Archive for September, 2010

What Exactly is a Memory Foam Mattress Pad?

Memory Foam Mattress Pad History
Visco-elastic foam, more commonly known as memory foam is a revolutionary space age material that was originally developed for NASA. Today, this amazing material is used in a wide variety of products. Millions of people have switched from an ordinary spring mattress to a memory foam mattress. And, many are choosing a memory foam mattress pad over regular mattress pads because of their comfort.

In the early 1970′s, NASA contracted a Swedish company to develop a substance that would protect astronauts from the enormous “G” forces their bodies endured during take off and re-entry of the spacecraft. Researchers believed that the best way to reduce or eliminate those forces was with a foam that would mold itself to the shape of the astronauts body. What they developed was visco-elastic, a brand new type of polyurethane foam.

Not only did this new foam conform to fit the shape of the astronauts body perfectly, it would revert back to its original shape when the weight was lifted off of the foam. It also allowed the weight and pressure of the astronauts body to be distributed evenly across the surface of the foam. As the astronaut moved, the foam would quickly adapt to the new position of the body.

Flexibility & Usage
A memory foam mattress pad can be used with any mattress. In fact, it’s a simple, affordable way to make an ordinary mattress extraordinary. You can find one that will fit any size bed from a single all the way up to a king. Adding a pad to your mattress is a much cheaper option than replacing that old uncomfortable mattress. The foam pad simply fits on top of your existing mattress adding the benefits of visco-elastic foam.

These mattress pads offer a variety of benefits. The foam features a cell structure that reacts to the weight of the body instantly molding itself to surround you in comfort. At room temperature, the foam will conform to the shape of your body within just minutes. It helps to relieve the pressure points such as the hips and shoulders thus reducing or eliminating the pain and aches that can result from an ordinary mattress.

Solution for Back Pain
It is estimated that around 65 million people in the United States alone suffer from back pain. Memory foam is the ideal solution and can literally be an alternative to surgery in some cases. The foam will cradle your body and provide all the support your spine needs. It’s also a great choice for anyone that suffers from arthritis or fibromyalgia. Around 80% of the consumers suffering from these illnesses reported high levels of relief.

A Mattress Pad that Will Cater to Your Personal Preferences

While almost all brands have the same basic chemical makeup, the layer thickness and cell density can vary greatly. For example, you can find a 4 inch memory foam mattress pad, while others may only have one or two inches of foam. Some memory foam mattress toppers may feature open cells while others have cells that are almost closed. These differences mean that one memory foam mattress pad can feel very different than another.

The thickness of the pad is a personal preference. But, keep in mind the thicker the foam the more comfortable the mattress pad will be. Cell density is also an important factor when choosing a mattress pad. A high density pad will provide better compression after years of use than a low density pad. Foam with a low cell density will wear out much quicker than one with high density cell structure.

Disadvantages of Memory Foam and How to Eliminate Them
While a foam mattress pad offers a lot of great advantages, there are also some disadvantages. The main one is the result of the foam being sensitive to temperatures. Because memory foam absorbs heat, some people find it too hot to be comfortable. Another common problem is that the pad is firmer in cooler temperatures than in higher temperatures. But, these problems can usually be easily solved.

The problem of heat retention doesn’t lie in the memory foam, it lies in the cell structure. A tight cell structure prevents airflow resulting in a build up of heat. Memory foam with a open cell structure allows air to flow through the foam and greatly reduces or eliminates heat retention. And, while the mattress pad may be firmer in cool temperatures, it only takes a few minutes for the foam to absorb the heat from your body and mold itself to fit your shape.

The disadvantages of memory foam mattress pads are very minor and can be eliminated by choosing the right pad. However, there is one disadvantage that may prove to be a problem. Once you get used to the unbelievable comfort that a foam pad provides you will find it difficult to sleep on a ordinary bed. Many consumers have reported that when traveling they can no longer get a good nights sleep on an innerspring mattress.

Which Brand to Get
With so many different brands of mattress pads it can be hard to choose the best one. Tempur-Pedic is one of the most popular, well known brands of memory foam products. The Swedish company was the pioneer in the memory foam market in the early 1990′s. Tempur-Pedic mattress pads are high quality and free from toxic chemicals. They offer a variety of sizes and thicknesses that can be used with a foam mattress or a traditional mattress.

Serta is another well known name in the bedding industry. Their 4 inch memory foam mattress pad is one of their most popular products. The 4 inch foam is free from toxins and the bad smells that result from formaldehyde and other chemicals. The mattress pad stays securely in place eliminating the need to get up in the middle of the night to reposition the pad. But, the main reason for the pads popularity is its luxurious comfort.

Should You Buy?
If you are considering purchasing a mattress pad the main thing to keep in mind is that not all memory foam is created equal. Cheap mattress pads are often made with low quality materials and will become flat rather quickly. They may not provide enough support for your body and may even contain toxic chemicals. While it’s fine to look for a bargain, don’t let a cheap price rob you of the superior comfort that a high quality memory foam mattress pad can provide.

5 Reasons to Keep Warm with a Heated Mattress Pad

A heated mattress pad is a device used by those who would rather get a good night’s sleep than to be forced to stay awake and withstand the cold climate during the wee hours of the night. During harsh and bitterly cold nights, it is a heated mattress pad that will always come to your rescue, even more so than the electric mattress pad. This is a timely buy for those who wake up feeling resentful because of insufficient sleep, or for those who despise not being cozy and warm in their beds. Some people are indeed rather sensitive to temperature differences and notwithstanding that fact, these work for just about anyone. Apart from that, a few other reasons why you should invest in them are:

1. Almost all of these come with a temperature adjuster which ensures that you have the liberty to decide the perfect temperature for a good nights sleep. This also helps you to conserve on the energy that would have been required to heat up the room. Since the body stays warm and comfortable, you can easily save some money on the monthly electricity bill.
2. Heat is a common solution for several body ailments, and sleeping on a mattress which has a built in heat controller, can relieve people of back aches and sever issues such as arthritis.
3. One can choose from a wide range of fabrics when it comes to these mattresses. Polyester, cotton, and wool are all fabrics that provide a nice and snug feeling without being high on maintenance. Maintenance of these also depend on if these mattresses are stuffed or not.
4. A mattress pad enables you to set the temperature at a pre-set level so that you don’t have to be man the temperature consistently. Throughout the night you can get the most out of the mattress while sudden rushes hot or cold temperature.
5. If you or your partner does not agree on the amount of warmth that you need while you are asleep then you can sort out the differences by investing in customized mattress pads that are capable of heating up a specific part of the bed instead of the whole mattress itself.

Apart from these, heated mattress pads stay attached to the bed and this rules out the situation where you have to constantly shift around to adjust to an external blanket or where the blanket has to be pulled and tugged to cover your body. Sleep is one of the most vital bodily needs and these mattresses help us to replenish our needs in the best possible way.

Electric Mattress Pads: Top 5 Reasons to Buy

An electric mattress pad is a good replacement for electric blankets. Their primary purpose is to ensure an even distribution of heat as against the electric blankets which tend to slip away causing the body to feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. Although not as snug as the foam mattress pad, these do come with comfortable padding inside and that prevents the feeling of sleeping on a bed of wires. Even with its varied pluses it is important to know that these are not to be used at all on pets or on children because the chances of an unforeseen incident are plenty. Even for aged people, these are best used with a certain amount of monitoring because these tend to catch fire if the heat is not regulated at all. Liquid spills or urinary disorders can be a high risk issue as a slight risk of electrocution does persist.  Irrespective of that, there are several advantages of using an electric mattress pad and a few of them are as follows:

1. Electric mattresses have auto adjustable features and that means that one can easily alter the area over which the heat needs to be dispersed. This enables one to customize these according to individual preferences because body temperature and comfort cannot really be standardized or generalized.
2. A constant source of heat under the body can be immensely helpful for those who suffer from body aches or issues such as arthritis.
3. By and large, these are easy to maintain and some of them can easily be washed in a machine or cleaned using regular methods at home. All that one needs to do is be sure to remove the electrical cords before putting this in the washer. Soaking it in a mild detergent for just some time, can help to remove the minor stains that the fabric may have. Once that’s done, the mattress can be easily washed at delicate speed in the washer. However, it is really a hand wash that works best for the electric mattress pads. The only two things to watch out for are the amount of pressure that is used on these pads and to avoid wringing them or squeezing them tightly. So long as the wiring is left untouched, the mattress can be trusted to perform at optimum levels.
4. The fact that electric mattress pads are affordable, thus, it makes an even more worthwhile investment.
5. These beds are extremely comfortable making the complicated net of wires inside it almost invisible. With newer technologies, these can prove to be as comfortable and cushy as any other mattress.

The level of comfort provided by the padding and the coziness of the electric mattress pad makes buying an easy decision if you require warmth and comfort at an affordable price. The question that now remains is not whether you’re going to buy, but when?

4 Important Items to Know About a Foam Mattress Pad

If you have not figured this out by now, then choosing the appropriate mattress pad for your bed is synonymous with a good nights sleep. Many people who have children will go out of their way to ensure that their offspring will get a good night’s sleep on their crib mattress pad, but fail to be selfish for their own sake. To keep pace with a strenuous and a demanding lifestyle, it is important that body gets adequate rest to replenish its daily reservoir of stamina and energy. This replenishment happens when the body sleeps or rests and interruptions in that pattern lead to dullness of the mind and the spirit. Therefore, the ultimate decision matters and for starters it is a good idea to tilt the scales of your benevolence to a foam mattress pad.

1. Spring mattresses are quickly becoming obsolete and they are being replaced by foam mattress. The main reason for this replacement is that, a foam mattress pad gives better support to the body than any other type of mattress. The density and structure of a foam mattress is more adaptable and work better for the body and that explains its popularity. These are also much more durable and reliable than the other types and it only reiterates the fact that quality matters.
2. Foam mattress pads are available in a wide budget range and if one is only just beginning to test its abilities, then one can easily zero in on a mattress that fits into ones budget seamlessly.
3. Foam tends to relapse into its original shape once pressure is taken off it. In the same way, foam tends to ensconce the area of maximum pressure. This means that even if multiple people are sleeping on the same bed, they do not have to hunt the mattress for the perfect comfort position. This again has a two-pronged advantage: the comfort it offers is something that can only be determined in person whereas and secondly, it is very useful for relieving stress or pressure from the body.
4. Unlike other mattresses, these can be easily modified as per individual preferences. One can monitor the varying levels of foam, thereby having a direct consequence on the level of firmness or looseness that the body needs.

The only issue you may face with foam mattresses are that these cannot be washed and dried and if your house is prone to pollutants and dust then investing in a removable pad, as a covering for the foam mattress, may work to your advantage. Overall, when you test it in stores, you know that you have embarked on your dream mattress if lying down on it feels like a walk in the clouds.

Protect Your Baby: 5 Tips on Getting the Right Crib Mattress Pad

If you have a baby at home, it becomes imperative to take care of so many things that baby may need. After all, when a baby is small, it is quite natural that you are overly protective and extremely careful so that the security and comfort of baby is not compromised in any way. One of the things that people need to ensure that their baby is quite comfortable is to have the right kind of crib mattress pad so that baby is able to sleep soundly at night. Unlike the pillow top mattress pad for adults, here are 5 things that you must be aware about for your baby’s sake:

1. Firmness of the mattress pad: This is very important especially when you what to ensure that baby is calm and collected and also feels safe and secure. There are so many kinds of mattress that you get in the market or even online, that you will have to take special care that the firmness of the pad is proper. If it is less that proper, you will end up in a situation where baby keeps feeling ill at ease, which is an anti-thesis of the whole idea of having such a pad. Do check this out yourself and all should be fine.

2. Size of the mattress pad: crib mattress pads can be of various sizes and while most of these are quiet standard, you must check to ensure that it indeed meets the exact dimensions of the crib. After all, you would not want a situation where the crib and the mattress pad do not match, which means that the pad is smaller or bigger than the cot, which is not at all ideal.

3. Type of stuffing: You can get foam or coir kinds of mattress pads. Some people have a special preference for coir while others swear by foam. Whatever the case, you should look at the kind of support it provides which is more important than other considerations as such. In most instances, both foam as well as coir are perfectly fine.

4. Cost of the mattress: This is a very important consideration in this day and age, when people would like to cut down or manage their costs properly. It is quite true that you can get mattresses for around $75 to $100 and that too with reasonable quality.

5. Quality of materials: Look carefully at the look and feel as well as the quality of materials that are used in making the crib mattress pad. After all, it makes no sense to buy something that is of substandard value, when you are paying hard earned dollars for it.

Comfortable Sleep with the Pillow Top Mattress Pad

If you are wondering which would be a good buy in terms of a good mattress to help you achieve the good sleep that you need and if you are at a loss with the variety at your disposal, then it is time to consider the manifold benefits and the plush feeling that is attached to a pillow top mattress pad.

The pillow top is just another type of mattress pad that has been hyped quite a bit as of lately along with the waterproof mattress pad, and for good reason. These mattresses are largely padded on the top surface and the elevated ground is what gives it its name.  Usually these are available in two distinct styles. One is where a cloth covers a metal piece and the other is where the padding and the filling are specifically designed to adapt to the shape of the body. The other variation to this is that the side with the elevated padding can sometimes be swapped enabling both side usage of the mattress. On one hand, these are a little bit more expensive than the other variety; however, on the other hand, these are convenient and comfortable for the user.

Brands like Serta specialise in the manufacture of these mattress pads and they often collaborate with notable names such as Vera Wang to bring to us the very best for our daily sleep routine. Other brands such as Simmons have been in good business for many years now. The reason why a lot people prefer this is for very categorical reasons.

1. These pads come with an extra layer of cushioning and comfort and that has been proven as a very important prerequisite for good sleep. This new element adds a completely new dimension of cushioning and luxuriousness to ones sleeping cycle. These are usually made of quilt, cotton, wool, or foam and the superior fabrics guarantee an extra level of comfort altogether.
2. It is because of a separate elevated platform that ensures that the mattresses last longer. It protects the base cushion from being spoilt or damaged with rough use.
3. These mattresses have thicker layers of padding than other kinds of mattresses and apart from being comfortable, they also relieve users of common issues such as backaches and joint aches. Since they aid blood flow in the body, the overall health of a person improves quite drastically.

Notwithstanding all its abilities, it is always a good idea to test these in person, for the appropriate levels of comfort and their actual fit to your bed. Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your mind and body and a pillow top mattress pad just might do the trick for you.