. If this is the case the mattress will have a top surface and a bottom surface and the two should never be reversed (i.e. the mattress would be the wrong way around).

Most non turn mattresses are in the higher price and quality range and as a result many of them are orthopedic, or offer good orthopedic levels of support.