Related to Sleep Disorders Memory Foam: Pros and Cons Considering a memory foam mattress or similar product? Read what sleep experts say about it. Few things feel as good as a good night's sleep. That's especially true if sleep seems to escape you, night after night after night. If you've heard about memory foam, you may wonder if it could improve the quality of yoursleep. Some people swear by it. Others are less enthusiastic. What exactly is memory foam? And what are its pros and cons? Here's information to help you decide whether memory foam is worth a try. What Is Memory Foam? First designed in the mid-1960s for NASA airplane seats, memory foam is made from a substance called viscoelastic. It is both highly energy absorbent and soft. Memory foam molds to the body in response to heat and pressure, evenly distributing body weight. It then returns to its original shape once you remove the pressure. In addition to protecting against impact, these properties make memory foam very comfortable.
After its "virgin flight" for NASA, memory foam made a foray into other applications. For example, it was used as cushioning in helmets and shoes. Medicine found a use for it in prosthetics and products to prevent pressure ulcers such as seating pads for people who are severely disabled. Then, memory foam really took off. It's now well known for its use in pillows, mattress pads, and mattresses, which come in different densities and depths. What Are the Benefits of Memory Foam? Could the special properties of memory foam enhance your sleep? Sleep specialist Donna L. Arand, PhD, says that objective studies supporting the claimed benefits of memory foam -- or the effects of any particular type of sleeping surface -- are lacking. This is true for a variety of reasons, she says. This type of sleep study can be expensive, if conducted independently. Or it is "chased" by a shadow of bias, if supported by industry. Also, some sleep technology, such as memory foam, is relatively new, so it hasn't been well studied.
But perhaps one of the more difficult stumbling blocks to testing the health benefits of mattresses such as memory foam is the subjective nature of sleep. It is simply difficult to measure. Sometimes the brain's electrical activity, measured with an electroencephalogram (EEG), and other findings recorded during a sleep test don't always match up perfectly with a person's subjective experience, says Arand, who is the clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Dayton, Ohio. "They might say, ‘I had a great night's sleep,' but the EEG parameters might not really indicate that." Sleep is not only subjective, but preferences for sleep surfaces are individual, Arand says. "There's quite a bit of variability between individuals in terms of what type of surface -- whether it's firm, hard, or soft -- they prefer when they're sleeping," she says. "As far as we know, there is no rhyme or reason for that." Many of Arand's patients who use memory foam have offered unsolicited glowing reports like these about memory foam: "I'm sleeping great."
"Best sleep I've ever had." "I love going to bed at night." Arand says these anecdotal responses may be one-sided. That's because she and other staff don't ask all their patients about their sleep surfaces. "We may only be hearing the good stuff," Arand says. Kathy R. Gromer, MD, sleep specialist with the Minnesota Sleep Institute in Minneapolis, agrees that memory foam may improve sleep. "It can, if it relieves painful pressure points," she says. But Gromer adds that memory foam doesn't do anything for sleep apnea or other sleep-breathing disorders -- and sleep disorders are the primary complaint of most her patients. "When you lie on the memory foam, the heat from your body softens it in appropriate points," Arand says, "so this helps to support your body along the curves and natural lines of the body." Memory foam manufacturers claim this helps relieve pain and thereby promotes more restful sleep. And, though consumers often believe that very firm mattresses are best, more "giving" mattresses like these may lead to better sleep in people with back pain, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Although there aren't scientific data to support the hypothesis, Arand wonders whether memory foam sleep surfaces might be especially helpful for older people. For them, minimizing extra movement could reduce the number of times they awaken during the night. Being less aware of a bed partner's movements might be an extra benefit, she adds. "Without the coiled springs, you feel your sleep partner's movement less, and that might help, too." What Are the Disadvantages of Memory Foam? Gromer says that memory foam products may retain body heat, which could make them less comfortable in warm weather. However, Arand has not heard this complaint from her patients. "In our culture, most people can adjust their thermostats or blankets for the appropriate season," Arand says. When new, memory foam can produce an odd chemical smell -- a phenomenon called offgassing. To minimize this problem, the Sleep Products Safety Council, a sleep products trade group, recommends airing out the mattress or pad for at least 24 hours before putting sheets on it.
"If you follow directions, the smell dissipates quickly," Arand says, "But I've never heard of anyone having reactions to it." Are Memory Foam Products Safe for Young Children? "I would strongly recommend avoiding this and similar very soft materials for use in infants' beds," Gromer says. "That's because soft bedding traps [carbon dioxide] and increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths."Beating Back Pain with a Memory Foam Mattress Back pain is an epidemic in the US, with up to 85% of people experiencing back pain at some time in their lives and half of American workers reporting back pain in a given year1. Because so many people have back pain, quite a bit of money is spent on trying to solve it - up to $50 billion per year on doctors, workers’ comp, and lost wages, according to the National Institutes of Health2. The causes of back pain are numerous, including occupational stress, health, lack of exercise, overexertion, posture, and even sleep position and mattresses.
What Do Mattresses Have To Do With Back Pain? We spend around one-third of each day in bed, ideally, so it makes sense that what we sleep on and how we sleep can have a considerable effect on our bodies. When your body is asleep, there are many processes occurring. The muscles of the back need to rest and the spinal column needs to decompress to resolve daytime tension. If your lower back is unsupported while sleeping, the muscles remain tense. Positions that do not preserve natural spinal alignment prevent decompression. These two factors together can contribute to back pain, and exacerbate daytime causes of pain. Memory Foam Mattresses & Back Pain Memory foam material reacts in a way that differentiates it from other types of mattresses. It is called “visco-elastic” because has viscous traits that allow it to contour in response to temperature and pressure, and elastic because it returns to its original shape once pressure is removed. On a mattress, this viscosity allows the foam to contour to your natural body shape, rather than forcing your body to adjust.
The full-body contouring also supports your lower back, allowing the muscles to fully relax and release tension. In contrast, when sleeping on a firm innerspring bed, you can sometimes see or feel a space between your lower back and the mattress, meaning your lower back is not supported. Other types of beds like air mattresses and waterbeds can have the opposite effect; they may allow heavier areas like your hips to sink in further than the rest of your body. Referred to as “hammocking”, this creates an unnatural reverse spine curve since your upper body and legs are higher than your lower back. Sleep position also plays a role in back pain relief and prevention. Sleeping on your back with a pillow beneath your knees, or on your side with a pillow between your knees, are considered the best positions for reducing pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. Stomach sleeping is considered the worst for back and neck pain, though it is recommend to place a pillow beneath the pelvis to reduce some of the strain3.
Because memory foam contours to your shape, all types of sleepers can find comfort on memory foam, though side sleepers will need slightly thicker memory foam layers in order to cushion hips and shoulders. Choosing the Right Memory Foam Mattress for Back Pain Relief If you are looking for a new mattress to relieve back pain, here are few points to keep in mind: Medium-Firm mattresses tend to rate highest for pain relief in professional sleep studies.4 Consider your body shape, and make sure the upper layers (the actual memory foam) are deep enough to contour to you. 3-4 inches is good for most people; petite people may do well with 2-3 inches; larger people may be more comfortable with 5-6 inches. Make sure the memory foam is dense enough to provide lasting support, but not so dense that firmness becomes an issue. The medium range between 4.0-5.5 lbs is often considered ideal for support and pressure relief. An adjustable bed can also help with back pain relief, and partners well with memory foam.