Updated : April 28, 2025
Published : April 20, 2025
Buying Guides
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Tags: beds

How often should you change your mattress? It’s one of the most common questions asked when it comes to mattresses, yet so many hold off on replacing their mattress until it’s truly on its last legs.

This is probably due to a combination of a few things, from the prices associated with buying a new mattress to the perceived size of the task that replacing your mattress is.

However there’s many people out there who won’t know some of the tell tale signs that it’s time to replace their mattress and won’t realise it’s probably the reason they’re waking up tired with aches and pains.

So we’ve put together our top five tell tale signs that it’s time to replace your mattress.

Waking Up With Aches and Pains

Have you been waking up with aches and pains more consistently lately? We’re not talking about the odd pain in your neck because you’ve ‘slept wrong’ the night before, we mean waking up each and every day with aches and pains that don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Well this could be a real sign that your mattress needs replacing.

Mattresses provide support to your body’s natural spinal alignment and depending on the type of mattress, may also conform to your body’s curves to provide comfort and support. Once you’ve had your mattress for too long, the materials and technology that makes up the mattress starts to break down and as such, no longer provides sufficient support to your spinal alignment and body as a whole.

However, your mattress usually deteriorates slowly over time, so it’s actually hard to know when it’s time to replace it due to wear and tear internally, but aches and pains are certainly a potential sign. Once the support your mattress is supposed to provide starts to dissipate, those aches and pains, usually felt in your neck, shoulders, lower back and hips are some of the first signs that you need to start looking to buy a new mattress.

Visible Sign of Wear and Tear

This one’s a little more obvious to the eye, but could still be missed, especially if the damage has been caused on the underside of the mattress. Visible wear and tear can present itself in many different ways, here are some of the most common examples of visible mattress wear and tear.

Sagging

Mattress sagging where you can visibly see and feel a dip or crevice in your mattress due to the surface sinking is one of the biggest wear and tear signs that it’s time to replace your mattress.

This is usually due to the foam materials and springs within the mattress softening over time due to the continued exposure to body pressure, night after night. It’s often an unavoidable side effect of usual wear and tear.

Visible Tears and Rips

Another side effect of general wear and tear, however tears and rips in the mattress surface can also be caused by improper handling and even your bed frame itself.

For example, tears can be caused by accidental damage when moving your mattress or by using it on a bed frame that’s not providing adequate support to your mattress. Your bed frame should be constructed from quality materials, sturdy (not wobbling or creaking under pressure) and the centre of the bed frame should provide the right amount of support to make sure your mattress doesn’t sag in the middle.

It Feels Uncomfortable

If you’re starting to feel your mattress’ interior materials whilst laying on it or when you rub your hands across the surface of the mattress, it’s certainly time to buy a new one.

Your mattress should be comfortable at all times and if you’re feeling any springs digging into your back or hard lumps on the mattress surface, it’s a clear sign that your mattress is too damaged and you’re at risk of it impacting your sleep quality.

Allergies or Asthma Get Worse

Are your allergies getting worse, but it’s not allergy season? Or are your asthma symptoms increasing, especially throughout the night? These could be tell-tale signs that your mattress needs replacing. But what’s potentially causing those symptoms to get worse? It could well be either one or a combination of the following…

Dust Mites (and their faeces)

One of the biggest culprits when it comes to your allergies or asthma symptoms getting worse due to your mattress, is the presence of dust mites and their faeces.

Dust mites are tiny critters that love to live in warm, moist environments, which makes your mattress (and other areas in your bed) the perfect location for them to thrive. They feed on the skin particles we shed and suck water from our exhaled breath and sweat. Although the mites themselves are absolutely harmless, the same can’t be said for their faeces.

Dust mite faeces have been known to cause respiratory problems and allergic reactions to people who suffer from allergies and the reaction can range from moderate to severe in some cases. Older mattresses are more likely to be harbouring dust mites and their waste products, so it may be best to look to replace your mattress if your symptoms have gotten worse, especially if it’s showing any of the other signs featured in this guide.

Mould

Mould can be a fairly common occurrence around the home, from bathrooms and kitchens to window panes and the backs of furniture like wardrobes and drawers. It thrives in dark, warm places with excess moisture. This moisture is usually caused by condensation, humidity or in more extreme cases, water leaks.

Mould pores can start to form in as little as 24 hours in these circumstances, so it’s easy to see how quickly it can start to spread around your home and become a problem. Unfortunately due to the circumstances in which mould thrives, your mattress is a prime location for mould growth.

Mould can cause allergy symptoms to get worse such as itchy skin, wheezing, coughing and scratchy throat, whilst asthma symptoms can also be exacerbated too. Mould growth is more likely on older mattresses due to the build up of moisture, dust and all kinds of organic matter over time.

You can help to keep dust mites and mould at bay by regularly cleaning and preventing situations like those that can cause mould growth especially from happening. Our cleaning guide can help to keep your mattress in tip top shape for longer to help prevent any allergy symptoms from getting worse.

You’re Having Trouble Sleeping

If you’re generally having a harder time sleeping, it could point towards the need for a new mattress on the horizon. Disturbed sleep night after night can of course be caused by a wide range of things, such as stress and overthinking to medical conditions and medications, but your mattress not providing you with the comfort and support it once did, is a common reason.

Not getting enough sleep has such an effect on our day to day lives, not only does it cause reduced concentration, a decrease in your mood and potentially even more struggles to sleep (causing a vicious cycle), it can also eventually lead to more serious complications in your life such as depression, diabetes and even a heart attack. So it’s super important that your mattress is providing you with the support and comfort you need.

However you may not even notice that your mattress is the root cause of the problem. One thing to look out for (or you could even purposefully run this experiment if you find yourself in this situation) is if you find yourself having a better and more pleasant sleep on a different bed, such as at your parents’ house or in a hotel. This could be a big sign to start looking for a new mattress.

Your Mattress Is 8 Years Old or More

This one’s a lot easier to know more or less straight away and if it’s the case, then the search for a new mattress is probably due. Whilst different mattresses have different lifespans, for example a foam latex or gel mattress can last around 10 to 15 years and a memory foam mattress can last up to 10 years if properly rotated, these lifespans are all subjective to their use, how much they’ve been cared for and are generally the best case scenarios.

Investing in a quality mattress is imperative to ensure continued support and comfort for as long as possible, but even so, it’s generally recommended that you replace your mattress every six to eight years or so. But of course, if you reach the eight year mark and you’re not experiencing any of the adverse effects that we’ve covered in this guide, you shouldn’t just automatically look to replace your mattress.

Listen to your body, inspect your mattress for visible defects and if you’re happy with your mattress performance, maybe hold off on the search for a new mattress, even if you’ve reached the eight year milestone.

Do What’s Right For You

It’s important to stress that some of the signs in this guide don’t automatically point towards the need to replace your mattress. Remember a lack of sleep can also be put down to life events or certain medications too, whilst aches and pains could have been caused by an injury or could be temporary due to sleeping in an awkward position overnight.

It’s important to listen to your body and further investigate the situation and your mattress before starting the search for a new mattress. However all these signs could very well be attributed to your mattress’ condition, especially if you’re experiencing more than one of them at once.

Hopefully our guide pinpointing a variety of tell tale signs that it might be time to replace your mattress has been of use to you. If you’re unfortunately experiencing any of these signs and you want to kick start your search for a new mattress, look no further than Magna Beds. We have a wide range of supportive mattresses to choose from, with different materials and firmness levels to suit various sleep types all available in our collection.