People worldwide know the American space program for its exploration of the universe. Did you know it is also responsible for inventions of everyday products? Millions of mattresses now use memory foam invented by NASA. You may know it as “memory foam.” Without NASA there would be no shuttle launches into orbit, and there would be a lot of stiff backs across the country.
Visco elastic foam came through NASA’s desire to shield their astronauts during take-off and re-entry. The “space age” foam did a great job cushioning the astronauts during times of heavy gravitational pull. Hospitals stared using it for burn patients to give their bodies comfort. They are now being seen as something with comfort qualities. Engineers put it in car seats and people started using it in mattresses.
What Makes the “Space Age” Foam Special?
The magic of visco elastic foam is that it conforms to whatever is pressing on it. A regular mattress pushes down unevenly when weight is applied. It is not “fitting” to the shape that is on top of it. Visco elastic foam slowly takes the shape of what is on it, so it totally supports the weight. And then evenly supports a body resting on it. This helps relieve pressure from parts of the body.
The greatest asset that visco elastic foam offers is that it will support any body shape. If the sleeper has back problems, the foam will equally support the body and take pressure off of the back. memory foam offers total comfort and health.
What You Get From Sleeping on Visco Elastic Foam
People need a solid night’s sleep to stay healthy. Too many of us have fitful sleep with multiple waking moments. Body soreness due to lack of mattress support causes a lot of the waking. A visco elastic foam mattress will give you the best chance at an uninterrupted sleep. Its design allows for total support and for heat release. All of that equals a solid night’s sleep.
Since the visco elastic foam mattress supports the entire body, there will be less movement during sleep. We move while we sleep to find more comfort. Most people call this “tossing and turning.” An added bonus is that the “space age” foam is stable enough to absorb movement, causing fewer disturbances for a sleeping partner.
Even when the body does shift during the night the visco elastic foam will start reshaping to fit the new body position. A visco foam pillow will give the sleeper even more support, conforming to the neck and head to keep the spine aligned.
Tempur-Pedic is the major manufacturer of visco foam mattresses. They have been producing these mattresses for over 20 years and create a great product that has air ventilation channels to keep a comfortable temperature when you sleep.
