Memory Foam Mattress:Should I Get a Soft or Firm Bed?

Author: Will Robertson

Article:
The most important factor for selecting a mattress is personal
comfort. If a bed feels good, then it will largely contribute to
better sleep and a healthful sleeping position. However, many
shoppers go about searching for a new mattress with preconceived
notions about what they "should" be looking for.

The medical community often gives confusing advice. Some doctors
say a firm mattress is better for support and some say a softer
mattress is better. But this advice is contradictory and too
simplistic to be helpful. Firmness is not directly related to
proper support or comfort, so the advice is not as helpful as it
could be. Good advice would say to get a mattress that:

1. Reduces pressure points - evenly distributes pressure across
the surface of your body, not just the heavy parts of your body

2. Keeps your spine in a neutral position - supports your inward
body curves (neck, lower back) as well as your outward body
curves (hips, shoulders), maintaining a natural body position.

3. Feels comfortable to you - Your body is smart; It knows that
personal comfort will naturally contribute to healthful sleep
and a natural body position.

At the top of a long list of health benefits for latex and
memory foam mattresses is their ability to reduce pressure
points and give proper support. Foam beds contour to the shape
of your body, reducing pressure points better than almost any
other type of sleep surface. Foam mattresses come in varying
firmness levels based upon the firmness of the foam used to make
the mattress and how the bed is constructed. Both latex and
memory foam mattresses are made up from 2 or more layers of
foam. The top layer is soft, contouring to your body and
offering gentle support. The lower layer or layers provide firm
support, maintaining your healthful body position.

How Foam Firmness and Support is Measured

Foam firmness is measured in units called ILD's (Initial Load
Deflection). Most latex and memory foam mattresses have top
layers from 10 - 20 ILD. Foam ILD is a measure (in pounds) of
the resistance foam offers when a large, flat plate is pushed
into a block of foam 25% of its total depth. In other words, it
measure how firm/soft the surface of a foam block feels. Higher
ILD is firmer and lower ILD is softer.

The support of a foam bed is expressed as "support value," and
is derived from 2 numbers: 25ILD and 65ILD. 25ILD measures the
resistance at 25% of the depth of foam and 65ILD measures the
resistance at 65% of the depth of a piece of foam. By dividing
25ILD into 65ILD, you get the support value. Support value tells
you how well a piece of foam will support you when you lay down
on it. Will it keep your spine in a neutral position, or will it
completely compress and let you hips sink too far into the
mattress and bump on the harder base layers?

Buy What You Like

It is becoming more common for retailers to have ILD firmness
values available at the retail level. This is helpful when
considering the beds from one manufacturer. But there is not an
apples to apples to comparison between one manufacturer and
another. Support value is not available at the retail level, and
again, it would not help compare beds between different makers,
so it's not a good comparison tool.

The important thing to understand is that both soft and firm
latex or memory foam mattresses are capable of providing optimal
support. Foam firmness level is not a direct indicator of
support. The one you chose should make you look forward to going
to sleep at night.