It feels great to wake up feeling refreshed each morning. So anything that will help you accomplish this is worth researching. In this article, we’ll consider whether a latex mattress topper will help you get the quality night's sleep you deserve, to give you that refreshed feeling every morning.
Benefits Of Latex Mattress Toppers
A mattress topper is a great way to change the feel of your mattress, without buying a new one. Take a medium-firm or firm mattress, add a soft topper, and you can get both excellent support and plush softness.
A latex mattress topper is a great way to upgrade to sleeping on natural latex, with a budget, especially if you want to get a few more months out of your old mattress. It’s a great way to sleep on latex before you commit to a natural latex mattress.
A soft mattress topper can be especially important for side sleepers, who tend to put pressure on one hip, shoulder, elbow, and knee in the night. This can lead to a lot of discomfort on especially firm mattresses. A latex topper cushions your body, taking the pressure off these pressure points.
Since toppers come in different widths, they can be a nice compromise for partners who sleep in the same bed. If one partner wants firm support, and the other needs more cozy softness, you can buy a twin xl topper, and put it on just one side of a king-sized bed.
Another good reason to buy a topper is to reduce motion. If one partner in a couple moves around or gets up a lot at night, a latex topper can reduce motion, so one partner waking up won’t disturb the other. Some pet owners also find this helps them sleep through their pets’ habits of snuggling in and bounding up throughout the night.
Why Buy Latex?
Latex is a comfortable and healthy way to get cushioned support to sleep on.
100% natural latex is made from hevea milk, which is simply the sap of the rubber tree tapped, whipped, molded, and baked into shape. This process introduces no unwanted chemicals and it is the healthiest sleeping surface. Natural latex also resists microbes and dust mites naturally.
When buying a natural latex mattress topper, make sure the topper bears 100% natural certification, and contains no added chemicals or fillers. Synthetic latex can be diluted by other chemicals, including petroleum-based oils.
Latex toppers are very durable. If you’re putting a latex layer on top of a box spring or memory foam mattress, your latex topper will outlive the mattress itself.
Latex Toppers vs. Memory Foam Toppers
Latex lets you sleep at a more comfortable temperature. Lying down on a latex mattress topper could mean you don’t wake up overheated anymore. Natural latex has an open cell structure, with ventilation and air flow, allowing you to sleep cool and comfortable. Memory foam mattresses tend to trap and retain body heat and they are known for sleeping hot.
Compared to memory foam, latex won’t give you a sinking feeling. Latex doesn’t “bottom out” into the mattress underneath like memory foam toppers. Some customers buy their toppers specifically to reinvigorate old mattresses. A memory foam topper can sink so deep that you find yourself effectively lying on the old mattress, which defeats the purpose.
If you wake in the night and want to change positions, a memory foam topper might leave you struggling to get out of the deep indentation your body left in the memory foam. Natural latex, on the other hand, is springy, supportive, and resilient. It’s easy to move around on, and get up from.
For more information on how latex and memory foam compare, see our article Latex Mattress vs. Memory Foam Mattress.
Latex Toppers vs. Down Toppers
The contents of a down mattress topper tend to bunch up and form knots, which must be removed and shaken. Latex mattress toppers are free of this kind of weekly maintenance. Also, down toppers provide little or no additional support for your joints and back.
Latex is buoyant, a bit like floating on water. When you lie down, a latex topper supports your hips, back, shoulders and knees, and then holds comfortably without sagging or flattening.
You can test this by pressing your hand into a latex topper, leaning your weight into it, and then letting go. Latex springs back to its original shape almost immediately.
This springy quality also happens to make a latex topped mattress look very neat and even when made. That might not be the main reason you get one, but it’s a nice bonus.
How to Adjust the Feel of a Mattress with a Latex Topper
Whether your mattress is brand new or a few years old, medium and thick latex mattress toppers can remake the feel of your mattress.
If your mattress is too firm, a two-inch latex mattress topper can add a soft layer to the top of a firm mattress, while still retaining the supportive “bones” of the mattress. A three-inch topper can make the whole mattress feel soft and luxurious, almost like sleeping on an entirely different bed.
If your mattress is too soft, a medium or medium-firm latex topper might add support. However even a firm topper will conform somewhat to the mattress underneath, so sometimes you can’t avoid shopping for a new mattress.
If you do end up needing a new mattress, that’s no problem —your topper will also add comfort and protect your new mattress.
Which mattress topper is right for you?
In this post we’ve talked about the advantages of latex mattress toppers. We’ve also compared them to memory foam and down toppers. We think natural latex toppers have a the best features:
- Cool, breathable material
- Buoyant, springy support
- Long-lived durability
- 100% natural, with no added chemicals or fillers
Please feel free to browse our latex mattress toppers; many customers have found that sleeping on latex makes for many years of comfortable, healthy sleep.
