Sleep Like an Astronaut
May 12th, 2010 | by admin |Believe it or not, memory foam came to exist in the early 1970’s when NASA started a developmental project meant to make a substance that might help alleviate the discomfort astronauts experienced during lift-off.
In the course of research, a completely new foam material, named visco elastic, was invented that was able to conform to a person’s shape and then revert to its own natural state when weight was removed. This foam allowed for the uniform distribution of body weight over the full surface of the foam, immediately adapting to any movements of the body.
Although a memory foam mattress pad is soft to the touch, it really can’t be categorized as a soft mattress. Your weight is evenly spread over the sleeping area which alleviates pressure points. The advantage of visco foam mattresses over inner spring mattresses is that they don’t create pressure points that result in you tossing and turning the whole night.
If you move around or get up from bed you will not wake up your partner because of visco foam’s ability to isolate motion transfer. As you would imagine, this allows for an even more restful night’s sleep.
Box springs are not necessary for memory foam beds since they do not need the support that a spring mattress does. Though you may well want one to raise the height of the bed, a quality memory foam mattress will give you all the support you need on any flat surface.