Memory Foam Mattresses: In the wide spectrum of mattresses available on the market today, it can sometimes get a bit difficult choosing the right mattress. But memory foam mattresses are revolutionizing the way people choose mattresses and it's all thanks to technology.
What first started as a NASA experiment to find the most comfortable and ergonomically designed mattress for astronauts, turned into a sleep saviour for many people around the world.
Known by its scientific name "Visco elastic foam", these memory foam mattresses supports the weight of the body by conforming to the bodys natural contours, and as the name implies, it holds or memorizes the body contours to start supporting the body from the first instant and holds your body's shape long after.
The idea behind memory foam matresses and body contouring is to let your body tell the mattresses on which areas weight falls in any given position. Memory foam mattresses are able to form to the body and hold the shape because of the dense material it is made from.
For any given portion of foam to have 'memory' certain types of chemicals are added to a synthetic polyurethane piece of foam which in turn causes the density and the weight of the foam to increase.
However, since there are various types of mattresses made from memory foam, various pieces of foam with various densities, it is important they we comprehend the different characteristics to be found in the finished product and to do this it is useful to understand how each portion of foam is graded.
The grading system used for memory foam takes into account how durable it is and also the foams visco-elastic characteristics. First on the list is density. The density is usually referred to in pounds per sq. ft and it is measured by the quantity of chemicals utilised in manufacturing the foam.
For a greater density and greater viso-elasticity then more chemicals are used. However, this density rating will in no way tell us the hardness rating of the foam material. For this to be determined we need to make use of what is known as the ILD rating structure. ILD Rating or Indentation Load Deflection tells us the softness or hardness of a material.
Thirdly, resilience is taken into consideration. Resilience measures the springiness of the foam by calculating a percentage rebound when a steel ball is dropped from a specific height, usually 36 inches above the foam. If you see the expression "H.R" this refers to foam which is highly resilient. This mean this piece of foam got a pretty high rebound reading.
The conclusion is that for highly durable foam, in other words foam which can withstand high compression forces you need highly resilient foam. And lastly, tensile is a measurement that is used in grading memory foam by indicating the range within which the foam is able to stretch. This measure is usually calculated in pounds per sq inch and also by the relative length of elongation calculated as a percentage of stretch before the foam has time to rupture.
It should be noted however that the tensile value does not really relate to memory foam mattresses because they do not actually stretch but will however become compressed but only when they are slept on and even this type of tensile will occur over a long period of time.
But whatever the make and manufacture of the memory foam, the general benefits of it are still largely undisputed. Memory foam mattresses are not only good for overall well being, but the foam itself is generally durable, high quality and heavy duty, and comes in every size and style to suit any décor.
