Would you spend a thousand dollars on a new mattress if you didn’t have to? Buying a memory foam mattress topper can be a perfect way to extend the life of your mattress while saving money to buy a new mattress in one, two or five years.
Nuts and bolts
How does memory foam work and why should you bother? This amazing foam was developed by NASA in the 1960’s. They wanted better cushions for seats for astronauts. Twenty years later, Tempur-Pedic began manufacturing memory foam. These days there are tons of companies to think about. Foam works like this: the tiny cells in the foam compress when you press on them. And, unlike regular foam, they “remember” to stay compressed. Normal foam is elastic and dry. It pulls at you, if you sit on it with bare skin. It’s not stretchy and feels wet, somehow. It also feels a bit sticky, but the texture is different, not abrasive like normal foam is.
Memory foam cells flatten in response to the weight and heat of your body. But they work independently of each other. For example, if you place your hand on it, fingers spread, the foam compresses only where it’s actually making contact. This is incredible news for people with back pain. The foam relieves pressure points by supporting only those areas in contact with the bed.
dollars and sense
Now that you know how it works, here’s why it’s also an affordable option. You could spend anywhere from $500 to a thousand dollars on a new mattress. What if I told you that you could spend $200 and have a better sleep experience? That is the miracle of viscoelastic. A topper is a great choice. He fits over his existing bed and has, essentially, a new mattress.
There are even cheaper toppers on the market. You could walk into a Target right now and walk out with a $50 foam topper. It will last for a while, probably a year and you will notice a difference in your sleep. The reason I say it will last a year is that an inexpensive cover like that is probably only an inch or so thick and the foam itself will be light. The thicker the topper and the heavier the memory foam, the better. It is as you would expect: it will cost you more money. The thicker and heavier, the more expensive because the company had to use more materials to create the foam.
