Is a Memory Foam Mattress Perfect for You?

Of all the mattress types on the market, memory foam has the biggest hype, with many presuming that just because they’ve heard of memory foam before, then it must be the perfect mattress for you. However, just because you’ve heard of a mattress doesn’t mean it will be the perfect fit for your situation. Instead, it’s much wiser to research the advantages and disadvantages of each type before you buy, here’s the lowdown on everything you need to know about memory foam:

What Type of Person Does Memory Foam Suit?

Originally created by NASA as a way to keep their test astronauts cushioned during flights, memory foam was then developed into a mattress that could cushion people while they sleep, working by contouring round a person’s body when they lie on it. This is thought to be particularly useful for people who experience back pain, joint pain, that toss and turn a lot in the night, have issues with their pressure points and people who are often disturbed by their partner during the night.

Advantages of Memory Foam

A memory foam mattress has a generally very high satisfaction rate from its customers, due to its many advantages. Some of these include:

Support

Memory foam is highly loved by its users due to the high level of support it gives consumers. This is particularly useful for people who suffer from back problems, as the material conforms to our bodies. This allows our spines to rest in a very natural alignment, which removes the stress from our spine, giving pain relief.

Pressure Relief 

Similar to providing support, memory foam also provides comfort and pain relief by relieving pressure points. This is achieved by distributing our body weight evenly over the surface of the mattress. In other mattresses, pain is caused by pressure points created at the heavier points of our body such as hips. This relief leads to our body wanting to toss and turn less during the night.

Motion Absorption

Especially good for couples, memory foam is famed for its ability to absorb movement. This means if your partner moves a lot in their sleep, works shifts or has a small bladder, then you are much less likely to be disturbed by their movements if you have a memory foam mattress.

Highly Durable

When you buy a high-quality brand of memory foam mattress, it’s likely that the mattress will last at least 5 to 10 years. Indeed, many branded memory foam mattresses will come with a 10-year guarantee.

Disadvantages

Of course, not everything about memory foam is perfect. The mattress type does come with its disadvantages, which means the mattress isn’t for everyone. Here are some of the key issues:

Heat

One of the main advantages of memory foam is the fact that it contours around our bodies. However, this can also lead to some key problems for sleepers. The biggest of which is heat retention, with sleepers complaining that they lose sleep due to being too warm. To avoid an overheated mattress, look for a less dense mattress, with plant-based memory foam reportedly being less hot. It’s also said that gel memory foam is cooler.

Heavy

Due to its dense nature of the foam in the mattress, memory foam can make for a very heavy mattress. This is only really a niggling problem for people who find it difficult to move their beds alone, but shouldn’t be a problem if you have someone round to help you.

Odour

Traditional memory foam is produced using petroleum and chemicals, which although creates the distinctive support and comfort that we adore about memory foam mattresses, this can also lead to a distinct chemical smell when the mattress is first used. This can last anything from a few hours to a few weeks, and can cause alarm amongst customers.

At the end of the day, any mattress will come with advantages and disadvantages, the key is to look at each type and decipher which one has the most advantages that will lead you to a better night’s sleep. This could be memory foam or a completely different type of mattress, the important thing is that you find the mattress th