5 Memory Foam Mattress Myths
06-07-2010
With the growth of memory foam mattresses in recent years, there are many enduring myths about the material that keep on being repeated, often by retailers of the memory foam products themselves.
Here’s the Ergoflex guide to some of the most commonly found memory foam mattress myths;
1) The NASA Connection. This is easily the most repeated memory foam myth out there, and contends that it is used in astronaut beds. It is often coupled with explanations of how memory foam offers superior protection when spacecraft reach phenomenal speeds and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. While the earliest form of the material was indeed created in a NASA-commissioned research programme in 1966, it was recognised immediately that memory foam had more potential in the health care and medical sector, so the first applications were x-ray tables and hospital beds that were anything but space-bound.
2) Memory foam’s ‘new’ smell is harmful. Like most man-made materials, every memory foam mattress has a slight smell when it is brand new. This smell is the simple result of the oxidisation process that rapidly takes place when the mattress is unpacked, and lasts for just a few days. It has been claimed by some online, always unverified, that the smell is dangerous to inhale. This is categorically untrue. The manufacturing and consumer regulations that all products must meet before being sold in the UK, EU and US are extremely and rightly stringent, would negate any such issues even if they did exist.
3) Thick memory foam is more effective. Many low quality memory foam mattress manufacturers emphasise the excessive thickness of their memory foam as a way to somehow prove that they’ll be comfortable. This is very misleading, as memory foam actually works best when it is used with a combination of other layered materials, and there is a definite ‘optimum’ thickness that memory foam should be. When memory foam is thicker than 6” it is too deep and spongy, therefore a mattress using this amount wouldn’t be very comfortable. A memory foam thickness of around 3.5”, used as part of a premium layered consistency, will provide an exceptional level of support.
4) Memory foam mattresses are too hot. The layered composition of memory foam mattresses mean that they retain heat more than traditional ‘open’ sprung alternatives. However, high quality memory foam mattresses tend to include a layer specially-developed to encourage air to circulate throughout the body of the mattress, regulating the temperature and preventing excessive warming up.
5) Memory foam mattresses don’t ‘work’ on normal bed bases. In the same way that other unverified and vague claims about memory foam mattresses abound online, the assertion that they somehow can’t be used with regular bed bases has become mysteriously common. In fact, memory foam mattresses are suitable for use on the vast majority of bed bases, and don’t differ from other mattress types at all in this regard.
Here’s the Ergoflex guide to some of the most commonly found memory foam mattress myths;
1) The NASA Connection. This is easily the most repeated memory foam myth out there, and contends that it is used in astronaut beds. It is often coupled with explanations of how memory foam offers superior protection when spacecraft reach phenomenal speeds and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. While the earliest form of the material was indeed created in a NASA-commissioned research programme in 1966, it was recognised immediately that memory foam had more potential in the health care and medical sector, so the first applications were x-ray tables and hospital beds that were anything but space-bound.
2) Memory foam’s ‘new’ smell is harmful. Like most man-made materials, every memory foam mattress has a slight smell when it is brand new. This smell is the simple result of the oxidisation process that rapidly takes place when the mattress is unpacked, and lasts for just a few days. It has been claimed by some online, always unverified, that the smell is dangerous to inhale. This is categorically untrue. The manufacturing and consumer regulations that all products must meet before being sold in the UK, EU and US are extremely and rightly stringent, would negate any such issues even if they did exist.
3) Thick memory foam is more effective. Many low quality memory foam mattress manufacturers emphasise the excessive thickness of their memory foam as a way to somehow prove that they’ll be comfortable. This is very misleading, as memory foam actually works best when it is used with a combination of other layered materials, and there is a definite ‘optimum’ thickness that memory foam should be. When memory foam is thicker than 6” it is too deep and spongy, therefore a mattress using this amount wouldn’t be very comfortable. A memory foam thickness of around 3.5”, used as part of a premium layered consistency, will provide an exceptional level of support.
4) Memory foam mattresses are too hot. The layered composition of memory foam mattresses mean that they retain heat more than traditional ‘open’ sprung alternatives. However, high quality memory foam mattresses tend to include a layer specially-developed to encourage air to circulate throughout the body of the mattress, regulating the temperature and preventing excessive warming up.
5) Memory foam mattresses don’t ‘work’ on normal bed bases. In the same way that other unverified and vague claims about memory foam mattresses abound online, the assertion that they somehow can’t be used with regular bed bases has become mysteriously common. In fact, memory foam mattresses are suitable for use on the vast majority of bed bases, and don’t differ from other mattress types at all in this regard.
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