Asklemmy

20s: It’s great!

30s: My back!

Indistinguishable from the floor.

If you have any kind of back issues I wouldn’t recommend it, though there are certain kinds that can benefit from a harder mattress.

In general though, poor sleep in relation to your sleeping place is due to an unsuitable mattress for your weight and sleep preferences. I also recommend sleeping in a cool and well circulated room, it will improve your sleep quality tremendously.

Hi OP,

I think it might be useful if you added a photo or a link to an image of a similar futon to what you have in mind. I've seen the word take different meanings in different countries and skimming through the comments... Well I didn't know there were Japanese futons. Sounds like they are completely different from the other futon types I heard.

I've slept on the couch style futons. YMMV and it depends a lot on the size, hardness of the couch and your prefences. I wouldn't say they're any better than beds on average.

I like the futon for several reasons.

• When you aren't sleeping, it folds neatly and you can tuck it in your closet, making the room more spacious and easier to clean.
• You can move it easily to give it sunlight so the UV will kill bacteria, allowing you to wash it less frequently.
• If you have tatami flooring it's very comfortable, the smell is wonderful, and it helps you sleep better (sadly hard to get outside of Asia).
• If you move during your sleep, there is zero chance you will fall off the bed and hit your face.
• When comparing it to a western bed with a frame, it is cheaper than even the crappiest IKEA bedframe that will squeak with every movement and break when having too much fun with your partner.

I've slept on futons (thick, dedicated bed futons, not the couch/bed combo) basically all my life, I personally think they're fantastic. Reading these comments it seems like the sort of thing that either really works for you or really doesn't--I am fairly tall and have a back that loves to complain, but it gets along swimmingly with my futon.

Cheap, thin futons are a nightmare though. Even nice futons tend to be cheaper than most traditional mattresses, so it's never worth cheaping out if you don't need to.

I found the important thing was to keep it dry and well-aired. If you lay the futon directly on the floor, even wooden and/or carpeted, the heat from your body will cause condensation, and if you don't let the futon air out by rolling it up, it will go mouldy. In Japan, futons are laid on tatami mats, which I imagine would cause the least condensation, and rolled up every day as a matter of course. I found it increasingly annoying having to deal with the futon every morning, especially in the winter when there was more condensation and it was harder to keep the futon completely dry. I like a firm mattress, but no more futons for lazy me.

I have do it for one year with bad result because when someone say futon forget to mention what kind of room you want to have a futon. I placed mine on marble floor, cold and hard, in a little room with no space to breath, where I wake up sometimes with a cockroach on my face. I did not suffer backpain because I was younger but maybe neither because it was soft, still bad experience for the above listed things. Who plan to sleep on futon wants a medium size room with a window and a wooded floor.

Every time I’ve slept on a futon has been a bad idea. Especially the ones that have been a ‘couch’. The indentations in the material from that are annoying. More so when there are cratered patches. Overall would not recommend. But maybe I wasn’t sleeping on the right futons…

I assume you mean the Japanese thick blanket futon and not the American fold out bed futon?

I slept on a futon in Japan for two years. It was a couple of months before my body got used to it, but I was still turning throughout the night due to sore shoulders.

I can't imagine sleeping on one without a true tatami flooring, since in essence it's part of the bed.

My son says, "A futon is a very honest piece of furniture. It has F U right in the name."

I've slept on one for 20+ years and they really work for me and my wife. Our current one is a platform bed with a futon matress from https://www.thefutonshop.com we got it in 2015 and it has lasted well. I'm sure there are other nice ones available.

If you need to fold it into a couch get one that folds in the direction that you lie in which keeps the lumps under control. If you don't need to fold it, you can get a thicker mattress which will still be very firm.

If you sleep in it all the time, flip it over every month or two. Alternate between flipping it long ways and sideways.

Get a frame, even being a couple of inches off the floor gives it some air.

The biggest minus for me is that I'm so used to it all hotel/guest beds are too soft now.

We have one in our guest room too and have gotten more compliments than complaints FWIW.

It takes some getting used to, but I actually really like sleeping on a futon.

But its terrible to just relax/hang out on

I have slept on one for around a year in the past. It was relatively cheap, but with a frame.

It was generally fine. A lot firmer that the mattresses that I have slept on most of the time otherwise, and I think that I do prefer a softer option overall, but it was still perfectly comfortable. I did find that I needed to remake/rearrange the bedding much more often than on a bed: fitted sheets didn't work with the futon, which was the main cause.

I would sleep on one again for a limited period without issue, but wouldn't be happy if I had to have one permanently from now on - or, at least, I would want to put in a good deal of research on the range of types available.

I love mine and have tatami underneath. Well it got ruined actually and now I just use a boxspring topper and that's fine too.

I have had 3 futons. There is a big difference in comfort and longevity based on their inner materials.

Like anything between you and the ground, paying more is generally a good investment.

My back (which has had several surgeries) is happiest on a futon but that’s generally because we used a frame vs placing it on the floor.

I had a futon in my 1st apartment as a couch, and a mattress on the floor in my 2nd apartment. All I felt were the springs in the futon. I definitely prefer the mattress on the ground any day.

I had 2 American style futons through most of my 20s. One had just a normal cheap futon mattress, and the other was basically just a normal mattress that has the ability to fold up. As a daily sleeper, it's way too much effort to fold it up and down everyday, and after a few weeks I just accepted that I was only going to use it as a normal bed and rarely folded it up except for special occasions. The first mattress left my back sore everyday, but the second was very comfortable to the point that I used it as my mattress for a while after switching to a normal bedframe. All in all, I got a better sleep on a normal bed. I still have my old futon in my office that I use as a couch and a spare bed for guests, but I wouldn't go back to it as my main bed

I had a nice futon with a sturdy frame and spring mattress/cushion. It was comfortable enough, but I don't know why you'd choose one over a bed unless you live in a studio apt.

I sleep on a futon, but placed in an ikea bedframe. I love it, way better than any mattress I've tried. Both my partner and I have a preference for sleeping on a firm surface. When we need to get a new one, we'll still get a futon, but get a frame designed for a futon.

Don't do it. Slept on futons for years and it ruined my back. Only after switching to a proper ~~materace~~ mattress (and bed with it), I started to heal my back. Proper ~~materace~~ mattress is a worthy investment.

After a year of sleeping on one, I wanted to introduce it to an air-to-surface missile. Mattress is the only way to go.

Quite nice, actually. Some of my best sleep was on a futon.

Tried it in Japan.

Heavily disliked it.

Been using this futon mattress for half a year - best sleep I've ever had.
Keep in mind though that this is coming from someone who is fine sleeping on two folded up blankets 😅

With a good mattress, it's fine. Issue is has and will likely always be it's not long enough for a fully extended me. Currently sleeping on a sectional couch and plan to change to a futon when I get the chance.

Reading more about why you're asking, the experiences are likely due to leaving it in couch mode and nestling down into the middle groove. That added side support is very comfy.