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Information on a Memory Foam Bed - What is memory foam, and why does it make a great bed?Memory Foam Bed and Mattress Info What is a memory foam bed, and why does it make a great night’s sleep? Memory Foam is:Memory Foam is the common name for a material that is technically referred to as visco elastic urethane foam (aka Visco memory foam mattress). Urethane foam is of course the material we are all familiar with as padding and cushioning in all kinds of products from football helmets to furniture. Viscoelastic refers to a property of the foam. Webster defines viscoelastic as "having appreciable and conjoint viscous and elastic properties. Viscosity is the property of resistance to flow (in a fluid) or to change shape. Just like honey or syrup. Elasticity is the ability to return to an original size or shape after being deformed by stress. When a material, such as a Visco foam mattress, has a high degree of viscoelasticity it will return to its original shape (elasticity), but will do so slowly (viscosity). If you ever played with a Stretch Armstrong doll, that is a viscoelastic material and so is a Visco foam mattress. More Visco memory foam mattress info: Why does a memory foam bed make a great night’s sleep?So, what does this mean for you? It means that when you sleep on memory foam pad or a memory foam topper, you will be more comfortable. But why, you ask? You sleep better on memory foam topper and a memory foam pad because of two factors, reduction of pressure points, and excellent support. First, consider pressure points. Pressure points are exactly what they sound like. A point on your body, that contacts your bed in a small area at high pressure. Pressure points are uncomfortable and they cut off blood circulation in the area of the pressure point. And they make you toss and turn. Memory foam helps to distribute your weight over a larger area of your body so that the pressure at any one point is much lower. Doesn't regular foam do the same thing? Yes, but not nearly as well, because regular foam has the same kind of elastic property as memory foam, the more you compress it the harder it pushes back. This means that with regular foam you can suffer from pressure in the areas that your body compresses it the most. For example, your hips and shoulders would be pressure points on a hard foam bed. But because of memory foam's much higher viscosity (like syrup, remember) it is almost as if the bed is sculpted to your exact shape. Therefore, your weight is distributed to the bed better, pressure points are reduced, and you sleep better. Doesn't a waterbed or a soft foam bed do the same thing only for a lot less cost? Yes, as far as reducing pressure points it does, but that raises the question of support. If a bed doesn't do a good job of supporting your body in proper spinal alignment, you will still be uncomfortable even without pressure points. For example, a rope hammock feels very comfortable (for a little while) because it spreads the load of your body weight over the entire area of the hammock, and causes almost no pressure points, but it also gives no support to keep your spine aligned. So, after sleeping in a hammock most people are stiff and sore (a few people, mostly the very young, can sleep anywhere). Beds made of non-viscoelastic materials have to have a very thick layer of soft material in order to prevent pressure points, and like in a hammock, your body sinks down in the middle into the soft padding and isn't well supported. Even memory foam won't give you proper support by itself, which is why all high quality memory foam beds have some kind of support system inside of them. Without proper support your body sags into the bed in the middle, and you wake up sore and stiff. Until memory foam came along there were pretty much three choices in sleep systems:
But now with the technology of viscoelastic memory foam becoming more accessible the best beds are getting even better, and really excellent beds are affordable. Isn't technology great? |
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