Viscoelastic Foam Mattress

If you’ve had your share of the more popular innerspring mattresses, you’d probably have experienced some of problems with it such as sagging edges or probably the dust mites that love to thrive in your bed. These problems are now eliminated, thanks to the latest buzz in the field of bed mattresses, the viscoelastic foam or more commonly known as Memory Foam. NASA developed the memory foam for its space programs in the early 70s. Due to the immense G-Forces that space pilots experience in space flights, they needed a material that will conform to the shape of the astronauts so as to provide orthopedic support. The result is the Memory foam. Soon, memory foam is incorporated into many different products, and among them are mattresses.

So what makes memory foam an excellent material for bed mattresses? The ability to contour or shape itself to exact proportions of anything that is placed on top of it. It is activated through the natural heat as well as weight of the body. Using the various pressure points, it adjusts itself automatically. These are the areas that press into the bed the hardest, such as the hips or the shoulder if you are a side sleeper. What your position is when you sleep will determine the pressure points. If you sleep on these pressure points without adequate support, you’d feel pain and discomfort. This support is provided by the memory foam as it molds itself to the shape of your body.

Dust mites are notoriously common in innerspring mattresses. They breed in areas with high humidity. The waste produced by these dust mites often cause allergic reactions and problems in the respiratory system. The high-density viscoelastic foam does not have the environment that dust mites like, so it is less likely that they would take up residence on a memory foam bed. Also, given the nature of memory foam, it is a natural antimicrobial.

So is the viscoelastic foam mattress for you? It depends upon your taste. Some find the memory foam to be a tad stiff and too firm for their taste. When a memory foam mattress is new, it gives off an unpleasant odor, making it imperative that you air it out first prior to use. Also, because it is sensitive to heat, it tends to trap heat in its open cells, producing heat levels that can be quite excessive for you. If you are looking for a mattress, you might want to give a viscoelastic foam mattress a test run.

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