What is Best Mattress Topper for Dorm Twin XL – Guide

I remember the first night in my dorm room; I was filled with the joys of my first day at college. The biggest joy was the horrible mattress they gave me. It felt like some kind of joke, a joke on the new guy.

The best way to solve this issue is to get a Mattress Topper for your Dorm Room Twin XL Mattress.

Mattress Toppers have changed quite a bit since my first night in my college dorm. I wish I could have had the stuff we have now back then. You also have quite a bit more to choose from too.

Firm or Soft

The first thing you need to do is decide if you want your dorm mattress to be firm or soft. If the mattress sags when you sleep on it, then you ought to consider a soft topper. If the mattress feels like a rock, then a soft topper is needed.

Make it Softer

If you want your mattress softer, then a topper might not do. A Mattress Pad might work better. They do have some toppers that can make a mattress softer, just pay attention to the density of it (the denser it is, the firmer it is to sleep on.)

A Mattress Pad can make a firm mattress soft again. I’m personally a fan of Wool Mattress Toppers/Pads* as they make it softer but also keeps your bodies temperature regulated. Wool is great at keeping you cool when it’s hot and also warm when it’s cold.

Make it Firmer

If you need to make your mattress firmer than a Memory Foam Mattress Topper will work. Memory Foam Toppers are pretty much everywhere.

You can go to your local department stores and find so many of them. This is actually a problem.

Combined with many styles and types you can never really know if you’re getting the best topper for you when you’re shopping at a department store.

The best thing to do is go online and see the reviews on the topper and see what others are saying.

When looking at a Mattress Topper, I recommend looking closely at…

  • See what everyone is saying about it sleeping hot. A GEL Mattress Topper will sleep cooler than other memory foam toppers.
  • How thick the topper is. If you’re a side sleeper or have hip, shoulder or even neck pain, then you might want to get a topper that is 2 to 4 inches thick.
  • If you’re a back sleeper, then you want a topper that has a good density. A 1 to 3-inch topper will work just fine for you so long as it has 3 to 4 lbs of foam density.
  • Pay attention to “off-gassing” or “chemical smells.” Only buy toppers that are made in the USA as they have more strict standards for what chemicals they use. Don’t worry if you get a topper that does smell; it will go away after a couple of days. I even have a post here about how to get rid of the smell quickly.

What works for one person will not work for another person. I recommend you go through each topper and see which one best suits your needs.

What Size is a Dorm Mattresses?

The average size of a Dorm Mattress is a Twin XL.

If you’re in your dorm and able to measure the mattress then a Twin XL measures 38″ X 80″. If you don’t have a tape measure (and who would in college?) then just measure with a dollar bill. A $1 bill is about 6.14 inches long.

Since a Twin XL is 80 inches long, then it should measure about 13 – $1 bill long. If it measures 12 – $1 bill long, then it’s just a regular Twin mattress.

Cool right! Who knew a dollar bill could be used as a measuring device?

I know we live in a world where people use fewer dollar bills, so if you have a credit card, then it is under 3.5 inches long.

Try This?

A mattress topper is great and all, but if the mattress they gave you is old then a topper will only go so far. If you can, ask them for a new mattress.

An even better idea is to ask them if you can bring your own mattress. The best way to go about this is to buy a mattress online like the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress* as it comes shipped in a box. This box will make it easy to transport it into your dorms.

Plus buying a new mattress online is very affordable compared to buying one at the mattress stores. Then once you buy it, you have embarrassing lung it through the dorms. A mattress you buy online and is compressed in a box is so much easier to deal with it.

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