Is it possible to have a custom memory foam mattress with cooling properties that both relieves pressure points and gives you proper support that maintains your spine in its natural alignment? Before I answer that, let me say this…

When buying a new mattress you should keep in mind that a softer mattress would help to relieve pressure points in your shoulders and hips but a firmer mattress will give you better support and lower back pain relief.

If you suffer from both those things equally, then you would have to look for a zoned mattress with something softer in the shoulder and foot area and something firmer in the mid-section.

The Hottest thing in Bedding

For the past several years, memory foams have been the hottest material in premium bedding – in more ways than one. The majority of online bed in box marketers are selling a memory foam mattress.

Memory foams have the ability to conform to personal body shapes and provide custom comfort just where you need it most. However, many people find that memory foams trap body heat, making them uncomfortably warm to sleep on.

Memory foam cores and exterior covers have become more sophisticated with parts that enhance the coolness within your mattress and on top of it.

They also include technologies such as phase-changing materials, zoning, mega open-celled foam, air channels cut into the foam, 3D mesh borders, NeoGel toppers, Viscogel memory foam, and cooling fabrics that wick away moisture and dissipate heat.

An Educated Consumer is our Best Customer

We recently received this email from a consumer that soon became one of our customers:

“Hi, I recently bought a midrange priced memory foam mattress in a box from two different online bed in box retailers. I was fascinated with the convenience of having a mattress shipped to my door in a box. However, my wonderment and amazement didn’t last long.

I was confused as to what I should have expected to come out of the box. What I got is a completely crushed, compact, hard, warped thing. I realize that it’s been rolled up and compacted for packaging.

In the first case, there was no info in the box whatsoever as to what to expect. Will this take days to ‘undo’ itself? It’s completely unusable and I am a little irritated as I spent almost $800 on this thing. It was supposed to be a Queen but it seems more like a full-size.

Oops, it happened again…

The second mattress, from a different company, was very hot to sleep on and it got much softer after just 2 months of use. I returned that one too. I wish there was better information provided before I bought these products.

Very disappointed, with my mattress in a box experience and I am not sure what to try next. What’s so good about your mattresses? “

Email by Robin W., – May 26, 2019

Do you ever watch those athlete interviews after they have won the Cup or trophy and the reporter asks them, “So, what does this win mean for you?” More often than not they reply with “Everything!”

So, what do we do different, then the online mattress in a box sellers, that makes our mattresses better? Answer: “Everything!”

Here are some things to consider before buying your next mattress:

1) What every bed should have, and should not have…

a) New developments in foam, have made foam the fastest growing sleep surface. We are a foam and mattress manufacturer.

b) Foam is the key comfort ingredient used in all mattresses. If you want to buy a good mattress, get to know your foam first.

c) The right firmness of foam helps to relieve pressure points.

d) The layering of different grades of foam gives you proper posturizing and maintains your spine in its natural alignment. Every custom memory foam mattress should have this.

e) The right types of memory foam and covers give you cooling characteristics that are not found in mass-produced online mattresses.

f) Consumers don’t really know what to buy. Educated consumers go directly to manufacturers to provide them with better quality sleep options at a variety of price points.

g) A variety of price points includes prices that are less expensive than online mattresses for the same or even better foam options.

2) What are the attributes of an ideal sleep surface?

First, basic comfort. Above everything else, any and every custom memory foam mattress has to be physically comfortable. You just can’t have a relaxed, healthful sleep without it.

However, you want that comfortable feel to last as long as possible. You can achieve this with better quality high resiliency foam (Koosh Natural) that does not soften with use as quickly as lighter weight polyurethane grades.

3) Many feel that comfort is highly subjective, and different for every individual.

I disagree. Comfort is objective and measurable. It’s a maximum of 0.5 lbs. of pressure on a square inch of the body surface. Regardless of your size or shape, any increase beyond that begins to restrict circulation and starts the muscle tension that produces restless tossing and turning (see Ergocheck Testing).

4) You’re talking about pressure points?

Exactly. Comfort, absolute physical comfort, is nothing more than the absence of pressure points.

5) And foam gets rid of them?

Only a sleep in space or on a clinically perfect flotation system will do that. But foam does minimize their effect better than any other practical material available today. Its characteristic ability to contour and conform to any irregular shape, in this case, the human body, is unsurpassed.

6) How does contouring provide comfort?

It allows more of the body to contact the sleep surface. The more square inches of contact, the less overall pressure per square inch, and the less opportunity for discomfort in any local area. In effect, foam’s contourability allows every inch of the body to literally carry its own weight. Every type of sleep product, even water, and air beds are using more and more foam to add comfort.

7) What’s next on the most important sleep attribute list?

Support. Lots of room for discussion here. Two real camps with basically differing views. First, there are those who have been conditioned over the years to equate support with firmness… “a good firm mattress is necessary for healthful sleep, a soft mattress means morning backache.” Then, there are those who say firm is needlessly uncomfortable, impeding relaxing sleep. Let’s look at some suggested criteria for support.

8) Simply stated:

“the sleep surface should hold the spine as close as possible to its natural alignment while standing, regardless if you are a side or back sleeper.”

There are a couple of other support considerations we can touch on later, but I agree completely with the natural spine alignment criteria. Support is nothing more than the absence of sag. Sag is the enemy, not soft.

9) How do the two camps feel about that?

The basic difference is that the ‘firm’ group allows the body to conform to the unnatural, straight shape of the sleep surface. As a result, they sacrifice both a natural spine line and comfort with their acceptance of the ‘firm is healthful’ dogma. The ‘comfort’ group looks for a surface that conforms to them. They maintain a natural spine line and pick up the added comfort that contouring brings as a bonus.

Final Note

Q: Is it possible to have a custom memory foam mattress that both relieves pressure points and gives you proper support that maintains your natural spine alignment?

A: Yes, and lots more!

Sincerely,
FOAMITE INDUSTRIES INC.

R.C. (Bob) Dimas