memory foam mattress

Memory Foam: Is it all the same, or different?

February 25, 2014 by Admin

There seem to be a lot of different types of memory foam these days. For example, one retailer may advertise their SureSleepTemp memory foam while another has their SureTempSleep foam. Both of these will likely have a little trademark™ to add legitimacy, but this still leaves a huge question.

Is there really a difference between types of memory foam? If so, how do I tell?

The quick and short answer is that most memory foam is very similar. This is in both structure and material because it’s almost all visco-elastic memory foam. That said, there are some differences that can affect the quality, comfort, and cost of a mattress.

One good explanation that we found was over at Sleep Full Nights, a store that sells memory foam mattresses. They call the memory foam layer the “money layer,” because it is both the most expensive part of the mattress and the part that is most important. The money layer is affected by two main factors, density and thickness. The density is measured in pounds per cubic foot of material and the thickness is in inches. This is what we refer to when we say Money Layer:

explanation of memory foam mattress

Money Layer Density

The density of memory foam is hugely important for a number of reasons. It determines the comfort, cost, and longevity of the mattress more than any other component. The higher density of the material, the more support and higher level of comfort it can provide. Conversely, lower density memory foam will have more airflow. Here’s a quick breakdown of the different density ranges:

1. Low-density memory foam (1.8 – 2.7 lbs./cubic foot) is the cheaper end of the spectrum. It has more space between the foam material and allows for more airflow, which can allow it to sleep cooler. The flip side of this less dense material is that it isn’t as resilient as higher density foams. This means that over the long run, the foam won’t return to form as completely after you get up off of it.

2. Medium-density memory foam (3.0 – 4.5 lbs./cubic foot) is mid-level foam. It combines some of the breathability of lower density foam while also having some of the resiliency and longevity of high-density memory foam.

3. High-density memory foam (4.5 + lbs./cubic foot) is the luxury, high cost end of the spectrum. This is the foam that goes into top of the line mattresses. Although it doesn’t have the breathability and airflow of lower density foams, it tends to be more resilient, last longer, and provide better support to the sleeper.

4. Over 6.5 lbs./cubic foot starts to feel like you’re sleeping in pudding. It can lead to the mattress working like an incubator and making it hard to get out of bed (in a bad way).

Thickness: Money Layer thickness affects the longevity of a mattress. Generally, thickness can range anywhere from 1-6 inches or more. A rough rule of thumb is that you’ll get 3-5 years of optimal performance per inch of Money Layer. Keep in mind that this can vary with usage and that the resiliency is affected by the density of the memory foam.

Is Base Foam memory foam?

No. Base foam refers to a different type of foam. Polyurethane foam is a more rigid and firm type of foam that has a lower density than almost all memory foam. It doesn’t change the price of a mattress much while providing the rest of the mattress volume to get it to the right 8, 10, 12, or more inches tall.

What’s the deal with Gel Memory Foam?

Gel memory foam is one of the most popular new technologies. The memory foam is infused with billions of micro-gel beads during the foam pouring process. This creates a combination of cooling features because it’s generally a lower density material that allows for more airflow and the micro-gel beads have been shown to improve the temperature regulation of sleepers, helping them to stay cooler.

What else is good to know?

The main things to consider, as stated above, are the density and thickness of the Money Layer because most of the other advertised features are fluff. Organic memory foam may have a nice sound to it, but it won’t have any affect on how well the memory foam supports your body while sleeping. Same thing with all natural memory foam. Nice to know. Doesn’t affect the quality of sleep much.

Also beware of specially branded names of memory foam. DormiPureTech Memory foam likely isn’t anything special beyond a name. In fact, some less than honest retailers may use a fancy trademarked™ foam name to try and justify higher prices. Keep your eyes out for this and be sure to focus on what’s important: the density and thickness of the Money Layer.

Gel Memory Foam vs. Memory Foam: What’s the Difference?

January 4, 2013 by Admin

It wasn’t long ago that memory foam mattresses like the TempurPedic were at the very top when it came to mattress comfort technology. NASA developed the original technology for viscoelastic memory foam to cushion and support astronauts during blastoff.

In the early 1990s that NASA developed technology became available for commercial products. A Swedish company acquired the rights from NASA to this technology, and then perfected it. This led to the TempurPedic brand, which pretty much dominated the memory foam market for almost two decades.

Gel memory foam has more of an earth-based origin. It was developed in the hospital bed / medical setting, to reduce pressure points for bedridden patients. It became quickly clear that the same technology could be tweaked to make an ideal regular mattress for consumers at home, and mattress manufacturers begin to introduce various gel memory foam models.

Gel memory foam mattresses really started to take off in 2011 with the introduction of the Serta iComfort gel mattress in 2011. Serta is one of the big names in mattresses, with wide distribution, making gel memory foam available just about everywhere. And the iComfort line has been a huge hit, launching Serta into the top selling position in the market in 2011.

The only real disadvantage of regular viscoelastic memory foam mattresses is that they can sometimes feel hotter to some people. Gel memory foam mattresses reportedly solve this issue.

Some argue that there is very little difference between gel memory foam and regular memory foam. And let’s face it, traditional memory foam gets very high customer satisfaction ratings. The latest 2012 Consumer Reports guide to mattresses wrote that TempurPedic had the highest satisfaction rating of all types of mattresses, including memory foam and traditional innerspring.

But don’t write off gel memory foam as a gimmick just yet! They don’t tend to use something in a medical setting unless it works.

Many of the gel memory foam mattresses use the same gels developed for hospital beds to avoid or overcome bedsores and alleviate pain from pressure points. Some of them even use a patented “buckling column gel” system that must be licensed out to a mattress manufacturer.

Whether you go with a traditional memory foam mattress or a gel memory foam, one thing you can look forward to is a longer mattress life. Both types of mattresses tend to outlast innerspring mattresses, which typically wear out in 5 to 7 years. Many memory foam brands have 20 year warranties. (My own standard TempurPedic is still going strong after a full decade. I’ve passed it down to my kid because we went from Queen to King and bought an Intellibed gel.)

Got an opinion? Leave a comment and share it. Feel free to mention brands that you like or dislike!

Additional reading:

Memory Foam Mattress? That’s So Last Night from the Los Angeles Times.

Looking for a good gel or memory foam mattress that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg? Amazon has some good options to consider at surprising low prices.

gel vs memory foam differences

Foam Mattresses

March 14, 2011 by mattress1982

When it comes to sleeping, the most important component is obviously the bed and mattress. Over the years, much advancement has been made in the way of mattresses and one new up-and-coming technology in particular is the foam mattress.

A foam mattress is made almost entirely of something called visco elastic foam. This is essentially foam that is firm, yet still has some “give” to it to make it comfortable. Most memory foam mattresses can range anywhere from a few inches thick to over twelve inches thick. Like one would expect, a foam mattress also comes in the same sizes as a normal innerspring mattress.

Many people agree that foam mattresses seem to be the method of sleeping of the future. They are generally considered to be very comfortable and there are many reports of memory foam mattresses alleviating back pain caused by traditional innerspring mattresses. Most foam mattresses tend to be on the firm side, but still have enough given that they comfortably conform to a person’s body no matter their shape or size. This is an important factor in relieving stress on many parts of the body that make contact with the bed, like the back and shoulders.

Are Visco Elastic Foam Mattresses Suitable For Everyone?

Memory foam mattresses are not completely perfect. Even though visco elastic foam is considered to be a revolutionary breakthrough in sleeping technology, because it brings relief to the pressure points and provides you with a better sleep, it can be quite tricky to pick a suitable memory foam mattress.

Many people report that these foam mattresses are too firm and can get unusually hot during the night. Due to the nature of some foam mattresses, they can retain a lot of body heat given off, which can cause a person to feel uncomfortably warm at night. Some other problems that people have identified are that memory foam tends to be very heavy.

A larger foam mattress can weigh as much as one hundred pounds. One annoying thing about memory foam is that when first unpackaged, a foam mattress will emit a very strong chemical smell for the first two days or so. Every mattress company assures its customers that this smell is harmless, but is nonetheless still annoying.

If you are thinking about purchasing a memory foam mattress, you may want to start saving up your money, since a decent quality mattress could run anywhere from $800-$2000 or more. While the price tag does seem to be fairly high for some mattresses, many owners still agree that a foam mattress is worth the purchase price since you can see an improvement in your sleep the first time you use a foam mattress.

Before you decide to buy a memory foam mattress, read the reviews online and try one out in person at a local furniture store. While fairly confident that you will be very happy with these new mattresses, they are not made for everyone and therefore you need to be certain that this type of mattress will be good for you.

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How to Fix Rips and Tears in Your Mattress

March 3, 2011 by mattress1982

It almost seems inevitable that anything that gets used eight hours a day, every day for decades, will develop rips, tears and other assorted signs of wear. Your mattress fits this bill exactly. Most people spend so much time on their mattresses and even spend quite a bit of money to have nice mattresses. But what many people lack is the foresight to properly protect their mattresses.

Protecting your mattress should be just like protecting any investment that you have. However, protecting a mattress from some of the normal wear and tear of day to day life might be a little easier than most other investments.

How to Prevent Rips and Tears on Your Mattress

The first step you can do is to prevent rips and tears from happening in the first place. This is usually accomplished with a mattress cover. Mattress covers are very handy devices that can create a barrier to stop dust and water from getting into your mattress and provide much protection and support from forces that can cause rips and tears in a mattress.

However, if you find yourself in a situation where a rip or tear has already developed, following are a few pointers on how to fix them.

How to Fix a Memory Foam Mattress Tear

For many of us with a memory foam mattress, they may seem invincible when we first get them. But over time and with heavy use, some people find out that a tear or rip in a memory foam mattress can easily happen. The best and easiest way to fix this is to head down to your local furniture or upholstery shop and ask for a special kind of glue made for memory foam mattresses. This glue will help repair your mattress and stop any tears from getting bigger.

How to Fix an Air Mattress or Waterbed Mattress Tear or Leak

Usually trying to fix a tear or leak in an air mattress or waterbed poses a few different challenges to the person trying to fix it. For an air mattress, the first thing you want to do is try to find the hole by mixing up some soap and water, applying it to parts of the bed and looking for bubbles. If you see bubbles somewhere, chances are you have a hole.

Hopefully, a small hole in a waterbed is a little more obvious. Once the hole has been identified, if it is small enough just apply a little bit of glue over the hole and let it dry. If the hole is a little too big for that, you will need to find a small square of plastic or vinyl and glue it over the hole as a patch.

While fixing a tear or rip in a mattress is not necessarily a very difficult process, it can still be mostly avoided by using a protective mattress cover. Not only that a mattress cover will protect your mattress from rips and tears but it will also protect your mattress against dust and bacteria.