While doing research about mattresses for your bedroom, you must have come across gel foam mattresses and memory foam mattresses. You must have seen suppliers of both these types of mattresses claim their material is best to provide you comfort and good sleep. You may be experiencing a dilemma about which is the right one for you. Therefore, in this article we shall examine both types of mattresses  from different angles, so that it becomes easy for you to decide, which type of mattress will be right for you.

If you read the blogs on newsweek.com, you can find plenty of reviews about various kinds of mattresses and many other related items for sleeping comfort. If you look or touch any gel foam mattress or any memory foam mattress, they apparently look the same and also provide almost the same amount of comfort. 

However, there are considerable differences between their costs. What is the basic reason for that? The memory foam mattress usually retains your body heat when you sleep on them while gel foam mattress will maintain the cool while you sleep on them.

Now let us take up each of these types of foam individually and get to know each of them in more detail.

Memory foam

Memory foam has a very interesting history. This was developed during the sixties, by NASA for the use of astronauts who are supposed to travel for space missions. During their long journey to space they might face various kinds of shock, vibrations and bumps and therefore it was necessary to use such material for them so that it can easily absorb all these. Memory foam proved to be quite effective in providing comfort to astronauts. Memory foams are also used to manufacture the best cooling mattress. 

Thereafter, memory foam mattresses appeared in the market and it generated a lot of interest among people for using such a comfortable mattress. Here, your sleep cannot be disturbed in case your sleeping mate ever makes any movement in the bed. That became the USP for memory foam when you go shopping for any memory foam mattress the sales person will surely mention about this in some way or the other. 

Now, let us see what memory foam really is. It is made from a petroleum product called polyurethane where few more chemicals are infused so that its viscosity and density increases. Sometimes due to this reason memory foam is also called viscoelastic foam. Due to the addition of different chemicals in the polyurethane this foam can absorb your body heat and also take the shape of your body when you sleep on any mattress made of such material. Your body gets the necessary amount of comfort that is needed by you. 

Memory foam is of three different primary types.

  • Traditional memory foam

This is the original version of memory foam when it was introduced first time during the nineties period. People really loved the mattresses made by memory foam however it used to keep the bed pretty warm.

  • Open cell memory foam

It was designed so that air flow within the mattress can improve so that the heat that is trapped in the foam can be pulled away.

  • Gel-infused memory foam

We will discuss this type of foam in the latter part of the article.

Benefits of memory foam

Earlier days, mostly people used to have spring mattresses, which had a number of problems. Most of you who have used such mattresses must be well aware about them. Firstly, the spring itself was a source of the problem. Besides that, after sleeping on such mattresses people experienced a lot of back pain and ache which became chronic a problem for quite a few. After a few years of use, the spring will start poking in the pressure point of your body as the upper soft part gets wear off. Also, if the sleeping partner ever makes any movement while sleeping, it used to disturb the other partner.

Memory foam mattresses resolved all these issues. There are no springs used in such beds. The material is also so designed so that it takes the form of your body. The material also gets softened by your body heat and you can easily get adjusted to your bed without any problem. Your body gets full support during your sleep.   

Another big problem that the traditional mattresses had was in case a couple is sleeping together and if either of the partner makes any movement or gets up from bed then the other partner used to get disturbed. However, with memory foam the motion is fully absorbed by the foam and it will never cause any disturbance to another partner if any of them makes any movement during the sleep. 

Density of foam is also another factor that makes the mattress more durable. Particularly if you are a little heavy, you might prefer a higher density of foam. Memory foam with lesser density may have less life as compared to high density foam however if you are a very slim and light person then it may serve your purpose. 

If you select any memory foam mattress of 5 lbs per cubic feet then you may have to pay a little more however, it will last pretty longer. 

Few negatives of memory foam

Though memory foam has resolved a number of issues that people used to face while sleeping however there are few new issues that are also present in memory foam mattresses too. Sometimes, people feel that it is very difficult to get out of the bed with a memory foam mattress. Sometimes people also find little inconvenience to turn his or her side.

Another issue with memory foam mattresses is that the foam retains your body heat which may often lead to disturbed sleep particularly during summer seasons. Many people often sweat while sleeping on a memory foam mattress. Also, if you are a little heavy in weight then you need to buy a costlier higher density memory foam mattress. Otherwise, its lifespan will become much shorter.

Lastly the memory foam has certain chemicals present in the material of the foam which is a bit unpleasant for many. Particularly if you buy any lower quality of memory foam mattress then you will find this problem little more predominant.   

Gel foam

Gel-infused foams are quite similar to any memory foam that we discussed above however here certain gel microbeads are also mixed with the foam. By adding such gel microbeads one of the issues that we had in memory foam, heat retention, has been resolved. In addition to that it also increases the density of the mattress and thus one can have very sound sleep while you sleep on such mattresses.

There are two different kinds of gels that are infused in such mattresses. One kind of gel is thermally conducted that gives a cool feeling when you touch them. The other type is a phase changing material. This type of material is a little bit complicated in its structure, however is very exciting. Here it can store or release heat of the body within a limited range. Thus, it can regulate the temperature of the bed as per the needs of the body and provide sound sleep. 

The amount of temperature regulation of the bed however depends upon how much gel has been introduced in the memory foam. Therefore, while shopping for gel foam you need to enquire about these details to know the quality of the gel foam. 

Benefits of gel foam mattress

Most of the benefits that you have been getting from any memory foams are available in this type of gel foam mattresses too e.g. your partner will remain undisturbed if you make any movement in the bed, your body gets good support during sleep and you no longer suffer from any kind of back pain or aches that you used to suffer in the traditional spring type of mattresses. In addition to that, the presence of millions of gels further introduced in the foam will remove your body heat and keep your bed cool while you are sleeping.

Foam density will also increase the life of your mattress but there is another advantage of gel foam is that due to presence of gel beads the density of the foam gets increased manifold. Thus, you end up getting added comforts and durability too.

Few negatives of gel foam

Most of the negatives of memory foams are present here too however due to presence of gels, sometimes it can affect the life of the mattress. Also, the cool effect that you have been getting will slowly reduce with time but it will not be too uncomfortable. 

Conclusion

The gel foams are little costlier than any traditional memory foam. As far as comfort and convenience is concerned both are comparable. However, if bed temperature is a real issue for you then you can go for gel foam mattresses.