Best Mattress Toppers for Dorm Rooms imageCollege students often need more than just bed sheets when going off to school. Students staying in dorm rooms often find themselves faced with lumpy, uncomfortable mattresses that are hard to sleep on....Read More about Best Mattress Toppers for Dorm RoomsMemory Foam Mattress with an Electric Blanket (or Electric Mattress Pad) There is no safety problem such as flammability with a decent memory foam mattress or topper (as contrasted with one of the cheap egg-crate type foams). Memory Foam Durability with Added Heat There seem to be two schools of thought on using heated mattress pads with memory foam. Some people say the memory foam mattress won’t support the bodyproperly if it is extra warm. Tempur-Pedic® states on their web site that they do not recommend using electric blankets or mattress pads because the “exposureto direct heat over extended periods of time can cause damage to the TEMPUR material”. Tempur-Pedic® further suggests that if at bedtime your mattress is too cold, try turning up the bedroom thermostat for twenty to thirty minutes before going to bed.
Once you are in bed, the mattress will warm up quickly in response to your body heat. If you do choose to use an electric blanket to warm your mattress before bedtime, we recommend that you turn it off after 30 minutes to avoid overexposing the TEMPUR material to high heat. My personal opinion - not supported by rigorous objective testing Several years ago, I myself spoke to the Technical Director at another one of the memory foam mattress manufacturers and he told me there would be no problems. I tend to believe this version because I personally have slept on a memory foam mattress with heated mattress pads for about six years now and I do not notice any problems. In fact, during cold weather, my personal opinion is that the support and comfort actually work better due to the extra warmth and I didn't like the "cold brick" feel. And I definitely do not want to increase my house temperature. One of the major benefits of heated bedding is to save money and energy by heating only the bed, not the whole house.
Since some memory foam manufacturers say no and some say yes, you will have to make the final decision whether to go with the heated pad on the memory foam. Sorry we couldn’t be more scientific or definitive. Carries ALL MODELS of the Award WinningSAFEST Heated Blankets andMattress Pads fromSoftHeat Low VoltageUL Says: SoftHeat'sSafe & Warm TMtechnology uses"Non-Hazardous Class2 Low Voltage" 1. Before You Buy – A MUST Review: the Lead Page of the Buyer's Guide offering: Major considerations before your purchase; Links to all of our Reviews and Ratings sections 2. Ready to Buy? If you want to see a list of retailers carrying each of the major brands of Heated MATTRESS PADS this year, click Heated Mattress Pad Retailers OR for Heated BLANKETS, click Stores Selling Electric Blankets. The Electric Blanket Institute’s Consumer Guide and Blog text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 3.0 United States License. For any reuse or distribution you must make clear to others the license terms of this work.
The best way to do this is with a link to this web page. This information has been developed over many years of testing and is presented freely for educational use only and without any warranty of any kind. It is not a substitute for the safe usage practices of your individual product. See our Policies Page for other information including advertising and affiliate linkage. Sorry, all information presented applies only to products sold in the United States. We cannot help with other products.A few years ago we saw the introduction of the gel memory foam mattress into the bedding industry. Some thought these new incarnations of the old would be the future of the industry. Though these mattresses do sometimes fair better than their gel-less counterparts in some areas, they share several faults.If you think developments in mattress technology are keeping pace with computers, mobile communication devices and other rapidly changing industries, you are absolutely right. While it is an exciting time to buy a new mattress, the vast amount of choices available can make it an overwhelming endeavor without the proper knowledge base to make good decisions.
What are the advantages of a gel memory foam mattress? How is memory foam better than a spring mattress? These are the important questions that need to be asked when considering the best path to a good night’s sleep. There are many options available on the market. With the advent of latex foam, plant-based memory foam, and now the memory foam gel mattress, consumers can experience analysis paralysis.Often when faced with staggering amounts of information, people stop processing it. That can lead to a poor decision and less satisfaction. To help you with your decision and decrease the likelihood of regretful purchase, we have done some analysis for you.It can be tempting to buy the newest version of a product on the market. People often equate newness with value, but newer technologies often have bugs to work out. Mattresses do not escape this reality. Products that have been on the market for awhile are more likely to have been tested by a large number of people and, hopefully, improved.
Newer products do not have this advantage.Memory foam gel mattresses hit the market in 2011 and have quickly become a favorite among many consumers because they embody some of the best aspects of memory foam, including the highest level of comfort available. The gel-infused nature of these mattresses goes a step further by adding extra support while attempting to address one of the biggest drawbacks to standard memory foam – heat retention.Because memory foam contours to the sleeper’s body and disperses weight across the face of the mattress a highly desirable floating-like effect is created that provides total support and comfort. But it also tends to trap heat in ways that traditional mattresses do not, and that has been a problem for some users.There are basically two types of gel memory foam mattresses. The first has gel infused throughout the top layer of foam and the second has a layer of gel near the surface. Both of these types do seem to alleviate the heat problem slightly better than traditional foam mattresses, but there are still complaints from overheated customers.
While gel mattresses may feel cool when you first touch them or lay on them, many consumers find after being in contact with the material for a few moments the hot feeling returns. That is because the gel manufacturers use is conductive. It takes on the temperature of the surrounding environment. Once warm, they feel warm.Buyers should know, while gel infusion may have improved the sleep quality of standard polyurethane-based memory foam mattresses slightly, it is not necessarily the best method available for addressing body heat retention. Without the aid of gel, other manufacturers have found ways to keep the heat off sleepers.Innovative brands like Amerisleep have been broadening the appeal of memory foam with plant-based products. In addition to being healthier and more environmentally-responsible, plant-based memory foam mattresses have been found to sleep considerably cooler than gel-infused products manufactured by leading brands.And that’s not just Amerisleep making baseless claims to drive sales.
The cooler-sleeping qualities of plant-based memory foam were revealed in a two-year study conducted by Cargill – a nearly 150-year-old producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products. Cargill’s research found plant-based memory foam dissipates heat at a rate that is 25 percent faster than gel-infused products.Generally, traditional memory foam mattresses have a closed-cell structure, which means they have millions of tiny pockets of air trapped throughout the material. These pockets act as insulation, just as it does in foam coffee cups and the in the walls of some buildings. It is a perfect material for trapping heat, but very poor at releasing it.Amerisleep’s innovative foam has a much more open structure. This allows far more airflow. As air passes through the mattress, it carries heat with it. This is how these plant-based memory foam mattresses stay so cool, without the use of gels, which are often composed of unnatural chemicals.Plant-based memory foams typically produce far fewer Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and don’t off-gas as much as most traditional and gel memory foam mattresses.
This off-gassing can be more than just an offense to the olfactories, it can cause adverse health effects. Many gel and traditional memory foam mattresses need to be aired out in a well-ventilated space away from living areas prior to use.It makes sense that a material made from more natural products would contain less hazardous materials. Consumers looking to purchase from more environmentally responsible companies can receive the added benefit of a virtually smell-free, low-VOC sleep system.Remarkably, these more natural beds cost much less, too. Consumers seeking a cooler alternative to traditional memory foam mattresses would do well to keep plant-based mattresses at the top of their list. They are more environmentally friendly, healthier and cooler than gel memory foam mattresses. At a far lower cost, these mattresses are a great value.Making a big purchase on a long-lasting item can be a difficult undertaking. Take these facts with you as you shop for a mattress. If you are seeking a memory foam mattress that is much cooler than traditional memory foam, gel can offer a slight edge, but plant-based memory foam may prove even more effective.