A quality futon can be as comfortable as a regular mattress. A futon is a type of cushion or mattress, and futons are valued for their versatility. Unlike a standard mattress, futons are very flexible, and are often used as cushions on frames that can convert between a sofa and a bed. Futons are designed to be slept on instead of a mattress. Sleeping on one regularly, though, may or may not be a good idea depending upon your circumstances and the particular futon. Futons In the past, futons were the standard for sleeping in Japan and are often still used today due to their convenience. These flexible mattresses can be folded up and stored easily, leaving space for other activities. A standard bed with a frame can't be put away so easily, and so a space must be reserved specifically for the bed. While Japanese futons and American futons are similar, there are some differences. Japanese futons tend to be much thinner and are designed to be laid on the floor, while American futons are thicker and typically laid over a frame.
Sleeping Well The quality of your bed directly affects the quality of your sleep. Using a firm mattress gives good support to your back, reducing back pain. According to the Cleveland Clinic, putting a mattress on the floor is not a harmful way of increasing the firmness of your mattress. Futons are typically firmer than traditional mattresses because they are designed to be put on the floor, and so using a futon on the floor can potentially be good for you. However, as a solution to chronic or severe back pain, a futon is probably not the best idea as other mattresses can conform better to your body. Comfort The construction of your futon is an important factor in how well you'll sleep well on one. If you tend to sleep on your back, a thinner futon is better and will give more support. If you tend to sleep on your side, a thicker futon is essential for cushioning your body. Futons can also be made from a variety of materials. Cotton is the traditional material for a futon, but modern futons can be made from foam or polyester, which offer good support and are more resistant to mold than other materials.
Futons and Health True futons are designed to be used as regular bedding, the same as a mattress. There is nothing to suggest that sleeping on a futon regularly is bad for your health so long as you have enough cushioning to support your body comfortably. However, purchasing a quality futon makes the difference between a good night's sleep and one spent tossing and turning. Futons designed for cheap furniture, such as that intended for a dorm room, aren't going to give proper support for your back. It's important to use a futon that is made with quality materials if you plan on sleeping on it nightly. /Getty Images Suggest a Correction Related to Back Pain Soft Bed or Hard Bed for Back Pain? Study Gets Mixed Results, but More Find Soft Bed Slightly Better for Back Pain April 3, 2008 -- If Goldilocks had lower back pain, she'd still prefer the bed that was just right. It's one of the most common questions back pain patients ask. Which is better -- Daddy Bear's hard mattress or Mommy Bear's soft one?
Kim Bergholdt, DC, of Denmark's Funen Back Center, and colleagues tried to find an answer. They randomly assigned 160 patients with lower back pain to sleep in one of three beds for one month. When the truck pulled up to the patients' houses, it delivered either a hard futon, a water bed (Akva brand), or a body-conforming foam mattress (Tempur brand). Akva and Tempur sponsored the study, although Innovation Futon provided the harder beds. Unfortunately, many of the patients assigned to the water bed never started the study -- they did not want to sleep on a water bed. And many of the patients assigned to the futon quit the study before it was over. The large number of dropouts -- and the failure to stratify the patients according to the cause of their back pain -- makes the study hard to interpret, says Robert Molinari, MD, associate professor of orthopaedics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Among patients who did finish the study, slightly more preferred the water bed or the body-contour mattress over the hard futon.
Even so, there were patients who said they felt better after sleeping on the hard bed as well as patients who said they felt worse after sleeping on the softer beds. That's no surprise to Molinari. "We really don't understand why, but some patients respond better to hard mattresses and some to soft ones," Molinari tells WebMD. "There are very few studies lending support to one mattress over another." So what does Molinari recommend? Exactly the same method Goldilocks used -- trial and error -- to find the bed that's just right. The Bergholdt study appears in the April 1 issue of the journal Spine.The requested URL /?p=759 was not found on this server.Add a Mattress Topper You'd probably add a mattress topper to a regular mattress, so why not take the same route when trying to make a futon bed as comfortable as possible? Check out traditional egg carton-style foam mattress toppers, or see whether a mattress topper made of luxurious memory foam might be your best choice.
Slip your mattress topper inside the futon cover, or layer it on top of the mattress, and cover both the futon mattress and the topper with a fitted sheet to hold everything together. Add Supports Under the Futon Mattress Sometimes the best way to make a futon comfortable is not to add something on top of the mattress, but to support it from underneath. Sofa sleepers of all kinds, including futon beds, often could use a little extra support, so consider adding wooden bed slats to provide firmness and prevent any sagging in the middle of the mattress or around the edges. Change Your Futon Mattress A comfortable futon mattress can make all the difference when you want a good night's sleep. Futon mattresses come in different thicknesses, with thicker mattresses obviously being more comfortable. However, take a look at the material making up the mattress as well. Foam mattresses hold their shape over time better than cotton ones do. If your mattress has to fold up when you turn your futon bed back into a sofa, make sure that your new mattress fits your sofa in its folded form.
Add a Featherbed to the Futon Mattress Bring the best of multiple cultures together when you combine your Japanese futon with the European tradition of a featherbed. A featherbed is like a down comforter that you sleep on top of rather than pulling it over you at night. Usually a featherbed is divided into sections to keep the down from migrating to one side of the bed or the other, and it adds a blissful layer of softness and warmth between you and your futon mattress. Layer Comforters on the Mattress Another way to add comfort to your futon sofa is to be literal about it, and turn to a comforter. Whether you prefer the airy lightness of down or opt for a down alternative to avoid any possible allergies for your overnight guests, layering comforters on top of your futon's mattress can give you that extra layer of cushioning that makes all the difference. An extra benefit of this method is that, if two people are sharing the futon bed, you can customize the extra padding to the preference of each of your guests.