Product Review

The truth behind Visco Elastic Memory Foam Mattresses

Review Date: June 11 2006

Nowadays all furniture stores advertise the so called “sleeping bliss” mattresses or better known as memory foam mattresses. For the “small” price of six, seven or even more, you can get yourself the best mattress on the market. But is that the whole story?

First let’s say a few words on the memory mattress history

The memory foam was developed by NASA during the 1960’s and was originally put in use for the shuttle/space craft aeronaut’s seats. The idea was that during takeoffs and landing’s the aeronaut’s experience incredible G (gravity) force and NASA needed something very gentle for softening and cushioning the spacecraft’s seats. I don’t know if that solved their issue or not, but later on in the early 1990’s NASA de-classified the formula and made it public, so Memory Foam became available to the local furniture stores.

The first company to really realize the potential of memory foam for the consumer market I believe was Tempur-Pedic. They had worked on creating their own version of the memory foam, and come up with a foam they called Tempur that was much more durable and still had the pressure reducing benefits of memory foam. Initially this foam was used in medical settings, but soon they began to hear that patients who used the foam slept better, had less back pain or other pains in the morning, etc. A light went off over someone's head in Sweden, and Tempur-Pedic began to sell the products to consumers as well.

Coming from this medical background, Tempur foam was very expensive, and has stayed that way to this day. After a few years on the consumer market, though, other foam manufacturers saw the potential of memory foam and began to produce their own versions of memory foam. Since these manufacturer's came from the consumer foam business, rather than the medical business, their cost structure for memory foam was much lower and they priced their products at a fraction of the Tempur’s foam. As the years went by, memory foam became more and more popular, and now manufacturers all over the world are making their versions of memory foam.

Did you ever wonder why those mattresses cost almost a fortune?

The unique memory foam characteristic is what you and me know as temperature sensitive material. When memory foam is heated (even by our natural body temperature) it reshapes by the heat source. Visco-Elastic has higher density then regular foams and is made of cells, which open and close to adjust to body weight and temperature. In normal temperatures memory foam is firm but when you lay down it reacts to your body temperature and is designed to mold to your body, cradling you in comfort and support. Body weight can then be distributed evenly, which can relieve uncomfortable pressure points and allow you to sleep in a more orthopedically correct position with less tossing and turning.

Also a unique property of a visco-elastic memory foam mattresses allow the bed to actually mold to your body, eliminating pressure points. Pressure points are the areas on the body that press hardest into the bed. For example, if you're a side sleeper, your shoulder is your biggest pressure point. Normally, it bears much of the weight of your body. A visco-elastic foam mattress allows your shoulder to sink deep into the pad, while hips and other areas are still supported. Not only does this eliminate pressure points that cause restless sleep, numbness and poor circulation, it also has huge benefits for the spine, allowing vertebrae to be aligned naturally, which reduces back pain.

Memory Mattress beds are Dust Mite Proof

Not a pretty thought, huh? Well, they're called dust mites, and almost every internal spring mattress has its own native population. Besides being creepy, dust mites are a leading cause of allergies and can cause respiratory problems and even asthma attacks. One of the major advantages of visco elastic memory foam mattresses, is that they do not provide an environment for dust mites to call home. Mites prefer areas of high humidity, with lots of skin cells to feast on, and they like to be able to set up shop inside your mattress, so that they have a nice place to wait out inhospitable conditions. When dust mites can't nest inside your mattress, it's harder for them to reproduce, and fewer mites means fewer problems

But are there any cheap memory foam mattresses also?

Be warned that this is one of the cases when cheaper is definitely not better! There are many manufacturers that offer low price memory foams, cutting costs by reducing their density and height which is lowering the mattress quality exponentially.

What type of foam should you look for?

My personal favorite memory foam with 4 lb. density. I just think that this density is a very high quality product that should keep its comfort for a good amount of time (3 - 5 years at least). Lately I've seen a good number of products coming out in the 3 - 3.5 pound density range, and I just don't think these have the same lush memory feel as the 4 lb ones .

What about even higher densities of foam - like the 5.3 lb. density of the memory foam?

I do think that this is a very high quality product, but you certainly pay a premium for going to this high of a density of foam. And in my experience, the 4 lb. foam seems to provide the same kinds of benefits to customers as the denser foams. Don't get me wrong - the 5.3 lb. density does give more cushion just due to its being a denser material. But given the price differential, I would say for most people the 4 lb. density is the sweet spot to shoot for in memory foams.

Be warned! When you are looking for a 4 lb. memory foam, or any memory foam for that matter, you need to be very careful what foam you buy. In my research into memory foam suppliers, I was kind of horrified at the different insider stories I heard. Things like manufacturers putting inexpensive fillers into the foam to save money rather than the more expensive materials used in making the true memory foam. I also was cautioned about manufacturers who may unload bad pours of foam on unsuspecting customers in order to recoup their costs in pouring this foam. Those things must be inspected carefully because you don’t want to give your savings on a piece of crap.

One last thing to consider is how long a memory foam mattress will last. This is an important consideration, because some memory foams feel great initially, but break down fairly quickly over time. Because memory foam can have durability issues, I would caution you to stay away from formulations that are new and haven't been time tested. The formulation I picked has been in production for over some years now, and it has been proven to hold up very well over time. Nothing beats real world testing, and just because a memory foam tested well in artificial durability tests doesn't mean it will really work in your home. You'll avoid a lot of problems by sticking with a memory foam that has a proven history of real world durability. Visco Elastic memory foam seems to be more durable than the most common versions but still it’s a mattress and I don’t think anybody would like to use the same of for his entire life right?

Can I Get Just Memory Foam Topper, or I Need a whole new Memory Mattress?

This is interesting question and definitely not an easy one to answer. In general, though, if your mattress is basically ok but not as comfortable as you would like (looking for a softer feel, less aches and pains in the morning, etc), then a memory foam mattress topper may well do the job. On the other hand, if your mattress is too soft or has compressed areas or dips, etc., then you really are better off buying a new mattress - a topper pad just can't help with these problems.

If you need a new mattress, what should you look for?

Stay away from the pillow tops. The foam or other materials used in standard pillow tops tends to be fairly inexpensive and often will break down fairly quickly. So rather than buying a pillow top mattress, I instead advise people to buy the best, basic bed they can find and then add their own memory foam topper as a pillow top if they like. That way they get a quality topper (much higher density and quality than what comes in most, even expensive, pillow top mattresses). And then if the topper pad softens with use after a number of years (we see people replacing their topper after 4 - 5 years or more), you can replace the topper portion only rather than having to get a whole new mattress.

Your perfect combination of base + mattress

As for the basic mattress portion, most people stay with a good innerspring. But if you are open to it, I urge you to consider a good foam bed or even a latex bed. These types of bases just have a more substantial feel than other beds and wear like iron. It is important to get a good quality foam bed (2.2 density or up of high resiliency or similar foam), and latex is even denser but you pay a premium for it as well. Either way, your foam bed should be at least 5 - 6" deep. And it really is best to first lay down on the piece of foam or latex you will be buying to see if it is the right firmness. I know this isn't always possible since you may not have a store carrying foam or latex near you. But buying these kinds of beds over the internet based on their specs can be a crapshoot since the firmness of these kinds of beds varies a great deal at times. So if you do buy over the internet, make sure you can return the bed easily in case it is over firm.

One last option is just to buy the foam and memory foam portions of the bed all in one prefabricated unit - like the Visco Elastic Memory mattress. I do like the Visco Elastic Memory Mattress and would suggest it for those of you liking a firm bed. But for those of you looking for a less expensive option, there are a growing number of other memory foam beds out there. Again I would caution you to investigate the quality of materials used in any of these beds before buying, and also make sure that they have a good return and warranty policy (and that they live up to these as well). I am investigating a number of these to see if I can find one that I would feel comfortable carrying. As of now, I really don't have any to recommend, but I will let you know if I find one that I really like.

Outline of some very nice characteristics of the memory foam mattresses which I greatly appreciate:

Anatomic (I described that earlier)
Dust mite proof (Hell yeah! I hate those little bustards)
Anti-Allergenic (Finally something clean)
Live Breathing (You can sleep all day and night and your skin feels good)
Non-Deformable (When you get up it returns to original shape)
Multiple Points of Access (Guaranteed baby sleep)
Environmentally Clean & Recyclable (not that anybody cares right?)

Suggested Memory Foam Manufacturers:

Memory Mattress Factory Outlet Store - New York City.
They offer the 4" memory foam mattress, memory foam toppers and with every mattress purchase you get FREE Memory Foam Pillow. Everything comes with FREE Shipping!
If you are or know some good Memory Foam Manufacturers and you would like to share it with us and have them listed here on that page, please email webmaster@hypercyberstore.com or advertising@hypercyberstore.com

Featured Reviews

Review Categories