Intelligent Shopping: Visco Elastic Memory Foam

Beds have been around for a long, long time. Indeed, in one form or another they have been around as long as mankind has needed to sleep, not that we ever had a version of man that never slept, of course! In fact medically such a person cannot exist because sufficient length and quality of sleep is not just nice it is literally essential to our health.

Thinking of it like that sort of changes a person’s perspective a little, don’t you think? Your choice of bed is not a luxury anymore; it is an integral part of the status of your current and especially your future health. Facilitating a good night’s sleep is like protecting yourself from attack while unconscious. At night, while you are ‘away’ in the land of nod your bed may be doing you harm. You are not aware of it while it is happening, but you are certainly aware of the effects while you are awake.

Mentally you may lack focus, may have short-term memory issues, and may even feel depressed. Physically, you may have joint or muscle pain, will recover from extraneous physical activities more slowly, may have lower back pain, could even suffer from headaches more frequently. Poor quality sleep patterns are no joke, and the effect compounds over time.

A bed is not just furniture then, is it? It is where you will spend 230,680 hours of your life, as an average. It is a very important part of your home; it could be argued it is the most important part of your home. Choosing your bed wisely is arguably the most important investment you will ever make, and it is clear that when we consider beds we are actually considering the mattress far more than the frame.

Beds have evolved from even just 50 years ago, and quite considerably. The latest intelligence on bed construction is Visco Elastic Memory Foam. Built in three layers from the bottom up it is constructed as a support layer for orthopedic benefit, a cooling layer for circulation benefit, and a softness layer for comfort; the thicker this last layer is the more you sink into the mattress when sleeping.

The thickness of the mattress is from 8 inches to 15 inches, and is available in all the standard sizes. Most importantly is the density of the foam, which is measured in pounds per square foot. A 3 pound mattress is a minimum you should start with, and is suitable for lightweight people or average people that like a really soft bed. For the larger people among us the 5 or 6 pound bed is a better match. Essentially, firmness of support increases with the increased density per square foot.

It’s a little strange when first thought of; that a foam mattress will probably weigh more than a standard sprung mattress of the same size, but this is part of the secret to the memory foam design, which is simply better by design. Have a great night’s sleep!