Be the first to reviewsusan greenfield and her girlfriend Llina Kempner couldn't wait for their new memory-foam mattress top to arrive. For months, they'd heard friends rave about how the high-tech material molds itself to your body. But when they unwrapped the three-inch-thick pad in their Manhattan apartment, they noticed a strong, acrid odor. "My nose and my lungs were miserable," recalls Greenfield. For the two nights Kempner slept on the mattress top, she felt nauseated. After Greenfield, who is chemically sensitive, had an asthma attack in the middle of the night, the couple returned the mattress pad. But its stench lingered in the apartment for weeks.Reactions like Greenfield's are relatively rare, but you, too, might lose some sleep when you find out what's really inside your mattress—memory foam or not. The place where you spend one-third of your life is chock-full of synthetic materials, some potentially toxic. Since the mid- to late '60s, most mattresses have been made of polyurethane foam, a petroleum-based material that emits volatile organic compounds that can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation.
Formaldehyde, which is used to make one of the adhesives that hold mattresses together, has been linked to asthma, allergies, and lung, nose, and throat cancers. And then there are cotton pesticides and flame-retardant chemicals, which can cause cancer and nervous-system disorders. In 2005, Walter Bader, owner of the "green mattress" company Lifekind and author of the book Toxic Bedrooms, sent several mattresses to an Atlanta-based lab. A memory-foam model was found to emit 61 chemicals, including the carcinogens benzene and naphthalene. There is no proven health risk from the substances in mattresses, however, mostly because tracking their long-term effects is virtually impossible. Heather Stapleton, an environmental chemist at Duke University, says there's simply not enough data to determine whether low levels of these chemicals will eventually make people sick. "It's the dose that makes the poison," she says. "If they're not getting out, maybe it's not a problem—but we don't know.
There are plenty of lab studies that show that these compounds are harmful. It's just a question of what levels people are exposed to." Still, more and more consumers are seeking out mattresses made of natural latex, organic cotton batting, and organic wool. Sales of California-based Vivètique's latex mattresses have increased by 40 percent annually for the past five years—they now comprise 45 percent of the company's total sales. And they are even sold by discounter 1-800-Mattress. It's hard to say whether you should ditch your conventional bed in favor of a green one, since you'll likely have a tough time figuring out exactly which toxins are lurking under your covers. Take, for example, fireproofing chemicals: Pentabde, a member of the polybrominated diphenyl ether (pbde) family of flame retardants, was used in some mattresses before 2004, when it was phased out. (Pentabde is now known to be toxic to the liver, thyroid, and nervous system.) So let's say that just to be on the safe side you toss your pre-2004 mattress and buy a new one.
Last July, the Consumer Product Safety Commission began to require that all mattresses sold in the United States be able to withstand 30 minutes of exposure to an open flame. Mattress makers aren't using Pentabde anymore—but it's not clear exactly what they are using to meet the new standard. Major manufacturers such as Simmons, Sealy, and Tempur-Pedic won't divulge their flame-retardant formulas, which are considered trade secrets. A Simmons press release touts a "proprietary blend of char-forming, intumescing, flame-resistant components." Tempur-Pedic vaguely states that its products "consistently meet all safety standards." A best guess at what's in today's mattresses comes from Ryan Trainer, executive vice president of the International Sleep Products Association, an industry group. He says most companies use "various types of barrier fabrics" such as cotton treated with boric acid or rayon treated with silica—both relatively benign chemicals—as well as fire-resistant materials such as modacrylic fiber (which contains antimony oxide, a carcinogen) and melamine resin (which contains formaldehyde).
With a doctor's prescription, people who are chemically sensitive and have allergies can order a mattress that doesn't pass a flammability test. But organic-mattress companies have found a simple way to fireproof: wrapping their bedding in a layer of wool. Their prices aren't so warm and cozy—a queen-size latex model from Virginia-based Savvy Rest starts at $1,599. But if you're having nightmares about your mattress, and it's time to trade in your well-worn Posturepedic anyway, it might be worth it. Susan Greenfield was a fan of organic mattresses even before the smelly memory-foam pad showed up—she's slept on one for 15 years, says she "loves" it, and describes it as "very comfortable but very hard." Hey, whatever helps you sleep at night.Love-Making On Visco Foam Mattresses Deciding which type of mattress is best is a difficult task. Allergy potential, lifespan, maintenance, back support and comfort are all very important when making a decision. But there's another factor to consider, equally important but less discussed openly among consumers: is a visco memory foam mattress good for having sex?
The best way to decide that is by going through a home mattress trial. Visco memory foam mattress technology is great because it provides good spinal support, reduces tossing and turning during sleep, is firm, yet cushioning, has a lifespan of more than 10 years and requires little maintenance. Sounds like a great mattress, despite its high price. Consider this scenario, though. Let's say you are in a stable relationship, having a perfectly healthy sexual life. You decide to buy a Tempur-Pedic mattress, you pay for it, bring it home, set it up and get your first night's sleep on it. Wow, everything seems to work perfectly. Until the next night. When you first have sex with your partner on the new Tempurpedic mattress you realize something is not working quite like it should. The truth is that viscoelastic foam has a unique feel that makes sex different. There is also a chance you will not be able to enjoy sex on it like you did on other mattresses. This is what you should know about having sex on a memory foam mattress (or memory foam topper):
Benefits of Having Sex On Memory Foam One of the advantages of making love on a Tempur Pedic mattress is the fact that you will be able to practice all kind of contorted positions without fearing that one of your legs will go numb. Since memory foam contours your body, there will be no uncomfortable position caused by pressure points to keep you from letting your imagination run wild. Have you seen those old American comedies where a stupid teenager tries to secretly have sex with an older girl, but the bed makes so much noise that the whole neighborhood can hear their every move? Well, let's just say that if they were making love on a Tempur Pedic mattress, no squeaking sound would have left the teenager's bedroom. An innerspring bed bounces back at you, helping you acquire rhythm and speed. But it also wastes a lot of your energy and effort: you push down, the mattress pushes back, not letting you get close to your partner, so you have to push harder and harder every time just to feel like you're going all the way in.
Memory foam mattresses can help with this because it has absolutely no bounce, so all your effort and energy is put to good use. Since the visco foam contours your partner's body, he (or she) will be 'gripped, trapped' in the mattress and won't move around with your every thrust. Grinding techniques work better on a Tempur-Pedic style mattress because of the friction provided by the foam. You won't need to anchor yourself to the bed or push against the headboard to make sure you enjoy every move. Drawbacks of Having Sex On Memory Foam Memory foam mattresses offer traction and temperature responsiveness. Your body temperature gets higher while having sex, so your mattress will match that 'hot' feeling with some additional softness (memory foam softens in warmer environments). There are, of course, people who think that this contouring property leads to a 'marshmallow', sand moving feeling that can kill the romantic mood. There are other reasons for which people say that memory foam mattresses like Tempurpedic are not the perfect mattress to have sex on:
Visco elastic memory foam does not encourage mobility: for example, when you put your knee on the mattress, it sinks through and your weight leans towards that side, making it difficult to move freely. So if you are a young, energetic couple who likes to roll around in bed, memory foam is definitely not for you! As you can see, the way sex feels on a Tempur Pedic foam mattress is a very personal thing. So don't make any decisions just by listening or reading other people's opinions. Do a home trial and find out if you (and your partner) like the feeling. Even if you do sleep great on a memory foam mattress, the fact that you cannot make love on it is a serious problem that deserves consideration. My Foam Mattress Has Memory! A Critical Eye On The Latest Mattress Technologies 3.5 lb vs 4 lbWhich to choose from a 3.5lb foam mattress toppers versus 4lb Tempur topers comparison? Higher density alone does not make a quality sleeping surface. The formula behind the best sleeping surface uses best quality, high-density foam that responds to body temperature.