People love memory foam because it offers unrivalled plushness, contouring, and hugs the body in ways regular foam does not.
But memory foam has a significant and often unspoken downside - heat retention - making a mattress unbearable.
But memory foam has a significant and often unspoken downside - heat retention - making a mattress unbearable.
One of the newer technologies addressing this is memory gel, but to understand why gel is a saviour, we first need to understand memory foam’s limitations.
What is memory foam?
Memory foam is “viscoelastic” polyurethane or low-resistance polyurethane foam with incredible body contouring capabilities.
We’re all familiar with the squishiness of memory foam – the way it perfectly contours to our bodies and slowly springs back. It is also highly energy absorbent and always returns to its original shape, which is ideal for mattresses.
A few things are going on inside memory foam that makes it so good for body contouring:
· The stickiness of the surface helps pockets in the foam stick together, working against expansion.
· The foam softens with body heat, limiting its mobility and slowing the expansion of the foam until the heat dissipates.
· An absence of air pockets and smaller air pockets in the foam increases the time for the air to flood the foam.
Unfortunately, that last point has two significant downsides – heat retention and breathability. Memory foam retains heat exceptionally well, so it can make a mattress sleep “warm” compared to others.
For this reason, some manufacturers use a thin layer of memory foam with thicker layers of soft and reflex foams for temperature regulation. However, this compromises the plushness of the comfort layer and body contouring qualities.
An enhanced memory foam with an open-cell structure improves breathability by increasing and enlarging air pockets. Charcoal-bamboo infusion is a proven method (e.g., Mlily Bamboo), increasing breathability without impacting softness.
What is memory foam?
Memory foam is “viscoelastic” polyurethane or low-resistance polyurethane foam with incredible body contouring capabilities.
We’re all familiar with the squishiness of memory foam – the way it perfectly contours to our bodies and slowly springs back. It is also highly energy absorbent and always returns to its original shape, which is ideal for mattresses.
A few things are going on inside memory foam that makes it so good for body contouring:
· The stickiness of the surface helps pockets in the foam stick together, working against expansion.
· The foam softens with body heat, limiting its mobility and slowing the expansion of the foam until the heat dissipates.
· An absence of air pockets and smaller air pockets in the foam increases the time for the air to flood the foam.
Unfortunately, that last point has two significant downsides – heat retention and breathability. Memory foam retains heat exceptionally well, so it can make a mattress sleep “warm” compared to others.
For this reason, some manufacturers use a thin layer of memory foam with thicker layers of soft and reflex foams for temperature regulation. However, this compromises the plushness of the comfort layer and body contouring qualities.
An enhanced memory foam with an open-cell structure improves breathability by increasing and enlarging air pockets. Charcoal-bamboo infusion is a proven method (e.g., Mlily Bamboo), increasing breathability without impacting softness.
Pictured: Mlily Bamboo Memory foam mattress, Available from Bedstar.
Another solution is memory gel foam, also known as gel foam or Visco elastic foam. This is a newer mattress technology that substantially improves mattress breathability without the need for any additional breathable layers.
What is memory gel?
Memory gel is a memory foam containing millions of gel beads or strands to dissipate body heat. The foam is infused with gel, making the surface cooler and helping the foam dissipate heat faster than standard foam.
Gel-infused memory foam is a relatively recent mattress innovation, with the first memory gel mattresses coming to market in the late 2000s.
Another solution is memory gel foam, also known as gel foam or Visco elastic foam. This is a newer mattress technology that substantially improves mattress breathability without the need for any additional breathable layers.
What is memory gel?
Memory gel is a memory foam containing millions of gel beads or strands to dissipate body heat. The foam is infused with gel, making the surface cooler and helping the foam dissipate heat faster than standard foam.
Gel-infused memory foam is a relatively recent mattress innovation, with the first memory gel mattresses coming to market in the late 2000s.
Pictured: Silentnight Miracoil Geltex Carme Mattress. Available from Bedstar.
The gel stops you from overheating without compromising the thickness of the memory foam layer. Manufacturers can increase the thickness of the comfort layer because it will not make the mattress sleep any warmer.
The benefit of this is a cooler mattress with a plusher comfort layer – manufacturers no longer need cheaper open-pore reflex foams to enhance breathability, instead opting for a plush memory foam with cooling qualities.
Most importantly, gel infusion does not alter the physical qualities of the memory foam; you still get excellent pressure relief, body contouring, and motion isolation.
However, memory gel costs more than standard memory foam, so gel mattresses are more expensive (typically 10% more, like-for-like).
Which is best for my mattress?
Memory gel is superior to memory foam because it solves the heat retention problem of memory foam without comprising comfort and feel.
The gel stops you from overheating without compromising the thickness of the memory foam layer. Manufacturers can increase the thickness of the comfort layer because it will not make the mattress sleep any warmer.
The benefit of this is a cooler mattress with a plusher comfort layer – manufacturers no longer need cheaper open-pore reflex foams to enhance breathability, instead opting for a plush memory foam with cooling qualities.
Most importantly, gel infusion does not alter the physical qualities of the memory foam; you still get excellent pressure relief, body contouring, and motion isolation.
However, memory gel costs more than standard memory foam, so gel mattresses are more expensive (typically 10% more, like-for-like).
Which is best for my mattress?
Memory gel is superior to memory foam because it solves the heat retention problem of memory foam without comprising comfort and feel.
The alternative to gel foam is open-pore memory foam, such as a charcoal-bamboo foam infusion. This technology improves breathability but not heat retention, so gel foam helps you sleep cooler than “breathable” types of memory foam.
Memory gel and bamboo-charcoal foams are preferred over standard memory foams when a mattress needs to dissipate heat.
Also, manufacturers use thinner layers with standard memory foam to improve breathability, which compromises mattress quality. There are no limitations with gel or charcoal bamboo, so these mattresses are plusher overall.
*Collaborative post
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