Orthopedic Mattress – What Are Orthopedic Mattresses?
An orthopedic mattress is a mattress designed to provide maximum comfort to the human body while also working to gently support the back, joints and the muscular skeletal body, allowing the user to have a much more comfortable resting and sleeping experience. As such these types of orthopedic mattresses are preferred in particular by people suffering from back pain, or some other muscular-skeletal condition, although their popularity has grown to the extent that many people that do not have any such conditions find the material commonly used in these types of mattresses so comfortable that they are buying orthopedic mattresses for the superior comfort too.
Sometimes the term orthopedic bed may be used instead of orthopedic mattress. This of course will then refer to the mattress and the base that supports the mattress. It may also more specifically refer to beds where the frame is actually adjustable to provide further support to the body. The bed itself may be physically adjustable at a number of points to better support areas of the body from head to foot. Adjustable orthopedic beds themselves fall into two categories – manual adjustable and electric adjustable beds. If you are after information on manual or electric adjustable orthopedic beds then visit Orthopedic Bed.
Why Orthopedic Mattresses?
Some people will buy an orthopedic mattress simply because they want a higher quality of comfort and sleep than the standard inner spring mattresses fare. Some people buy orthopedic mattresses because they need a bed mattress that is able to provide comfort and support to pressure sensitive areas on their body that a regular innerspring coil mattress would inflame or cause discomfort to. And some people are conscious that an ordinary mattress isn’t necessarily the most adequate type of mattress for them – this is especially the case the older the mattress gets. They realize that the support that was there when they made their original purchase no longer exists (some people unfortunately do not realize this at all), yet they will still continue to use their mattress until it gets as bad as tearing or feeling the springs poking through. If the mattress is not feeling comfortable and supportive, and/or if it has lost its shape, then it is probably time to replace it as soon as possible.
Many people buy orthopedic mattresses because orthopedic mattresses physically require the extra support and comfort that the memory foam material (also known as visco elastic foam) that these mattresses are normally made from, provide. Perhaps they have a bad back and need a mattress that is better able to provide comfort and support to their spine. Visco elastic foam helps relieve stress and tension on those painful parts of the body, and allows blood to circulate more freely through the lack of pressure points. It also reduces toss and turn, meaning that you are less likely to have a poor night’s sleep through unconscious tossing and turning as your body tries to make itself more comfortable. The mattress is made up from a layer of memory foam and a layer of base foam, sometimes there is an additional layer involved, but there will be at least two foam layers in memory foam orthopedic mattresses.
Advantages of An Orthopedic Mattress – Memory Foam Mattresses
As mentioned, orthopedic mattresses are commonly made from a special polyurethane foam called memory or viscoelastic foam. (A common alternative material is latex foam, but memory foam is by far the most common and most popular of the two materials.) Orthopedic mattresses provide comfort and support to the body through their unique ability to respond to heat and pressure. The sensitivity of memory foam to heat and pressure allows the mattress to mold itself around the body of the person resting on it, and thus providing superior comfort and support than would be gained from a spring coil version. What else is good and unique to memory foam is that after use, it will also recover its shape, hence the “memory.” This makes visco elastic foam a rather durable product and excellent value for money, quickly recovering and then exceeding its initial expense years down the line in durability compared to a what you would have paid out from consistently replacing worn out standard mattresses over the same period of time. And a good night’s sleep will be guaranteed for longer too.
Some other advantages of memory foam mattresses are that they reduce the one person “roll off” or two person “roll together” effect that you can get on an ordinary mattress, as motion is tightly localized around the sleeper’s body. And due to the nature of the foam’s molding ability you are better supported in place. Sleeping on a memory foam mattress has been described as having a light, floating feeling. This is not surprising as the origins of memory foam material originate from a NASA experiment. Memory foam mattresses are today a high in demand orthopedic mattress and this continues to go from strength to strength as the reputation of the benefits of a memory foam mattress continues to grow.
Orthopedic Mattress – Latex Foam Mattresses
For some people, they do not like the sound of sleeping on a memory foam mattress because of its synthetic nature. One of the most well-known albeit temporary drawbacks of a memory foam mattress is that after it has first been unpacked and placed upon your bed, it will emit a chemical smell for a while. Some people find this smell intolerable. Other people simply do not like the idea of sleeping of a mattress that involves chemicals, for fear of harmful or toxic reaction, regardless of the fact that they are considered safe enough to be sold. For both of these types of people, a latex foam mattress offers a convenient solution. A latex foam mattress is similar type of orthopedic mattress to a memory foam mattress, but most significantly, latex is derived from a natural source and many people will appreciate this. For some others, they simply like the feel of a latex mattress, which is typically a bit softer than a memory foam mattress.
Orthopedic Mattress Conclusion
So as you can see when you decide to buy an orthopedic mattress you get durability, comfort and support for your money, and as a result a less painful sleep, and a great night’s rest, every night for many years. Ready to buy orthopedic mattress? Check out the popular Orthopedic Mattress Brands and mattress reviews. Or if you are from the UK, look at the UK Mattresses page.
Also on this site, you can find orthopedic mattress reviews, looking at different brands and types of orthopedic mattresses, with a particular focus on memory foam mattresses and latex mattresses, but we’ll also look at other or combination types of mattress, e.g. spring coil mattresses (often paired with memory foam), air mattress / air beds, orthopedic mattress prices. All of this should help you find the best orthopedic mattress for your needs.
If you are not looking for a new orthopedic mattress, perhaps because your current mattress is still in pretty good shape, you may instead wish to opt for an orthopedic mattress topper / pad, which we cover here too. Mattress toppers offer the benefits of memory foam at less of the cost of a full mattress, and can be used if your box spring or bed base is strong and your current mattress is still in very good condition. We hope you enjoy browsing around the site for the information and ideal orthopedic mattress for you.
Elsewhere on this orthopedic mattresses site, out about Tempur-Pedic mattresses, Sealy Posturepedic mattresses, the different orthopedic mattress types, the comparison of the popular budget Dynasty Mattress vs Tempur-Pedic, Talalay latex mattress, Dunlop latex mattress, spring mattresses, adjustable beds, baby crib mattress, orthopedic dog bed – yes you can get memory foam beds for your pet too, mattress comparisons, what is memory foam and a whole load of other things about orthopedic mattresses that you may wish to read up about in this handy little orthopedic mattress wiki site. And of course you can find great orthopedic mattresses to shop now for too!