What's the purpose of the box springs under a mattress?

[Spacemom]

I know this is a weird question, but I'm wondering what it actually does. I'm thinking of getting rid of the box springs and just putting my mattress directly on the floor. Isn't this how the japanese sleep?

[henslee]

1. Raising your matress a little off floor might keep bugs, dust and the cold

at bay. I suggest some thick plywood cut to fit (panels) elevated with bricks or something.

[leftofthedial]

2. box springs are designed especially

to increase mattress makers' profits and to make it harder to move or to rearrange your furniture

if you read the fine print on the "Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law" tag on your mattress, you'll see that you are prohibited by law from putting your mattress directly on the floor. In fact in US vs. Schnitz, Judge Alito wrote a decision that extended the "no mattress on the floor" principle to include anything that might reasonably be considered to be "like what the Japanese do."

Most people don't know that.

[Spacemom]

3. Thank You

You've cleared things up so nicely. :rofl:

[leftofthedial]

7. glad I could help.

[Ptah]

5. Featherbed? n/t

[Gormy Cuss]

4. It's also a support system.

It allows the mattress to move up or down based on the weight at each point rather than compressing under the weight and that makes the mattress last longer. Japanese mattresses are constructed differently and specifically for placement on a more rigid surface.

Sleep on a mattress on a platform bed or the floor and you'll feel the difference immediately. The mattress will last quite a while on the floor or a platform in my experience -- it may break down a few years sooner but it's not as if it will be a lumpy mess in a year.

[Deja Q]

6. Sounds kinky.

:bounce:

[Gormy Cuss]

8. That would be the way to test the limits..

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[Christa]

9. To make it more expensive

believe me. I worked in a furniture store where we sold mattresses as well. We were told that the mattress will last longer if it placed on a solid, hard surface, like the floor, for instance. But the mattress companies do not want it to last so long - duhhhhhh - so they came up with this solution to make more money, and to have a quicker turnover.

[Spacemom]

11. I figured it was something like that

I've been thinking about putting my mattress on the floor for a while now. It just seems like it will create a more calm sleeping area. If that makes sense. :D

[crispini]

10. I slept with my mattress on the floor for a long time.

Still do, actually, but now I have a futon. Still, it does, at least in my experience, make it harder. If you don't mind a very firm sleeping experience, you should be ok.

[GirlinContempt]

12. Japanese mattresses are actually

futons

[GirlinContempt]

13. Box springs make the mattress springier