Do you toss and turn in bed at night, trying to find a comfortable position? Do you wake up with an achy back or sore spots from lying down? It may be your mattress and a memory foam mattress topper can help. Most mattresses are made with metal coil springs inside, and a thin layer of cushioning on top of them that gets thinner over time. The sore spots you feel, that keep you endlessly turning to get comfortable, are pressure points. It may even feel like you’re lying directly on the floor, even if you use mattress pads.
The answer many people are turning to is to replace their mattresses with air or memory foam mattresses. This, however, can be expensive. Memory foam mattresses cost significantly more than an innerspring mattress—close to $2,000 just for a queen set. A relatively inexpensive alternative is to buy a memory foam mattress topper instead. A mattress topper can add years of life to a mattress that still offers even support but just feels too hard and creates pressure on the joints. It can also make all the difference in getting a decent night’s worth of comfortable sleep. It is held in place with elastic on the corners.
Memory foam differs from regular latex foam in that it really does have a “memory” that allows it to not just mold itself to your body shape, but if you shift your position, a memory foam mattress topper will remember its original shape and spring back. In other words, it doesn’t develop permanent indentations and it doesn’t get thinner with use. Interestingly, if you go to a sales showroom and get to see a model showing the layers inside a memory foam mattress, you will see that it isn’t solid memory foam, and in fact, the layer of memory foam in the mattress comes very close to the thickness of the memory foam mattress topper. Memory foam toppers come in all sizes, from twin on up.
A memory foam mattress topper offers a different type of comfort and support than you would get with a topper made of feathers, wool, or the cheap egg-crate latex foam toppers that are less than an inch thick. They do store body heat, so some users report feeling warmer when they sleep on top of memory foam. The extra warmth can be comforting to arthritis sufferers, but you may find you don’t need as many blankets if you want to stay cool. Memory foam also needs to be aired out when you first bring it home, so you will need to remove it from the bag and lay it out across your bed with no sheets on top for a few hours. If you like a memory foam topper, you might also be interested in a memory foam pillow as well.