Nanocarbons in a unique spring-like helical structure were prepared by a simple and low-cost flame combustion method to act as active and conductive nano-springs in constructing a mattress-like graphene-based paper as a flexible freestanding electrode. As the electrode is applied in a supercapacitor, it simultaneously exhibits high activity, cycling and mechanical stability owing to its unique structure. At a working current density of 0.2 mA cm(-2), the areal capacitance of this electrode is as high as 1.07 F cm(-2), which is 228% higher than that of the electrode without the helical interlayer. In addition, the capacitive retention of the electrode reaches 93.02% after 1000 charge-discharge cycles at a current density of 2 mA cm(-2), and it can remain at 81.22% even if the electrodes are bent 120 degrees in a symmetrical supercapacitor. Such a preparation route is simple and effective, which makes it a promising method for fabricating general spring-like nanomaterials for high-performance wearable electronic devices. (C) 2017 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.