How to Make a Firm Mattress Softer: 8 Fixes

If your mattress feels too firm, the fix that actually works is adding a soft mattress topper — usually two to four inches of memory foam, latex, or down alternative laid directly on top. Before spending money, though, rule out the two free causes: a new mattress that hasn't broken in yet, and a foundation that's adding firmness you're blaming on the mattress. Below are eight ways to make a firm mattress softer, ordered from free to most expensive, plus the things people try that don't help.

Why your mattress feels too firm

"Too firm" usually comes from one of four places, and knowing which one you're dealing with keeps you from buying the wrong fix.

It's still new

Foam and latex comfort layers are compressed in the factory and need regular use before they settle into their intended feel. Most mattress makers ask for a few weeks of normal sleeping — not a couple of nights — before you judge it.

Your foundation is doing it

A mattress only feels as forgiving as what's under it. Put a foam or hybrid mattress on a rigid platform with no give, or on the floor, and it reads firmer than it would on a slatted frame.

Your sleep position doesn't match the firmness

Side sleepers need the most give at the shoulder and hip, since those two points carry most of your weight on your side. A mattress that feels fine to a back sleeper can feel like a board to a side sleeper at the same firmness level. Weight matters too — lighter sleepers sink in less, so the same bed reads firmer to them.

The room is cold

Memory foam and latex are temperature sensitive: in a cold bedroom, foam is stiffer when you first lie down and softens as it picks up your body heat. If your bed feels hard in January and fine in July, that's why.

8 ways to make a firm mattress softer

1. Sleep on it a few more weeks (free)

If the mattress is less than a month old, give it time before changing anything. Sleep on it nightly rather than alternating with another bed, and use the whole surface instead of one spot. This is the most common reason a new mattress feels wrong.

2. Add a mattress topper

A topper is the one option that reliably changes how a firm mattress feels. Material and thickness are what matter:

• Memory foam gives the most contouring and the most noticeable softening. It cradles the shoulder and hip, which is why side sleepers tend to prefer it.
• Latex softens the surface without the sinking-in feeling. It's more responsive and easier to move on.
• Down or down alternative adds a plush top layer that feels luxurious immediately, but compresses more over a night than foam does.

As a rule, two inches takes the edge off a mattress that's slightly too firm; three to four inches is what you want if the bed feels genuinely hard. Thicker than four inches starts working against you — you lose the support underneath and your fitted sheets may stop reaching. You can compare materials and thicknesses in our mattress toppers collection.

3. Check what's under the mattress

Pull the mattress off and look at the base. Many foam and hybrid mattresses are built for slats no more than about three inches apart; wider gaps let foam dip between slats. A solid plywood platform or the floor removes all the give from underneath, while a slatted frame lets the mattress compress more. Swapping a rigid base for a slatted one is cheaper than a topper and sometimes solves the problem outright.

4. Rotate the mattress

Rotating 180 degrees head to foot moves the broken-in area under a different part of your body. It won't turn a firm mattress soft, but it helps if the spot where you sleep has stayed stiffer than the rest.

5. Warm the room up

If the problem is worst on cold nights, raising the bedroom temperature a few degrees or adding a blanket on top of the bed (not under the sheet) lets foam layers reach their intended softness faster.

6. Try the other side, if the mattress has one

Some mattresses are built two-sided, with a firmer feel on one face and a softer feel on the other. If yours is one of them, flipping it changes firmness instantly. Check the law tag or product page first — flipping a one-sided mattress puts the support core on top and makes things worse.

7. Fix your pillow before you blame the mattress

A pillow that's too tall on a firm mattress pushes your head forward and makes the whole setup feel harder than it is, because your shoulders can't settle. On a firm surface you generally want a lower-profile pillow than you would on a plush one.

8. Use your sleep trial

If you've tried the above and the mattress is simply firmer than you want, it's the wrong firmness for you. Toppers patch a small mismatch; they don't fix a mattress that's two or three levels too firm for how you sleep. Every mattress we sell comes with a 120-night sleep trial, long enough to get past break-in and know for certain.

What doesn't work

• Walking on the mattress. You'll compress foam unevenly where you stepped, and it can void a warranty.
• Bending or folding it. This can permanently damage coils and foam layers.
• Putting it on the floor. That makes a mattress feel firmer, not softer, and restricts airflow underneath.
• Stacking blankets under the fitted sheet. They bunch and shift within a night or two.
• Waiting a year. If a mattress hasn't softened after two or three months of nightly use, it isn't going to. Beds that keep softening past that point are usually breaking down, not breaking in.

How soft should your mattress actually be?

Before adding a topper, it helps to know what you're aiming for. As general guidance on the standard 1–10 firmness scale: side sleepers usually do best in the soft-to-medium range, where the shoulder and hip can sink enough to keep the spine in line; back sleepers tend to land at medium to medium-firm; stomach sleepers generally need firmer, since a soft surface lets the hips sink and arches the lower back; and combination sleepers usually prefer a medium, responsive surface that's easy to move on.

Our mattress firmness scale guide walks through the numbers, and if you've decided you want genuinely soft rather than slightly softened, what a plush mattress actually feels like is the better starting point. If you're waking up with pain that doesn't improve, that's worth raising with a doctor rather than solving with bedding.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take for a firm mattress to soften?

Most of the change happens in the first few weeks of nightly use, and a mattress is usually settled into its real feel within a month or two. If it's still too firm at the two-month mark, add a topper or use your sleep trial.

Will a mattress topper ruin the support of my mattress?

No, as long as you're reasonable about thickness. A two- to four-inch topper changes the surface feel while the mattress underneath still does the supporting. Much thicker and you start sleeping on the topper instead of the mattress, which can leave your hips unsupported.

Does a mattress pad make a mattress softer?

Barely. Pads and protectors are thin and built to protect the mattress, not to change its feel. For a real difference you need a topper.

Can I make just one side of the bed softer?

Yes. Buy two twin XL toppers instead of one king topper and use a different one on each side — the simplest way to handle two people who want different firmness in the same bed.

Is a firm mattress better for your back?

Not automatically. The widely accepted guidance is that the right firmness is the one keeping your spine roughly neutral in the position you actually sleep in — for many people that's somewhere in the medium range rather than at either extreme. For ongoing back pain, talk to a healthcare provider.

Still not sure? Come lie on a few

Firmness is the one thing you can't shop for by reading. Ten minutes on your side on three different mattresses tells you more than an afternoon of research. Our Glendale showroom has beds from Brooklyn Bedding, Titan, Malouf, and King Koil set up so you can compare soft, medium, and firm back to back.

Every mattress comes with a 120-night sleep trial, so you have time to get past break-in at home, plus free delivery and setup across Los Angeles, a 90-day price match, and 0% APR financing. Browse all our mattresses online, or stop by the showroom and let us point you at the right firmness instead of guessing.