Need box springs for a modern mattress? (2025)

You’re probably familiar Simple wooden frame with a box spring that acts as a support base under the old bottom mattress. Not a highly technical device like a smart bed (or a trampoline, that’s not fun). This type of mattress foundation continues through age only due to its simple and durable design. But have you ever noticed that you may not see them that often these days?

In my opinion as a carrier mattress tester, modern mattresses are moving forward to make this addition of furniture obsolete. However, this does not mean that it will automatically be launched from a mattress setup scenario. Unpack what the box spring is really, why you may not need it, and where it can set you and your mattress for success.

For this article, I rely on my own expertise. Spencer Institute– Certified for Sleep Science Coach and Mattres Techstar for 5 Years, and CEO of 3Z Brands (Manufacturers of Helix, Nolah, Bear and Leesa) and founder John Merwin Brooklyn bedding.

Box Spring Backstory

Mattresses at the time were not current, and their time frame ranges from the earliest repetition of mattresses to 50 years ago today. Support, for example, was pretty bad. Think about the bed completely Filled with hayand often, it’s something you had to work with. Box Spring was intended to alleviate its lack of support with its introduction The late 18th century.

Carvings depicting coiled spring mattresses, feathers and feathers, feathers and spring mattresses show similar sized feathers and spring mattresses. The manufacturer also recommends “not carrying pests or dirt.” (Photo: Universal History Archive/Uig via Getty Images)Universal History Archives/Getty Images

Box springs include a wooden frame or base that contains inn coils or has coils set on top of the base. In many cases, fabric casings are involved. This is an intentional design choice. This is because the coils of the box springs spring to come into contact with the mattress. The wooden frame has slats that ensure that there is no sagging around the center of the bed, while providing basic backup to the coil.

Looking back at the age of Ye Old Mattress, if the era before the mattress in the box was something (It was 2004to be precise), box springs were the main furniture that comes with mattresses. Over time, Box Springs evolved to support certain types of mattresses, namely, traditional inn coils.

“Traditional coils are often called bonnell coils and have been used in mattresses for generations,” says John Marwin, CEO of 3Z. “They are designed in the form of hourglass with thinned top and bottom to provide a combination of support and flexibility.”

But why does this coil type require a box spring in the first place? Ultimately, it ended up making sure the sleeper was really fully supported. Traditional coils are “designed to provide a combination of support and flexibility, but because these coils are connected by a network of wires, they tend to move individually as units rather than as units,” says Merwin. “This relies on box springs or foundations to provide adequate support and absorb shock.”