5 Things You Most Likely Didn't Know About Memory Foam

Many people often overlook the importance of your mattress. They focus on cost efficiency and size rather than comfort and longevity. But your bed is used more than any other furniture in your home and should be considered one of the essential purchases you will make.

Choosing the wrong mattress is money down the drain, but it also can harm your health. An uncomfortable mattress can keep you from sleeping, resulting in long-term mental and physical conditions. It can also create spinal problems if it isn't the right bed for your sleeping position.

While budget is always essential, so should your health. Memory foam mattresses are a great way to combine cost-effectiveness with a bed designed to benefit your health and aid in a great night's sleep. 

Here are the five things you probably didn't know about memory foam and how it works.

5 Interesting Tidbits on Memory Foam

1. There is more than one type of memory foam. When people compare their memory foam mattresses with someone else's, they may be talking about apples versus oranges. They're both fruit, but they're different. Memory foam mattresses have three types that distinguish them.

Traditional memory foam mattresses work by molding the material to your body, helping with comfort and spinal discomfort. Their design tends to make you retain body heat, though, so if you live in an area where temperatures are higher, these may not be your preferred mattress.

Building on the original design came the open-cell mattress. You get the molding and shaping benefit of memory foam, but the open-cell structure lets air move throughout the bed and limits body heat retention.

Gel-infused memory foam mattresses are the third type. These are mattresses that have a gel inside them to help your body temperature regulate while you sleep. It molds and shapes your body like the original memory foam but changes your body temperature without you doing a thing.

Memory foam mattresses come in different firmnesses, too. 

A common argument against memory foam is that it's too soft for people who need a firm mattress. Though, some memory foam mattresses come in five different firmness.

There are mattresses designed for all different types of sleepers with firmnesses ranging from soft to fully firm. 

1. Memory foam uses your body heat to shape your mattress.

The exact science of how memory foam works are interesting. Solid memory foam uses your body's pressure and temperature to create a mold of your shape.

Memory foam is a dense material that works like an elastic, letting you sink into the mattress, sleep there for a while, and then rising back up to normal when you leave the bed. The mattress will form itself precisely as you need it to be to align with your body's natural curve.

And because the dense material that forms itself to your body is also doing the same thing to your partner's shape, it's less likely that you will notice it when they move. If you're a light sleeper, you know this is a great benefit to have in a mattress!

2. The material is hypoallergenic.

Memory foam's structure is dense, keeping allergens from being able to build up in it. Mattresses are a common breeding ground for dust mites and other allergens. Mattress covers can help limit the allergens that get through, but if allergies are a battle you fight frequently, you may want to invest in a memory foam mattress. 

3. Back problems? Memory foam might be able to help.

Millions of people around the world suffer from back problems. If you are one of those millions and your aches and pains are around pressure points, your mattress may be the culprit.

Regular mattresses, no matter how soft they are, put pressure on your body's specific points, like your hips and shoulders. Memory foam mattresses don't have springs, which are familiar sources of pressure on your joints. Since the material adheres to your own body's design, it also aligns with your spine's natural curve, reducing the stress on your body and aiding in the relief of discomfort.

Miracle Mattress? No, It's a Memory Foam!

It's mostly hypoallergenic. It can aid in your aches and pains. It keeps you from being awakened by (or awakening) your partner's movements. Particular memory foam mattresses can regulate your body heat as you sleep at the perfect temperature all night. It sounds like a miracle mattress.

Instead of a miracle, though, memory foam mattresses are science and technology at some of their finest moments. If you're looking for a mattress that provides you the opportunity to get a great night's sleep and improve your physical and mental health, consider investing in a memory foam bed.