Are memory foam mattresses good?

Yes, if you like the feel of sink-in foam comfort, if you and your partner are looking for a mattress that absorbs movement, or if a noise-free sleep is particularly important to you, a memory foam mattress can provide what you need.

Foam does feel slightly different to springs, so memory foam mattresses aren’t always for everyone. But they retain their shape over time and often have added features like cooling technologies or zoned support. 

Some of the commonly cited benefits of memory foam mattresses include:

1. Personalised comfort and support

Memory foam uses your body heat to contour to the shape of your body. This provides unique comfort specific to your body shape.

The foam support promotes healthy spinal alignment while you sleep, removing pressure from your joints and hips.

If you share a mattress with your partner, the contoured support system means both of you get targeted support for your different builds and heights.

2. Pressure relief

Memory foam mattresses evenly distribute your body weight to reduce pressure on the heaviest parts of your body, such as hips and shoulders.

This can help to ease aches and pains in those areas and promote healthier blood circulation while you sleep.

3. Reduced transfer of movement

As memory foam moulds to your specific body shape, it creates your own personal sleep zone.

This means your sleep is less likely to be disturbed by your partner tossing and turning in the night.

4. Dust mite resistance

The memory foam in these mattresses contains a visco-elastic structure that cannot be penetrated by dust mites. This makes them a good option if you suffer from allergies.

Still curious about the benefits of memory foam? Check out these two videos from leading brands Sealy and Silentnight:

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What sleeping positions are memory foam mattresses best for?

Memory foam mattresses are suitable for any sleeping position due to their unique ability to shape around your body as you sleep. 

When it comes to your sleeping position, the firmness of the memory foam mattress is most important to consider. This is because the firmness of your mattress can impact the position of your spine.

While you sleep, your spine should be as straight as possible in order to avoid any possible back or joint pain.

Below, we’ll briefly explain what firmness of memory foam mattress is best suited to your sleeping position:

Front sleepers

Sleeping on your front is not usually recommended by sleep experts and health professionals as it arches the spine. To breathe, you need to turn your head to one side, which twists the cervical spine. Your hips may also sink into the mattress while your chest and stomach remain higher, especially on softer mattresses, creating an exaggerated arch in the lower back. Over time, this posture can lead to back pain.

To counter this, front sleepers need a memory foam mattress that is firm enough to help you sleep with a straight back while maintaining comfortable pressure levels on your joints. Medium or medium-firm memory foam mattresses tend to offer the best balance, providing support for your back while staying comfortable for your hips, chest and shoulders.

Side sleepers

When you sleep on your side, your shoulders and hips press more deeply into the mattress, which is why a softer mattress firmness often better suits side sleepers.

This will allow your shoulders and hips to sink into the mattress slightly, keeping your spine straight and healthy while you sleep.

Some good options are:

• Soft-medium memory foam mattresses
• Medium memory foam mattresses
• Medium-firm memory foam mattresses

Back sleepers

If you’re a back sleeper, the chances are that your spinal alignment is already very healthy. 

In order to keep your spine in this healthy, straight position, it’s best to sleep on a firmer mattress so that your shoulders and hips can be properly supported:

• Medium-firm memory foam mattresses
• Firm memory foam mattresses

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Is memory foam good for your back?

Memory foam mattresses can support healthy spinal alignment by contouring to the shape of your body and distributing weight evenly. This can help reduce pressure on the lower back, particularly for back and side sleepers.

Orthopaedic memory foam mattresses are mattresses that have been specifically designed to provide lumbar support. They often have a firmer feel than standard mattresses and can be helpful in terms of providing spinal alignment and support, especially when combined with the pressure-relieving properties of memory foam.

However, the term 'orthopaedic' is not medically regulated, and product effectiveness may vary from person to person. The best mattress for your back depends on individual needs, including sleep position, body type, and the specific nature of any back issues.

Whether they are orthopaedic or not, memory foam mattresses offer fantastic levels of support as the foam contours to your body to offer unique comfort.

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Memory foam mattress pros and cons

To summarise all of the above, here’s a list of the pros and cons of memory foam mattresses:

Pros	Cons
They offer personalised comfort	They can feel warm as they absorb your body heat
They provide great pressure relief	They can have a slight chemical smell when you unpack them
They reduced transfer of movement	They can be quite heavy to move
They are dust mite resistant	They aren’t as environmentally friendly as some sprung or natural filling mattresses

More detail on potential drawbacks

Below, we go into more detail about the pros and cons of memory foam mattresses:

Heat retention

There is a common misconception that all memory foam mattresses are hot to sleep on, but this is no longer the case. Temperature regulation in memory foam mattresses has improved considerably over the years.

As we’ve mentioned above, memory foam mattresses use your heat to contour to your body. Due to this, they can absorb a little bit of your heat, which may make the mattress feel warmer.

Packaging smell

When you unwrap your memory foam mattress, you may notice that there is a slightly synthetic smell to it. Don’t worry, this will wear off in a few days!

The smell is caused either by the fire retardant treatment or the wrap that the mattress was packed in.

Weight

Memory foam as a material is quite heavy, so having a large block of this foam inside your mattress can make it quite difficult to move about.

This is why many memory foam mattresses arrive rolled up, making them much easier to move from room to room before you unroll them.

Less environmentally friendly

Unlike natural mattresses - which often use sustainable materials - and pocket sprung mattresses - which may use recycled materials - memory foam mattresses do not have a sustainable alternative. 

To mitigate this, many manufacturers try to make the creation process as environmentally friendly as possible, but they are still a less eco-friendly option when compared with other mattresses.

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If you're comparing mattress types, exploring different materials and firmness levels can help identify what best suits your sleep needs. So why not head over and check out our range of memory foam mattresses today?