When purchasing a new mattress or topper, this is a question you need to ask yourself. The
very nature of memory foam is to take your body heat and use it to soften up the foam thus
causing that sinking feeling that most of you are now familiar with. The problem is that it
softens unilaterally so wherever your body is touching it that’s where it softens without
discretion. It’s easy to see why memory foam is a chiropractor’s best friend. Without
pushback, aka support, your back will begin to suffer from lack of support. Simply put,
memory foam does not push back!
Next time you go mattress shopping do a test, lay down on your back on the memory foam
flavor of the day at your local mattress store. You will quickly realize exactly what I am talking
about, no pushback in the small of your back. Over time what do you think will happen to
your back? Same thing when side sleeping, your shoulders sink in along with your hips which
is what you need to happen. Problem is your mid-section will also sink causing improper
spine alignment and even more back pain. Another issue is that memory foam captures your
body heat and reflects it right back at you which for many will lead to uncomfortable night
sweats and who wants that?
Latex foam is made from natural rubber and is open cell foam which means it’s temperature
neutral and does not need body heat to soften it. Like memory foam it gives in the hip and
shoulder areas but unlike memory foam it will push back in the lumbar when on your back
and also between the hips and shoulders when you are on your side giving you that floating
feeling that latex is famous for.
Because of it’s open cell nature there are no trapped gasses that cause off gassing. If you
picture micro sized bubble wrap and inside each bubble is trapped gas from the expansion
process, that’s kind of how memory foam works. Memory foam is typically a whole bunch of
chemicals poured into a big vat and as those chemicals interact with each other it causes
friction which results in heat. That heat will then cause the expansion like a loaf of bread
rising and inside each of those tiny chambers is trapped gas and over time those chambers
will break down releasing that chemically derived gas and let’s just say it’s not the healthiest
thing to breathe. Many of you have already experienced the off gassing of memory foam.
Latex foam uses no harsh chemicals to create the finished product and is mostly natural
rubber from the rubber trees. Latex foam certifications also show Safe for Infants with the
Oeko-Tex 100 Class 1 standard.
Because it’s rubber it does have some bounce to it. That bounce factor is what I call support
and what gives me that floating feeling vs sinking feeling. So next time you are out mattress
shopping just tell the salesperson that you want to experience a floating feeling, not a sinking
feeling and ask if they have any latex mattresses to try out.