The Mattress Secret

Well, for starters it is a material originally developed by NASA to relieve the pressures of space flight. (And you can check out more information about its NASA origins and its history HERE on our NASA Page.) But for now lets stick to defining what makes this innovation innovative and the specifics of what it really is.

Memory Material, sometimes called Memory Foam, typically ranges in density from 2.5 lbs to 5.3 lbs. This means that if you were to weigh a cubic foot of the substance, that is a 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot cube, you would find that it typically weighs between 2.5 and 5.3 lbs. And what is it that makes it so heavy? Although you can’t see them, the answer is everywhere inside the mattress: billions and billions of tiny open cells. (You can think of these cells as small balloons with holes in them.) And while they may not be capable of much on their own, when they're packed together by the billions, like in one of our Dream Collection or Allassea Mattresses, they become veritable super cells. Durable enough to spring back into place after a steam roller and passed over them and capable of conforming to every shape and curve of our bodies, their open cell structure allows them to distribute pressure and gently cradle the natural hollows of your body. But that's not the only aspect of this technology.

Yes, it's true. This innovative technology actually has four extra dimensions. Most mattresses, obviously, don't. Sure they have the common ones, like height, length, and depth. And they even have other properties like firmness and density. But there are two critical characteristics that they are missing.

• The first is Heat Responsiveness: the ability of your mattress to automatically respond to the heat of your body. As your own body heats the material near it, the material responds, and softens. This softening allows for an even more comfortable feel. The material changes into a more elastic polymer cushioning you EVERYWHERE.
• The second, and possibly most important quality, is Time Effect: the response time it takes for your sleeping area to spring back into place after it has been distorted. This ability means that you wont suffer from pressure points and the inevitable pain in the morning.

Combined, these two dimensions create a superior mattress that much more exactly conforms to the shape of your body and increases body contact for a better night's sleep.

As I was taught in my Organic Chemistry class, structure determines properties. This is the case with almost everything in our world. It is true for anything from air to water to laundry detergent…and bedding materials are no different. In a conventional foam mattress a large number of closed cells (think tiny balloons again, but with no holes) create a supportive surface to sleep on. However, since these cells are closed, they act much like a spring. As pressure is applied to the conventional foam mattress (i.e. you laying down on it), the trapped air has no where to go and thus pushes back harder and harder as you let more and more of your weight rest on the mattress. Worse yet, this means since the harder you push the harder it pushes back, pressure points are created and accentuated, causing pain and an absence of comfort.

On the other hand, in a Memory Material mattress, billions of tiny open cells allow air to flow freely, providing a number of benefits including comfort, pressure relief, temperature control, and a soft and supple surface. In this case, as pressure is exerted upon the mattress, air moves easily from cell to cell along billions of pathways in order to cushion your body. Since there is no air left in the cells immediately under you, there is nothing to push back against your weight and cause any uncomfortable pressure points. The sublime melting feeling of lying down on a premium viscoelastic mattress is an exquisite experience which provides a perfect balance between support and long-term comfort.