What Size Mattress for a Teenager – What Works The Best?

The most common size mattress for teenagers has been a Twin Xl, but this is not the best size to go with. A queen size mattress is ideal for teens and beyond.

A queen size mattress allows a teen to grow with the mattress and they’re less likely to grow out of it. You don’t want them to outgrow a twin and then turn around and buy a queen a few years later.

There is a lot of other reasons why you should consider getting your teen a queen size mattress and we want to cover them in this post.

Got to be Affordable

The biggest reason why so many parents often go with the Twin or a Twin XL is that of the price. Price these days have dramatically changed due to memory foam coming on to the market and the internet.

Now you can buy affordable memory foam mattresses online and come out better then if you went to a mattress store. Online stores have less overhead because they don’t have retail stores to support. These cost savings get passed to you.

Another interesting thing is that the queen size is the most picked size for all of the mattress world. This means they make a lot more than any other size and when there is a bunch of something, then prices get better. I’ve seen some queen size mattresses go for cheaper then Twin XL mattresses. Sometimes they’ll make too many queen size mattresses, and they have to sell them off, and prices drop when that happens.

From the looks of it, we know that it’s best to buy a memory foam mattress and to buy it online. But which one do you pick? If I had to pick a good affordable memory foam mattress, I would go with the Zinus Memory Foam 12 Inch Green Tea Mattress here*.

Some benefit of memory foam is that it better supports the body than a spring mattress. Can be shipped to your doorstep in a compressed box that makes it easy to move it to the bedroom even if it’s in tight spaces. The best part is buying it online you can see reviews from real people before making your decision which is more useful than a mattress sales guy “saying it’s good.”

Teens Are Sleeping Less

A study here shows teens are getting less sleep than they were 20 years ago. Many blame Facebook, Smartphones, and other internet related activities.

But if your teen doesn’t have a comfortable bed that fits their size then how could they ever get enough sleep? If you give your kids a secondhand mattress that is over 5 to 7 years old then you’re not helping the issue. A worn out mattress makes for worn out sleep.

Growing up this is what my parents did to me, and I’m sure it was normal for many of you too. But you got to admit that you did not like that bed, but you didn’t know any better. So why would you do the same to your kids?

This brings me to my next point…

Sleeping on the Sofa

It was normal to get a used mattress from family or friends growing up. I’m sure like many of you the mattress was fine… at first… but you might have had issues falling asleep.

I had these sleeping issues and I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room. I loved sleeping on that couch because it slept better than my bed. If your kids end up sleeping on the sofa and like it then that might be a sign that their mattress is not working for them.

There were times I remember sleeping on the floor during a camping trip and thought that was better than my bed at home, now that’s saying something.

If that sounds like your kids then it’s time for a new mattress, but there’s a catch. I found that I like the sofa because it was soft and a memory foam mattress was the closest thing that would match the cushions feel.

If you want your kids to make the transition back to a regular bed, then get them a memory foam mattress as it will feel the most like the sofa.

Moving Out

It’s going to happen; the kids will move out. Money might be tight for them, but they’ll find a way. One way to help them now is to get them the best size mattress.

Get your teens a queen size mattress, so when the time does come to move out, they’re already got a good footing on the bed thing.

It may sound odd but I’ve seen other teens or “adults” make fun of a roommate in college because they have a tiny kid mattress. It seems childish to others to have a small twin or twin xl mattress when you move out.

The best way to know it’s time for a queen size mattress or an adult mattress is when your teen either starts to drive or pay their own bills. The sooner the better, but these are good points to know when it’s time.

If your teen keeps their room messy, there is no better way to get them to clean up then getting them a new bigger bed. If you want the bed to fit in your room, you’ll need to make room for it by cleaning up. Most teens will be more than happy to agree to this if they’re having trouble sleeping.

Tip: Let’s be honest, teens can be nasty at times. If you want the mattress to last then get a mattress protector like this one here*. A mattress protector is an affordable and straightforward way to keep the mattress lasting and void of stains.

Block Internet

If your teenager is having trouble sleeping then getting a new mattress preferably in the queen size will help with this. But just like the article above one of the biggest factors is their use of the internet.

Too much blue light (playing on the iPhone) can keep you from falling asleep https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-light-before-bedtime-bad-for-sleep/

What you can do is on many modern wifi routers is turn off wifi after a particular time. Many of our devices are useless without the internet. Some of the wifi devices can even disable the internet for certain devices if you want to keep using it.

Controlling the internet usage can help them fall asleep because they’ll have nothing better to do. https://www.lifewire.com/ways-to-kid-proof-your-internet-parental-controls-2487714

If getting up at a particular time is more of an issue then look into light alarm clocks. They simulate the sun coming up and trick our bodies into waking up without having to scare you awake like other alarm clocks. The light can be more annoying and persistent and can annoy anyone awake. I’ve seen home automation doing this with the lights in the room to slowly turn on to wake a person up.