Archive | April, 2010

Memory Foam vs Latex Foam

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There is a lot of talk about memory foam – the discussions are in all the media from magazines to television.  Memory foam is now an integral part of many bedding products, but how does it compare with other types of bedding material?  Let’s have a look at the difference between memory foam and latex foam, specifically in mattresses.

Memory Foam

Memory foam mattresses are perhaps the more pliable of the two, as memory foam is temperature reactive, which means it becomes softer as you use it, as the temperature of your body warming up affects the foam, it becomes quite viscous in form, hence why it is often called visco-elastic foam. Just as it warms from your body temperature and softens, so memory foam becomes firmer when cold.

Quality is determined by density. And density is proportionate to the cost. The denser the memory foam,  the more it will cost and the longer it will last. If you buy cheap memory foam, your mattress will be full of air, and will break down in three to five years, perhaps sooner. If the memory foam mattress is too thin it will leave you lying on the high resilience foam base material, which will be uncomfortable.  The density affects the support too.  Too thick again, and it will be too soft. The ideal depth for a memory foam mattress should be between 3.5 inches to 6 inches thick.

Memory foam spreads your weight evenly over the surface your body is touching. This is what gives memory foam its comfortable label. It will reduce tossing around to get comfortable at night. On any other mattress pressure points build up around the shoulders and hips and circulation is cut off to these points. This sends a signal to the brain telling you to turn over. This turning is eliminated with memory foam mattresses.

Latex Foam

Latex is produced from the sap of the rubber tree and is a natural product harvested like a syrup, then processed.  These products produced from latex are varied and range from pillows and mattresses to tyres. Latex mattresses are quite firm, and have more ‘give’ than memory foam mattresses. Latex  is viewed as a healthier product because it is natural, biodegradeable, anti-microbial, and hypo-allergenic, and repels mold, fungus and dust mites.  It is an excellent choice for sufferers of allergies from dust and other microbes. Under normal circumstances, latex will last indefinitely. Check the label when buying a latex foam mattress as you get two types of latex; natural and processed.

The best way to see if your mattress if giving the correct support is to lie flat on the bed, then try sliding your hand under the small of your back. You must lie flat doing this. If you can get your hand in easily between the mattress and your back, then you need to replace your mattress.

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How To Deal With The Smell Of Memory Foam

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Although memory foam has many advantages, it has one big disadvantage: its initial smell. The smell of new memory foam can be quite bothersome for most people when initially unwrapping or unpacking it. For some it might even be unhealthy leading to problems such as nausea, vomiting and headaches.

Memory foam gives off a potent smell that is similar to the smell of gasoline. It is often referred to as “off-gassing”. This smell can be very uncomfortable to many people and it is important to know how to deal with it. Read on to find a few tips that may help you get rid of the new memory foam smell.

The first thing you can do to get rid of the smell of memory foam a bit faster is to air out your room. The best way to do this is to open as many windows as possible. You can also place a portable air conditioner in the room with the exhaust hose pointed out a window so as to suck out the smell as quickly as possible.

Another way to help deal with the smell of memory foam is to use odor absorbents. Odor absorbents, as the name implies, are substances that help get rid of an unpleasant smell. The smell of new memory foam can be dissipated with the use of odor absorbents such as coffee grinds or vinegar. Place a bottle of vinegar on one side of the memory foam. If it is a memory foam mattress, place the bottle of vinegar on the bed side table. On the other bed side table, you can place a small bowl full of coffee grinds. These will also help get rid of the unpleasant smell.

Yet another option is to wash and change your bed sheets every other night. This can help suck the smell out of the memory foam mattress. If this is not possible then placing fabric softener sheets around the room or on the memory foam itself can help a great deal. Try to get a fabric softener with extra perfume so as to accelerate the process.

Finally, another great option is to use an ozonator. The problem is that not many people have access to this type of equipment. The ozonator will quickly remove the smell of the memory foam and will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of this product without the unpleasant and disturbing odor.

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Uses of Memory Foam

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Almost five decades since inception and development from the NASA space program, memory foam has proved its immense utility in various aspects of everyday common life of man aside from its creation simply for space crafts. It was initially developed to absorb shock, provide comfort and protection in NASA’s space rockets. It is described as an open-cell, polymeric “memory” foam material with unusual visco-elastic properties.

Some of its uses today are as listed below.

Medical uses

Apart from its use in space crafts, memory foam special properties were first recognized for medical applications such as orthopedic seating pads, mattress pads and foam-in-place seating systems which are custom-molded seating solution for severely disabled. Memory foams are also used in hospital beds as it allows even distribution of body weight by adjusting to the body contours. This property of memory foam makes it useful to use in treating various ailment such as

  • In preventing bed sores in patient
  • Back and muscles pain
  • Poor circulation and stiffness
  • Self ventilating and saps moisture so prevents microbial activity
  • Reduces allergies caused from mildew and bed mites.

Domestic uses

Memory foam is also used widely as a mattress topper of about 3 to 4 inches thick. It is also use to make pillows and travelers head and neck rests. Memory foam allows a better restful sleep when sleeping with your partner as it isolates each sleeper and prevents rolling into each other. It also offers the same benefits as listed under the medical uses. In addition, memory foams are treated to be fire retardant and address this safety issues.

Other uses

It is widely used as a component for bikes and race cars seats due the comfort and its safety aspects such as its ability to absorb high impact hits. It also has application in the military sector from lining body armors to combat helmets.

Precautions in using Memory foams

Do not use these memory foam bed for babies as it can hamper them from turning about in the bed. And also if they end up sleeping face down, the memory foam can mould to their face and cause suffocation.

Unpack and air out the memory foam for two or three days as it has a distinct odor both from the chemical components in it and also manufacturing processes. The odor will not last for long and will disappear soon.

All memory foams produced in the US are non-toxic and safe. However avoid using cheap foams produced from other countries unless specified, as many of these do not conform to health and safety standards.

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The Development Of Memory Foam

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It is a popular myth that memory foam was developed but discarded in the 1960′s as part of the space race development program. It was initially developed by NASA at the Ames Research Center, which is perhaps where the space connection comes from, but it was not developed for use in spacecraft.  Actually memory foam was developed initially to improve the safety of aircraft cushions.  It is possible that a use was considered for the memory foam in astronaut seats to protect them during the lift off phase of space flight during which their bodies were exposed to significant g-forces.  However, the truth of the story is not really that clear and the product never actually made it into a one of the space rockets.

Nevertheless the unique properties of memory foam did not go unnoticed and soon one of the significant contributors to the project, Charles A Yost, set up a company to work closely with NASA with the intention of commercially developing the product.  The effort was only partially successful as the manufacturing process was difficult, expensive and quite unreliable.  As a result the product, which Yost called “temper foam” due to the fact that properties of the foam exhibited were a reaction to local changes in temperature.  The foam did find its way into some items of sports equipment and some medical settings but generally speaking did not achieve much market penetration.

In the early part of the 1980′s NASA allowed access to the manufacturing of memory foam to the wider commercial community.  However, due to the manufacturing problems noted before the interest in the product was comparatively low.  One of the first companies to really take up the product and develop it into a saleable product was a Swedish company called Fagerdala World Foams.  Fagerdala initially released a mattress under the brand Tempur-Pedic and subsequently widened the range considerably.  Tempur-Pedic is now one of the best know brand names of memory foam in the market place.

Take up of memory foam was initially in specialist areas, particularly healthcare settings.  It was found that if a topper of memory foam was laid over a bed it allowed patients who were generally immobile to lie much more comfortably without the same risk of suffering pressure sores or needing to move as much.

Grandually the manufacturing process has become more reliable, and with this reliability so the price has come down from the early days when it was very expensive.  It continues to have widespread use in medical environments but has really been most successful in the domestic environment, with significant product developments into memory foam mattresses, memory foam mattress toppers, memory foam pillows and even memory foam slippers.  The public interest in memory foam is now considerable and  it is likely that its manufacturers will continue to find innovative uses for the foam in a greater and greater number of products.

Charles A Yost
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What Is Memory Foam?

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Memory Foam is the term for a form of visco elastic foam. This foam with amazing properties was firstly discovered for the National Aeronautics Agency NASA by a Scandinavian business to help moderate the huge G-force the astronauts encountered at take off and re-entry.

Only once it had been developed for use by NASA this foam was distributed to the health industry intended for service in the alleviation of pressure sores. This community documented the curative essence of this type of foam and at this time it is employed in hospital beds for post-op and severely injured patients. Over the years, visco elastic polyurethane foam was proved to stay one of a kind in the means it responds to variations in body heat and in its capacity to disseminate pressure over a greater surface area, thus alleviating pressure points significantly.

Whilst the original version of visco-elastic polyurethane foam developed for the National Aeronautics Agency NASA exhibited a lot of possibilities as a bed topper or wheel-chair pad substance, basic visco-elastic polyurethane foam did show difficulties from wear in due time. This original generation of this foam wasn’t very durable, and would frequently compress or display cracking over a period of time.

The earliest authentic visco elastic foam mattress was introduced to the public in 1990 by a notable Scandinavian bed production business.

If you are looking into buying a ‘Memory Foam’ mattress or visco elastic foam mattress topper, what you need to remember is that not all types of visco-elastic polyurethane foam are the same. They change a substantial amount in quality, solidity, stability and additionally in the means they respond to variations in temperature, and besides in cohesion and longevity.  If you will be just looking for a visco elastic foam topper pad to lay on your mattress, you have a lot of options.

There may be a number of reasons why this type of foam is so unique. Primarily is the way new memory foam cells change status once weight is applied. It is unlike regular foams that compress and would like to spring back to their original structure instantly, new memory foam cells compress fully and pass their pressure to the next cells. This process distributes the pressure to a greater total of cells of the mattress topper which then abates the pressure on your body when you are lying on the bed.

This reaction explains how memory foam really protects pressure points. This ability of visco elastic polyuretane foam in addition permits it to respond to your body’s outline and weight bearing places, in so doing reducing these pressure points. This ability is unique this special foam.

Also, memory foam is body temperature responsive. This action means that at colder temperatures it is firmer and at higher temperatures it is softer and more yielding.  Because of this memory foam is known as visco-elastic foam. This body heat responsive capacity causes the lovely melting feeling that you feel when lying down on a memory foam bed.

This type of foam is made by the addition of chemicals to ordinary polyurethane foam. These chemicals are the “secret sauce” in the mixture and are the difference between normal foam and visco-elastic foam. The result of adding these chemicals means that the memory foam will respond immediately to pressure and it follows that when that pressure is removed the foam unhurriedly springs back, finally returning to its original shape.

Visco elastic polyurethane foam itself is constructed of miniature cells that respond to the body’s temperature and weight. Immediately somebody lies down on the memory foam mattress, the foam responds to the the body’s temperature and yields and shapes itself to the shape of the person. The foam shapes itself to the particular shape of the person lying upon it; thus bestowing an amazing quantity of support. In effect the mattress pad learns the contours of your body and makes an adjustment to suit the person lying on it.

This ability is one of the major health benefits of a new memory foam bed. What memory foam does is to prevent areas that are not covered by a body’s weight to remain unaffected. There is no tipping of the edges of the mattress in the direction of the weight; instead the body, or weight sinks into a comfortable mould and leaves the remainder of the foam unaffected. An extra benefit of this is that you are able to sleep uninterrupted; something that many people will find a most valuable characteristic.

Memory foam mattress toppers are the best alternative for everyone who does not want to acquire a complete new memory foam mattress but would like the additional comfort of this amazing foam.  Usually visco elastic foam mattress toppers are anywhere from around two to three inches thick and some are even thicker. You will be able to place one on top of your old mattress to give you additional support and comfort.

Unlike a normal mattress, a memory foam bed moulds itself to the outline of your body. Wherever you can use support, you experience it. Wherever you have need of more comfort, you feel it. You will feel as if you are asleep on air and also can be free from aches and pains once you arise.

For many years the interior sprung bed was regular. But at this time memory foam is becoming considerably more trendy as it offers benefits of more support and comfort. A lot of well-sprung traditional mattresses can feel comfortable whilst you are lying or when you sit on them, but they do not confer the support and comfort that new memory foam can confer. Interior sprung traditional mattresses do not confer the occupant the support considered necessary. However superior your interior sprung mattress, a visco-elastic polyurethane foam bed will still confer extra support plus additional comfort.

The sort of support that you receive when using a memory foam mattress is better than the sort of support you receive even from top-quality mattresses. There is additionally a significant effect of relieving pressure on your body’s limbs and joints which will be able to provide and increase healing. The explanation for this relief of pressure is as the visco elastic polyuretane foam distributes your body weight through the whole visco elastic foam mattress; allowing the body to effectively sink into the mattress without effecting the surrounding areas; this mould supports independently all parts of your body which alleviates pressure from your body’s individual joints. This is why this special foam mattresses are employed in hospitals and endorsed by quite a few physicians. If you are in misery from any form of tenderness that is not helped by your mattress then a new memory foam mattress will be of enormous help to you.

One of the supreme benefits of this form of memory foam mattress pad is that it alleviates nightly tossing and turning. Disturbed nights will be a customary outcome of pressure points caused by a large amount of old style beds when you are asleep on them. Whilst you are sleeping pressure points can form on your body, particularly at your body’s joints and you must switch position to forget the pressure. This movement will cause you to awake and will disturb your sleep. In removing this need to switch positions the memory foam mattress gives you the quality to sleep the whole time the night with no waking up.

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