How can I make my sleeping (read crappy-futon) experience more comfortable?

December 17, 2006 2:09 PM

Comfortfilter: Help me sleep better- My futon is old, lumpy and I am currently too broke to replace it.

My boyfriend and I share a double futon that is just killing us.

We went so far as to dismantle the structural part of the futon and now sleep with the mattress on the floor. This solved the problem of the beams crooking our backs, but we find that even on the floor, we wake up sore and unrested.

I assume this is because the 'ditch' in the mattress that forces both uncomfortably into the middle. Not to mention other lumps and humps.

I've tried heckling it, I've tried jeckling it and I've flipped, turned and jumped on the matress at great length.

What will help us be more comfortable, save buying a whole new bed? Is there some way to loosen and manipulate the innards of the matress? Some crazy pillow technique?

Any advice appreciated!

posted by sunshinesky to Home & Garden (20 answers total)

Ditch the mattress and sleep on the floor. I did, for two years.

Best bed ever.
posted by popcassady at 2:12 PM on December 17, 2006

Ditch the mattress and sleep on the floor. I did, for two years.

Best bed ever.

Absofreakinlutely! I started sleeping on the floor 3 years ago due to laziness and no desire to go out and buy a mattress. I use a very thin (~1 inch), inflatable camping pad I bought years ago for 20 bucks. I love it, amazing, it can however seem a bit odd to people who aren't expecting it. You get used to it real quick though.
posted by Science! at 2:23 PM on December 17, 2006

Maybe try putting a really thick mattress pad on it?

I also bet you could find a good quality futon mattress for under $100 if you check around a bit.
posted by Octoparrot at 2:26 PM on December 17, 2006

Thirding that. When I lived with my best friend from high school for a summer we slept on the floor. Drove her parents crazy. They eventually bought her a big fancy double bed when she went for her second year at college. The bed stayed home and she slept on the floor at Vassar too. I kind of miss sleeping on the floor sometimes. But only sometimes.
posted by bilabial at 2:27 PM on December 17, 2006

I've slept on the floor from time to time too, and it's surprisingly not-uncomfortable. However, if you're intent on having a bed maybe you can buy a cheap egg-crate pad from Target and see if that makes the lumps and bumps easier to tolarate. My college roommate swore by her egg-crate pad.
posted by christinetheslp at 2:49 PM on December 17, 2006

I don't recall ever being comfortable on a futon mattress. Get rid of the hateful thing and put a mattress pad on the floor.

Personally I would not go for another cheap futon. If you don't mind sleeping on a used real mattress, people do sell them for not too much money.
posted by bobobox at 2:52 PM on December 17, 2006

If you go the floor route a quick search came up with this other AskeMeFi
posted by rus at 3:07 PM on December 17, 2006

If you have them, a couple sleeping bags opened out flat and layered on the floor, or on the futon mattress.

You also may be able to trade the futon to a used and close-out furniture company in exchange for even a cheap mattress, which may be better.
posted by The Deej at 3:09 PM on December 17, 2006

see also
posted by shoesfullofdust at 3:25 PM on December 17, 2006

I had a lumpy futon for a year before it was replaced with a less-lump futon. The best solution I came up with was thick blankets (the type typically used as comforters) piled up as mattress pads. Better than egg crates for making the bed less lumpy, though adding an egg crate on top of THAT would make for a softer bed.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:40 PM on December 17, 2006

keep checking Craigslist. Someone is always giving away an old mattress.
posted by any major dude at 4:36 PM on December 17, 2006

air mattress. I bought one a Target. I think it is better than my real bed.
posted by nimsey lou at 4:53 PM on December 17, 2006

I had the same problem. Get some eggshell cushions (I think that's what they're called...they look like brown foam egg cartons). Get one or two of them and put them under the sheet. Mine was ~$15 at target. Saved my back.
posted by milarepa at 4:55 PM on December 17, 2006

I got this mattress pad for my lumpy-futon-on-the-floor, and it's now supercomfy.
posted by logic vs love at 5:10 PM on December 17, 2006

Air mattress and and some eggcrate... shouldn't cost you anymore then 60 bucks for a queen.
posted by bigmusic at 5:34 PM on December 17, 2006

Ugh air mattresses are horrible. Especially anything bigger than a twin - always flipping over when you get up!

Ditto on checking CL religiously.
posted by radioamy at 6:20 PM on December 17, 2006

The problem with futons is that they are made from cotton, and that they invariably 'pile' into a lumpy mess.

Save and scrimp for the highest quality mattress you can buy, new or used (you'd be surprised how cheap a $2K mattress can sell for only 2 or 3 years into a 10-15 year lifespan on CL).

Remember you spend how much % of your life sleeping, you might as well make it comfortable sleep!

Sleeping on the floor is fine for camping, but come on, you have a life to live!
posted by scooterdog at 6:56 PM on December 17, 2006

I got some plywood cut and put it between the mattress and the futon. It really helped with the bars digging in, and gave the bed some rigidity so it wasn't prone to dipping in the middle. So far it's worked well.
posted by SBMike at 9:08 PM on December 17, 2006

Aerobeds in queen-size are available for under $100. You can use the crappy mattress under it to insulate you from the floor.
Once you have the funds to buy a new mattress for real, the aerobed can be used for guests or for travelling to friends' houses.
See this thread to read positive aerobed experiences.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 9:15 AM on December 18, 2006

maybe you could try padding the dip in the futon, from the bottom. fold a couple blankets or a sleeping bag into a long pad that's the same height as the ditch in the futon (and the same length as the futon itself). place them under the futon to shore up the ditch in the middle. adjust it until the futon is flat-- you should be able to sort of taper out the width of the pad so it makes the top of the futon level, not humped. does that makes sense?
posted by twistofrhyme at 11:25 AM on December 18, 2006