memory foam 101

Sleepless nights? Tossing and turning? Back pain? All it takes is a visco-elastic memory foam mattress and your troubles could be over. Nothing conforms and supports your spine and body better than visco-elastic memory foam.

It has been shown through numerous studies that sleeping on a conventional mattress causes the capillaries in your body to constrict causing restricted blood flow, which, for us, means a night filled of tossing, turning, and overall discomfort. This is because many people are still sleeping on old-fashioned innerspring mattresses. These mattresses tend to sag or "hammock" leaving an indentation of where you sleep at night which leaves you with the drawback, an aching and sore back. Memory foam conforms to your body while supporting it at the same time while never sagging. Memory foam solves both of these medical problems while you still feel like you are lying in a bed of feathers.

Brief History of memory foam
As much as memory foam sellers tout that it was initially developed for the space program, ironically it was never used in any space mission. The initial memory foam, known as T-foam, offgassed too much for use in a closed environment. But, thankfully, some saw the promise of memory foam for use in the medical industry to relieve pressure sores. Over the years memory foam was shown to be unique in the way it responded to temperature and also in ability to spread pressure over a greater surface area (and thereby reduce pressure points significantly).

What Does memory foam Do?
Memory foam is a temperature sensitive visco-elastic material. At room temperature memory foam will mould itself to the shape of the body within a few minutes. Contrast this with a normal mattress that is simply flat - unlike the curves of a human body.

As a result, a memory foam mattress or mattress topper will automatically adjust itself to your personal shape. In addition your weight will be distributed evenly across the whole mattress. This avoids any painful pressure in one particular spot. (If you are suffering from a medical condition, always consult your doctor.)

Although most people sleep like a baby on memory foam immediately, some bodies take up to a week to adjust to this revolutionary new way of sleeping.