Better Bed Company have been thinking about the Memory Foam Mattress and what it could bring to peoples lives in 2019. We wanted to create a blog that was useful with tips on how this material could add benefits to your life and your families. The material is well known in the mattress industry and can be found in most bed stores being a winner with the UK public for decades now. 

Memory Foam Intro The Material

made up of chemicals mainly polyurethane memory foam is a man made material using chemical processing to manufacturer the substance. Its known as viscoelastic and has small holes / cells for air to move through. Coming in high or low density form the higher the memory foam the more it tends to soften reacting to heat. The science part is out of the way let's move on ! 

Memory Foam Mattress History 

Memory Foam was first developed back in 1966 for NASA to improve safety of Air Craft cushions. It was then called tempur foam by most people. Shortly after medical equipment was made out of the foam this includes x ray tables giving the patient a more comfortable feel it was also used in sports wear helmets in particular giving a safer head wear for American footballers. 

It was first used by Tempur world after NASA made the material available to the public domain. This style of foam was too expensive back then to become a major player in the mattress manufacturing world. It quickly became cheaper and house holds began to purchase memory foam pillows, mattresses even blankets.

Memory Foam Mattress Dimensions

The memory foam mattress can comes in all shapes and sizes there are so many options available these days. Memory foam is ideal for a made to measure mattress as it can be cut to the size you want using specialist machinery in factory's. If you have an awkward shape sleeping space this could be a material to consider.

With a small single memory foam mattress being the first on the list as it's smallest standard size available in the UK. This measurement is 75cm x 190cm and could benefit in smaller spaces. The thickness would depend on the manufacturer with a usual depth being around 18cm in total this would include a combination material such as reflex foam but we will talk about this later on in the blog. The thickness is generally the same with all sizes. This would depend on the end users desire.   

The next size up is single this has a measurements of 90cm x 190cm again depth depending on the product design form manufacturers. This size would be ideal for a single bedroom or you could use it as a super king size attaching 2 together.

After would a small double this is 120cm x 190cm again this has the benefits of space saving again or looking at it another way you could add this to growing teenagers bedroom knowing that he or she will grow into the item over the years.

Next we have the double memory foam mattress this is the most popular on the market today. The measurements for this are 135cm x 190cm your average bedroom would suit this size as builders know they can get away with this space as an average room size.

Then we have a king size which is 150cm x 200cm this gives the end user more length so would ideal for anyone who is 6ft tall or over. It's a well sold size and could add advantages to the bedroom.

We have the largest standard size next which is 180cm x 200cm this is the biggest of the bunch. If your looking for space when sleeping this should be considered. Mentioned before sometimes bed companies attache to single beds together with attachments called zip and link we will advise on this later. 

Also see our size guide - HERE 

Memory Foam Combination 

With memory foam when being used in a mattress you should always find it with another structure. If you you lay down on memory foam on it's own there would be little support and it wouldn't do it's self justice. It needs a partner a foundation to help it's performance. Better Bed Company talk through a couple of these with you. 

Memory Foam And Reflex Foam 

Reflex foam is ideal in supporting memory foam. This was the first material used and offers the sleeper support as well as the memory foam. The ratio of this particular material to memory foam differs from company to company. You would like to find in 18cm depth mattress at the very least there should be 1cm of memory foam and 17cm of reflex foam. This would be your basic mattress. It can then go as high as 30cm with 10cm of memory foam with 20cm reflex foam. This type of mattress would probably only work if the memory foam was of a high density. 

Memory Foam And Pocket Spring System

With manufacturers looking new and inventive ways of marketing memory foam mattresses back the 90's. They came up with the pocket spring and memory foam mattress this gave consumers more choices and more feels to choose from when buying memory foam mattresses. 

Pocket springs units where first made for natural material mattresses like cotton or wool. The pocket spring unit is made using coils springs nested in to individual pockets of cloth. This style of spring system offers support and combining it with memory foam was a master stroke. With memory foam your getting a contouring material and then adding the pocket spring system your doubling the contour for the end user. The more pocket springs and the more support usually starting with 800 then working up to 5000 and more. 

The pocket spring and memory foam mattress has become a favourite with consumers. They also added it to Latex mattresses as they saw how well it worked with the memory foam customers. 

Memory Foam And Open Coil Spring System 

With open coil spring systems it was the same as the pocket spring unit manufacturers started making them in the early 90's. This type of mattress is cheap depending on how much memory foam is used. The open coil spring system was commonly used in natural mattresses being a budget buy for the masses. It's an ideal system for a spare room mattresses or a lighter user giving an average amount of support. 

The memory foam and open coil mattress is made with system being the foundation for the foam. This gives the end user support will the memory foam is added for comfort and it's molding aspects. The open coil spring system is a caged unit attached together using a frame around the perimeter. Both memory foam and the open coil system works well together and is purchased often on the UK market. The tension can be determined by both springs and memory foam. The thicker the coil of spring is the firmer it will be and the lower the density the firmer the tension also. 

All in all the combination works well and should be bought for children and budget mattresses. I wouldn't advise an adult customer to purchase this type of mattress for every day use. 

Memory Foam And Why It Could Add Health Benefits

This type of material is probably the best when it comes to health benefits on the market today. With an array of advantages memory foam can create a better healthier life style for the end user. These include better posture, brain activity, more rest and greater muscle mass for athlete's. Better Bed Company look at some of the positive effects memory foam could have on your body. 

Your posture while you sleep is very important you want to be in a certain position for a number of reasons. Your spine should be straight while you sleep and you should lay on your back or side. Memory Foam will mold to your body creating a surface that will keep you in place during sleep. 

Your brain can be effected by blood flow during sleep. You want want to encourage the flow as much as possible. You can do this by aligning your body in a straight position. Memory Foam is ideal for this situation. Blood Flowing to the brain will help against disease and strokes in the long term.

Your rest is very important while sleeping this is the time you will recharge the most. The types of material you sleep on will have an effect on how well your body rests at this particular time. Memory Foam is ideal because of the nature of the material relieves pressure points on the body. The support is great also allowing you to take part in the following day's activity with more energy. 

Sleeping for athlete's is one of the most important parts of there schedule and getting the right amount could bring significant impact to their goals. Your body grows the most while you sleep so the posture you take up will effect the growth. Again the more blood flows around the body the better. Your blood flow is all about growth in your muscle. A Memory Foam mattress is ideal for gym enthusiasts and Athletes and creating a better sleep surface is crucial to a better life style in general. 

 

Memory Foam Mattress And Your Bed Base

Your foundation for your mattress is very important and there is advantages to different styles. It's like building a house if you get the footings wrong then the house could fall down. It would be good practice to buy a new base when buying a new mattress and this would bring benefits for the life span. With so many styles of bases available like solid top, sprung, bed frames and sprung edge available we talk you through your choices. 

Solid Top Base And Your Memory Foam Mattress

This type of base is probably the most common in the UK today. If you try your memory foam mattress in a shop then 9 times out 10 it's probably on a solid top. This would give the consumer a real indication of the tension the manufacturer has set out to deliver. It's a base you can rely on and Better Bed Company would always recommend this to our customers when buying a memory foam mattress. 

Sprung Base With Your Memory Foam Mattress 

This style of base brings it's advantages and disadvantages. A sprung base will work with your mattress while you sleep and move when you do. This will add life span to your mattress over the years. A sprung base would make your mattress slightly softer. You should be aware that if you tried the mattress on a solid top in the show room but wanted to add it to a sprung base at home the tension would be affected. 

Memory Foam Mattress On A Bed Frame

The main advantage to a bed base where a memory foam mattress is concerned is the air flow to the material. This would add benefits when it comes to moister control. Most bed frames consist of a slatted base and this would add place for air to flow around the mattresses fillings. Again you should take into consideration the sprung slats as appose to solid slats this will effect the tension. 

Sprung Edge Base For Your Memory Foam Mattress

This style of base is good for a memory foam mattress as it will work with it at the edges. It won't effect the tension a great deal. The pluses out way the minuses on this from Better Bed Companies point of view !  

One thing to remember is that your base will effect your guarantee when it come to manufacturers. If you add your new memory foam mattress to an old base that isn't of a certain standard this could effect you while being independently inspected. We will talk about firms like Fira later. 

Memory Foam And Your Partner

In every situation when buying a new mattress you should consult your partner as they will be effected by this purchase. Better Bed Company recommend you trial this out together in a showroom for at least 30 minuets. You really can't tell until you have slept on the mattress for at least 1 night.

Memory foam being the material it is should not effect your partner as the molding nature should be an independent procedure. How ever the combination material or system used for the foundation could effect your partner. You should consider either reflex foam or pocket springs. With the pocket spring system designed to have an individual effect on the sleeper you should consider this aspect if concerned. Reflex foam depending on the density should give both users ideal independent support.
Really the effects on your partners sleep while both using a memory foam mattress could boil down to number of reasons. Body weights can determine this as if one of the sleepers is heavy and the other lightweight you could have roll together. This can be when the lighter of the two rolls down to the center of the mattress.

Memory Foam Mattress And Your Pillows

Your posture during sleep is very important and the pillows can effect your sleeping position. This is something to consider when your buying a memory foam mattress. Your neck and shoulders should be in the position that keep your spine in straight alignment. Pillows can also be positioned between your legs while sleeping on your side this is something Better Bed Company would put down to personal preference. If this type of sleeping position works for you we would not disagree.

The memory foam pillow it's self can contour to your neck giving good posture. Again if this gives good posture to the sleeper we would recommend this can be determined by the size of the pillow and density of the memory foam. Every sleeper will be different so it's about testing and getting the correct pillow for you.

Memory Foam Mattress And A Topper

If you have just purchased a new memory foam mattress then really this type of item should not be entertained. Sometime the user can make a mistake in the tension of the mattress this is the only situation we would recommend this buy. If your memory foam mattress is too firm then a mattress topper can soften the model and could add benefits.

The memory foam topper could be a great edition to an existing mattress if you wanted to prolong the life span. With an old memory foam mattress you may not have the budget to replace and this would be a time to entertain a new memory foam mattress topper for a short period of time.

Children With A Memory Foam Mattress  

Better Bed Company would always suggest you should try your child out on a memory foam mattress before you buy them one. With this material it can sometimes be hot for the user so a night spent on this style of mattress could be an idea. 

For children a small amount of memory foam with a foundation depth of reflex foam underneath is something we would suggest. This would give them a supportive and contouring feel. It depends on their weight in most cases to determine the advantages. If your child was very light then then memory foam may not work properly. 

Teenagers With A Memory Foam Mattress 

Again it's down to personal preference and if the end user finds this particular material comfortable. The health benefits will still be their giving the body the correct alignment. 

It's important that your teenager gets the correct amount of sleep study's suggest 8 to 10 hours a night to function best - sleep foundation. Better Bed Company it's best this rest comes in the correct way. With memory foam it's the ideal surface it will effect their well being in a positive way. 

Brands To Deal With In The Memory Foam Mattress Buy

Brands have an important part to play in getting you the right memory foam mattress. Trust of a quality brand should be considered knowing your buying from a reputable company should be on your tick list. Better Bed Company deal with brands like Airsprung Beds, Sleepshaper  and Visco Therapy. These companies all  have extensive experience when it comes to manufacturing memory foam mattresses. You should consider these before making any buy. 

Other Websites To Look At For More Information On Memory Foam Mattresses

You have a few choices when it comes to getting the correct information on all types of mattresses and beds. They give advice on sleep and manufacturers to deal with. These are Sleep council and NBF (national sleep federation) they both have some great advice for you. 

You should also consider taking a look at FIRA this companies purpose is being an independent firm that sets the standards. If you have any faults with your mattress then reputable companies will involve Fira. They will inspect your memory foam mattress and and either repair or give advice on the fault. 

Bed Shows To Try Memory Foam Mattresses 

In the Bed and Mattress industry we have a few bed shows a year. This could be a good place to start so you can try a number of memory foam mattresses out. With a host of Brands show casing their latest products to independent stores and the public. 

We have the NEC January Bed Show it's probably the biggest of the bunch in the UK. From the 20th - 23rd of January the NEC is taken over by the furniture trade this would be the ideal place to look for a memory foam mattress. 

The Bed Show in Telford  is another show to consider. This is mainly a place for the whole industry to view the brands new mattresses and beds for the year ahead. This could also be a good place to try. 

The Memory Foam Mattress Recap

This blog was designed to help the public giving them information on a memory foam mattress. We went through sizes making sure the consumer is aware of these knowing sometimes can be confusing. The history was discussed we thought this was important to mention as it will help customers understand what they are buying. The combination was discussed giving you options and helping you understand what other styles of materials could bring to a memory foam mattress. 

Spring Systems have been discussed knowing that you could add springs as well as another material is an advantage to this post. The health benefits of memory foam was under discussion as this advice is of great importance to the reader. 

Your base is another thing to think about and this go's with every mattress you will ever buy. If you get this correct you will add life span and a better sleeping surface. Shouldn't forget about your partner adding something to your lives should bring advantages to both you and your partner. 

Your memory foam topper and pillows could be an ideal purchase understanding what you should be looking for from this items was discussed. Then we looked at Children and Teenagers knowing what to look for and how this material might work for them.

Websites and shows to take advantage of was also under discussion in the last part of the blog !  

 

Better Bed Company 

This was written for everyone to help inform you of the memory foam mattress. Check out the collection today - 

Memory Foam Mattress Collection