If you are doing research to find out the truth about visco elastic mattresses (also called memory foam or NASA beds), you've got the right article because I have some important information to share with you.
My research team has gathered data from over 1,200 actual owners of visco elastic mattresses. Below are some highlights of our findings.
Advantages
The beds are considered comfortable by 80% of the owners in our research. This percentage is on par with air beds (such as the Sleep Number bed) as well as waterbeds. It is a bit lower than latex beds and substantially higher than innerspring mattresses. In other words, all of the hype that you hear about visco elastic beds being comfortable, at least more comfortable than innerspring beds, is true.
Disadvantages
The beds have some issues you should be aware of. Off gassing (a giving off of a chemical-like smell for the first few hours, weeks or months) can be a problem. Sleeping hot can also be an issue for some people. However, the more expensive brands, such as Tempurpedic, tend to have fewer instances of these problems.
In addition, a significant number of people have some trouble getting used to the visco elastic material and how it feels and conforms to their body. However, usually in no more than one or two weeks, they almost always begin to thoroughly enjoy the feel of the bed. In fact, according to our data, once a person gets used to sleeping on a visco elastic mattress, they often have serious problems sleeping on any other type of bed, such as one that they use while traveling.
