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How To Decide Which Memory Foam Mattress Is The Right One For YOU
Which memory foam mattress is the right mattress for ME?
When choosing a
memory foam mattress, the first thing you will need to know is that all
memory foam mattresses are not alike. Knowing this, there are four different areas that can be considered before purchasing a
memory foam mattress that suits you best.
The four main memory foam
mattress qualities that should always be graded are:
Density (weight (aka pounds per square foot)), the
ILD rating (Indentation Load Deflection), resilience, and how tensile the memory foam mattress is.
Density
The first thing we recommend when buying a memory foam mattress is to look at the weight/density of the
visco elastic foam and materials used in the
mattress.
The recommended
memory foam density at the memory foam network is no less than 4 lbs. the reason we suggest memoryfoam mattresses with 4-5 pounds density is because many
memory foam consumers have complained in the past about how the memory foam mattress did not last more than a few years with lower
memory foam densities. These mattress customers obviously were not armed with the
memory foam fact that when a person pays hundreds less for a memory foam mattress, they are either paying for cheap materials or not enough
viscoelastic foam materials in the mattress.
Many of the
memory foam mattresses we are referring to are memory foam mattresses sold at retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart and overstock.com.
In recent years, prices of memory foam mattresses have gone down and mattress buyers are now able to purchase
viscoelastic mattresses with 4-5 lbs density or higher at very competitive prices. This is obviously due to the ever-growing popularity of
memory foam products.
ILD
The next thing to consider is the firmness, or
ILD, of the memory foam mattress. This rating tells you how hard or soft the memoryfoam material is. This
memory foam rating is based on the firmness of the visco elastic foam, not the rest of the materials in the memory foam mattress.
The
memory foam ILD rating is very important when considering that some of the best memory foam mattress savings can be found online.
Knowing what the
memory foam mattress ILD rating is and how you should use this factor in order to find the best memory foam firmness is crucial. An
ILD rating of around 13-15 ILD would be comparable to memory foam brands such as the Tempurpedic mattress. Also, try to consider around 3-5” inch thickness of the memory foam layer in the memory foam mattress.
Resilience
As a person sleeps on a memory foam mattress, the
visco foam material is continuously redistributing their body weight on the memory foam mattress which, as a result, relieves the pressure points that often cause joint and muscle pains that cause the sleeper to toss and turn throughout the night. Whenever a person does move, the memory foam readjusts to the new position on the memory foam
Tempurpedic mattress. This readjusting of the
viscoelastic foam materials is the difference between memory foam and traditional foams in furniture. This difference is graded in terms of HR ratings. HR (high resilience) foams are different from
visco elastic foam as they actually push back when displacement occurs. So the harder the displacement, the harder HR foam pushes back. The problem with
HR foam is that it causes pressure which in response causes discomfort and constriction of the user’s circulation.
Memory foam in contrast adjusts itself in order to provide a balanced, comfortable longer term experience while providing much needed support.
Tensility
The
visco memory foam measurement of tensility simply describes the memory foams ‘stretch ability’. Even though this is rarely an issue since the only time a memory foam mattress is stretched, or compressed, is when a person is using the
Tempurpedic or other
memory foam product. If a person usually requires a more tensile memory foam mattress or memory foam product due to more weight that will be compressing the viscoelastic material, then this would be a useful factor to consider.
Overall, for most, we have observed that
temperature sensitive memory foam mattresses with 5-6 lb density
visco foam with 13-15 ILD rating and 3-5 inches of thickness would be able to provide enough comfort and support for most people.
The most ideal
memory foam mattress density for a human body is about 5.9 lbs.
Any more
memory foam density than that would be too dense and would not allow the visco foam to collapse properly inside the Tempurpedic mattress which would not allow your body to settle into the memory foam mattress.
In contrast, if there is too little memory foam in the
memoryfoam mattress, it would result in a lack of hip and shoulder support. In addition to the lack of visco support, the lighter
memory foams will quickly lose their visco firmness and begin to lose its ability to recover.
In many cases, either too light or too much memory foam density would be more of a waste of money as it really would not be offering any more comfort or support to the
Tempurpedic memory foam mattress buyer.
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The MFN Buyers Guide
