Memory Foam Mattress Toppers

Don’t be deceived – not all memory foam mattress toppers are created equal!

You’ve likely heard of memory foam mattress toppers by now, and heard people sing their praises. “I get such wonderful sleep these days!” Or perhaps, “I’ve never had such good support in a mattress!” And of course, “It conforms to your body while you sleep, but springs right back into shape when you get up!”

That last one is both the reason why memory foam gives you such good support and the good sleep, and also why it’s called “memory foam” in the first place. It seems to “remember” its original shape, and doesn’t get a permanent sag after you’ve slept on it.

Yet there are different kinds of memory foam, and some of them work better than others. So it would be wise to do a little research before committing to buying a particular mattress. These things aren’t cheap, and if you make the wrong choice, that’s a lot of money down the drain.

Remember how this foam works: it is temperature-sensitive, so as your body heat infiltrates the foam, the mattress softens and conforms to the shape of the body. Yet at the lower levels of the foam, where the heat doesn’t penetrate, it retains its firmness This is what creates the comfort and lack of pressure points, yet allows the foam to give such firm support as well.

According to both the MemoryFoamNetwork.com and Geoff Milburn’s research posted at the GMilburn.ca website, the density of the foam is the most important factor to explore. The higher the density, the more likely that the mattress is made of the real stuff. Higher-density foam will “deform” as you press your hand into it, but will do it slowly. And it will take a few seconds to return to its original shape. Lower-density foams will both deform and bounce back into shape more quickly. This indicates less internal strength, and eventually they’ll begin to sag, forming indentations from your body that won’t bounce back.

Milburn advises a minimum density of five pounds per cubic foot. If you want to be sure, and the manufacturer hasn’t clearly stated it on the label, you can calculate the total cubic feet of the memory foam mattress toppers, and multiply that number by five (i.e. five pounds for every cubic foot you’ve calculated). The resulting number should come quite close to the shipping weight of the mattress. If it doesn’t, you may want to look elsewhere.

Real memory foam isn’t cheap either, and the price may give you a good clue. If the cost of an entire mattress being advertised as “memory foam” is way less than most others, and seems too good to be true – then it is. And other manufacturers will also write directly into their warranties that your mattress has to indent to a certain number of inches before they’ll ever replace it. That’s another warning sign.

If you’re online and can research other people’s comments and recommendations, that can also help narrow down your choices and weed out the bad from the good.

Remember that this is your long-term physical health you’re dealing with. If you take some extra time to look into all your options in advance, it could save you a lot of expense later on, not to mention some unpleasant health effects from selecting the wrong memory foam mattress toppers.