Indistinguishable from the floor.

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.

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’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.

20s: It’s great!

30s: My back!

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

But its terrible to just relax/hang out on

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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.