Do you know what is memory foam? It is a material that is made to mold to the body in response to heat and pressure. That way, your weight is distributed evenly through the memory foam mattress and returns to its original shape once you get out of bed.
To properly compare both types of mattresses, you first have to know what they’re made of. For coil mattresses, they are formed with steel coil springs that bring support to your body and a bouncing effect. Coil mattresses were invented in the 19th century. Since then, many types of coil mattresses have been created to try and provide the best sleep.
On the other hand, foam mattresses are more recent. They first appeared in the 80’s when NASA released a new material to the public domain that was later known as “memory foam” or “viscoelastic foam”. Since its discovery, many other types of foam have been developed and marketed. If you want to know what is memory foam and why you should consider it for your next mattress, keep reading!
It is not always easy to choose the right mattress among all that’s available on the market. These days, the mattress industry is divided into two main parts: foam mattresses vs coil mattresses. Both have their pros and cons, but in the end: which one is the best for you?
What Is Memory Foam and What Are Its Advantages?
First of all, before we start, let’s identify the materials that compose memory foam. To know what is memory foam, it is better to know what it’s actually made of.
Memory foam is made of a polyurethane material that’s reactive to pressure and heat. It allows the foam enough flexibility to mold around the shape of a person as to evenly redistribute the weight on the mattress. It is also often referred to as viscoelastic because the foam bubbles are open, which allows air to circulate through the mattress.
Now that we have established what is memory foam, let’s see what are the advantages of this type of mattress:
An optimal level of comfort. Because of how the mattress snuggles around your forms, it provides all the support needed;
Prevents shoulder, hips, pelvis, and lower back pain. Since we have learned what is memory foam, it’s easy to understand that the mattress using it have been designed to relieve pressure points. With a greater support and a better repartition of the weight, it is possible to avoid joint pains. On the other hand, coil mattresses were not designed to prevent pain and don’t provide an even support.
Offers a greater quality of sleep. Since the mattress is made to snuggle around your forms, if you sleep with someone else, you won’t feel them move next to you. Motion transfer is avoided because of the capacity of the foam to take your body’s shape. Coil mattresses can’t rival that since the coils can make noises as they grow older and even in the early years, the motion transfer cannot be avoided.
A longer lifespan. Contrarily to coils which can get slack after a couple of years, a good quality foam mattress can last up to 10 years. Some companies producing them will also offer longer warranty along with the mattresses.
You don’t need to rotate the bed. To keep your coil mattresses in good health, you often have to flip them or rotate them as to not use the coils too fast. This is completely unnecessary with a memory foam bed.
What Is Memory Foam Main Disadvantage for Mattresses?
Of course, there are not only advantages to foam mattresses. Knowing what is memory foam help understand why they are good, quality mattresses, but you should still know that these type of mattresses are generally more expensive than coil mattresses. However, sometimes, paying more also means getting more out of your money.
Considering that they have a longer lifespan and which material they are made with, their buying price is higher than coil mattresses. On the other hand, since they are a longer lifespan, it’s an investment that’s worth the candle. As mentioned earlier, most companies will offer a longer warranty on their viscoelastic mattresses since these are more resistant to the passage of time.
So, what is going to be your next mattress made of? Memory foam or coils?
