Memory foam mattresses and mattress toppers are made from what is called visco elastic foam. It’s from the polyurethane foam family, which includes a staggeringly diverse range of products designed for vastly different purposes. The key factors that differentiate it from other foams are the additional ingredients added to the mix. These extras are intended to increase the density and viscosity of the final product.
The density of a material relates to how much weight there is in a unit of volume. Cooking oil will rise to the top of water in the sink because a litre of water is much heavier than a litre of oil, or in other words the oil is less dense. In foam, viscosity measures how quickly it deforms under stress or pressure. A memory foam mattress- or any other one for that matter- that sinks too quickly and too much is no use to anyone as it wouldn’t provide the right support.
Most memory foams react to heat. In a mattress, that is the warmth of the human body or bodies lying on it. As the foam warms up it gets slightly softer, which helps it shape to the contours of the body and support the whole thing evenly, without putting more pressure on the hips and shoulders like a normal mattress does.
It also retains heat better than most other mattress materials. Although mattresses (and pillows or any other product) made with memory foam may feel colder initially, they’ll stay warm for longer once they have heated up a little.
Memory foam was originally developed by NASA, but these days it finds its way into walking boots, pillows, wheelchair cushions, and a host of other places, but memory foam mattresses are the most common application. The properties of the material are just so perfect for mattresses.
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