What It Is, Why It Works, And The 5 Key Things To Look For When Buying A Memory Foam Bed Or Topper. While memory foam was developed for NASA in the 1970's, it didn't hit the consumer market until the early 1990's - first as memory foam mattress topper pads, and later used in memory foam mattresses. Since then, memory foam mattresses have become the fastest growing segment in the mattress industry. With every year, you see more and more companies selling memory foam mattresses and topper pads, and it is very difficult, even for those of us in the industry, to keep up with all the new memory foam products being introduced. What is a consumer to do? 1. Brief History Of Memory Foam And Why Not All Memory Foam Created Equal - Some Just More Comfortable And Sleeps Cooler Than Others 2. How To Choose Between Different Memory Foams 3. What To Look For In A Memory Foam Mattress Or Topper, And When You Might Need To Get A New Mattress In this guide, I'm going to do my best to give you the straight story on what memory foam is, how it works, and what to look for in memory foam (density and quality, memory foam toppers versus memory foam mattresses, etc.).
Armed with the information, I hope you are able to find just the right memory foam mattress, topper pad, or other product that fits your needs. Where the mattress industry so often sells on hype about latest greatest technology, I wanted to concentrate on actual, verifiable information when putting together this guide. So before we go into the details about memory foam, I thought it was important to first look at the bottom line -- how does memory foam compare to standard innerspring mattresses for comfort. And what is great about the internet is that these days you can cut through the hype to see the actual data on this -- real reviews, by real folks, trying out the mattresses in their own homes. And while it was hard to get this kind of objective information back in '94 when I was first starting out selling memory foam after it helped me with my back pain, in 2014 all this information is now at your fingertips, literally. While comfort is subjective, what is no longer subjective is that certain types of mattress are just more comfortable than others.
And you don't have to take my word for it, or any other mattress retailer. The numbers don't lie. Based on over 22,000 real people's mattress experiences, the meta site Sleep Like the Dead found that in analyzing this information that memory foam mattresses received the highest level of customer satisfaction of any mattress type at 81%. In contrast, only 64% of innerspring owners said they were satisfied. That is a huge difference, and shows the simple reason why memory foam has gained such popularity -- it delivers comfort in a way that far surpasses the standard innerspring mattress. Where did memory foam come from and what gives memory foam its unique comfort properties? It is an interesting story and starts with the space program. But these days there are lots of different foamers making memory foam, and while they are all referred to as "memory foam", they have different formulations and in terms of comfort and sleeping cool memory foams are definitely not created equal -- which I will cover in our next section.
Next > Brief History of Memory Foam, And Why Not All Memory Foam Created Equal - Some Memory Foam Is Just More Comfortable And Sleeps Cooler Than OthersReacting to your body temperature, memory foam changes its shape to provide greater support and more comfort than any other mattress. It's man-made and is technically described as (are you ready for this?!) visco-elastic, temperature sensitive, slow recovery urethane foam. You'll understand why we prefer to call it memory foam! Just calling memory foam 'a visco-elastic foam' might not leave you any the wiser, so think of memory foam like this: memory foam is both viscous AND elastic, it has both properties. You are probably familiar with the quality of elastic, you’ll know viscous too. Honey, for instance, is a viscous material. It’s the viscous property of memory foam, that honey-like property that resists your weight and it’s the elastic property that sees to it that your Dormeo Memory Foam Mattress returns to its original shape.
The visco-elastic (or it can be all one word: viscoelastic) quality is temperature sensitive, which helps the mattress material respond to your body. This is one of the reasons an early adopter of memory foam mattresses was the medical profession, with memory foam being a particularly common fine in European hospitals. Made from cotton, your Dormeo memory foam mattress is pleasant to touch and healthy to sleep on. Dormeo memory foam mattresses come with a cotton cover with hypoallergenic, antibacterial (SANITIZED®*) and dust-mite protection. Dormeo memory foam mattresses are breathable because the unique cell structure of the mattress core allows for great ventilation. Dormeo memory foam mattresses are made from ecologically sound, fully recyclable materials. The cotton cover of your Dormeo memory foam mattress is impregnated with SANITIZED® protection, which protects against dust mites, fungi and bacteria. This makes Dormeo memory foam mattresses especially suitable for people with asthma or allergies.
The layer below the mattress cover also contains hypoallergenic silicone wadding that provides additional protection against bacteria and allergens. Memory foam is a well-recognised mattress material now, but it hasn't always been the case. The material originated back in 1966 as a development by NASA. Not necessarily part of the Space Programme it was developed to help improve the safety of cushions on aircraft. The foam, which was temperature sensitive, was initially referred to as ‘slow spring back foam’ and was created by pumping gas into a polymer matrix. It all sounds tremendously scientific, but essentially means that the pressure in the cells in the foam made it spring slowly back to its original shape! Like many NASA developments, the potential for the commercialisation of memory foam wasn’t missed. The material was initially considered far too expensive for general public use and was used in hospitals – for both people and animals! Supporting precious injured race horses was an often unknown early use.
NASA launched memory foam to the world in the 1980’s, but there were few companies willing to work with the material initially. Memory foam continued to be used in the medical world, particularly with immobile bed-ridden patients who were at risk of developing pressure sores. Memory foam was extremely effective in preventing this problem. As the cost of memory foam dropped, its popularity and use increased and it found its way into wheelchair seats, pillows, and mattress toppers, even as a memory foam pillow for people with chronic neck problems. A relatively simple concept, the benefits of memory foam make it one of the most welcome additions to our world, courtesy of the scientific development at NASA. At Dormeo we are a pretty happy bunch, because we sleep on Dormeo mattresses. For us it’s quite easy to recommend our products to others because we all sleep on them. We know them, use them and enjoy the benefits. So why should you tolerate poor sleep? Find out how Dormeo can help eliminate the most common causes of a lack of sleep.
Back pain is not something only elderly people suffer from. It’s can affect anyone, and it usually starts to take hold around the age of thirty. People often fail to connect the pain in their back with their mattress. Sleeping on the right mattress helps contribute significantly to preventing or even eliminating neck, back and hip pain. Dormeo mattresses are designed to give you a firm foundation of support for the spine, joints and tendons, while the soft, cushioning top layers of memory foam accept your body and allow blood to circulate, so you wake up with fewer aches and pains. Allergies and interruptions to your sleep can be triggered by allergens such as dust mites, mold, fungi etc. Exposure to dust mites can really cause an increase in your symptoms, causing shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing. The most common place for dust mites to live is in our beds and pillows. That’s why all Dormeo mattress covers are infused with CleanEffect® treatment, offering anti-bacterial and anti-dust mite protection, ensuring your mattress stays clean and odour-free for a healthier night’s sleep.