Memory Foam Mattresses: Science

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by: stickystebee
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Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 Time: 5:19 AM
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To be a little scientific, memory foam mattresses are constructed from a visco-elastic polyurethane foam. A visco-elastic material is a material the exhibits both viscous flow and elastic properties. Viscous flow means that the material will yield under stress, and elastic means that a stressed material will revert to its unstressed state once the stress is removed. This is precisely how a memory foam mattress works. When you lie on it you exert stress, or pressure, on it. It yields to this stress in such a way that it effectively flows round your body; you literally sink into it. Of course you don't carry on sinking through it for ever as you would if its properties were controlled entirely by its viscous nature, but when the stress on it is balanced by the restraining force created by its elastic properties, it ceases to yield to the force of your body but instead supports is evenly by balancing the force against its elastic properties. When you remove the force, that is you get up off the mattress, it is the elastic properties that dominate and the mattress reverts to its original shape.

What this means in reality is that a memory foam mattress is just about as comfortable a mattress as it is possible to get. As you sink into it, it balances out all the different forces that your body puts on it so that your body is supported evenly without any part of your body experiencing uncomfortable pressure. What you experience is an unprecedented degree of support in combination with an all round softness. Think of sinking through cloud until your body is perfectly balanced by the wind.

Not everyone will find that sleeping on a memory foam mattress is ideal for them; some people prefer sleeping on a plank of wood than in a bed, others prefer hammocks; however everyone owes it to themselves to try out what a memory foam mattress feels like, just to see what they might be missing.

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Now that you know the science behind memory foam mattresses, why not buy one from Memory Foam Mattress Direct!