Mattresses > Memory Foam History...Astronauts, Racehorses and Bed Sores

Memory Foam History...Astronauts, Racehorses and Bed Sores

by: Charles "Chuck" Harmon

With all the advertising about memory foam these days, it's hard to imagine that this material has only been in existence for a little over 30 years.

It's difficult to find an exact date when memory foam first came into being, but it was originally formulated during the early days of manned space flight. Most likely, it was in the mid to late 1960's.

The National Aeronautics & Space Administration, aka. NASA, needed a material that would cushion the astronauts from the unparalleled g-forces of launch and re-entry during space missions.

In response the their request, a material was produced, called visco-elastic memory foam.

I've seen dozens of articles explaining what visco-elastic memory foam means and none of them has the same explanation.

The online dictionary gives no definition for the word visco, but the word is derived from viscous, which means "gummy or pasty." It is a cross between a solid and a liquid.

I think we all know what elastic means, but, again, the definition is, "being able to return to it's original shape after being deformed."

Well...that's enough of the grammar lesson. The point is that this material hadn't existed before...it's unique.

The whole idea, of showing a picture with a hand print, over the top of a memory foam mattress, is to illustrate that this material isn't forcefully pushing against you.

That's why it takes a while for the memory foam to react and slowly return, to it's original shape, once the hand is removed.

The other quality, of visco elastic memory foam, is that it's temperature reactive. When it's heated, it becomes softer and when it's cooled, it becomes firmer.

A body, laying on the memory foam material, will heat it, making it softer under that heated area.

Again, it's not clear whether or not this earlier version of the memory foam material was ever actually used in any space missions.

Some claim that the material off-gassed, producing an odor that couldn't be tolerated in the small quarters of a spacecraft.

Whatever the reason, this material was too expensive to be used in the form of a memory foam mattress or memory foam pillow for the average consumer.

It was not, however, too expensive for use as an aid to recovery for multi-million dollar racehorses who had been injured or were recovering from surgery.

Horses cut off their circulation when they lay down so when horses are recovering, they need to be in the upright position, so that their blood circulation isn't restricted.?

This can be very difficult or impossible, because if the injury is to a limb, the horses massive weight is too much for the limb to support.

Laying the horse on a large, thick, slab of memory foam solved this problem.

Because memory foam melts away from where pressure is placed on it, the body of a horse or human can lay on it without restricting the blood flow.

Blood flow is critical, to healing and recovery from surgery, so it makes sense that recovery is greatly enhanced by sleeping on a memory foam mattress.

Of course, it was only a matter of time until someone thought to apply this factor to the human body.

Medical researchers have more money to experiment than consumer businesses, so it was in medical research that memory foam was found to be a great inhibitor to bedsores.

Bedsores occur when the blood supply to the capillaries is restricted over a period of time. Bedsores are also called pressure ulcers.

Since the unique character of memory foam is it's ability to melt away from anywhere that pressure is applied, bed sores are reduced or eliminated.

It's broad use, in the medical field, finally led to the cost effective use of memory foam for consumer mattresses. Now, memory foam mattresses have come into the mainstream in the mattress industry.

Memory foam mattress pricing, for a quality product, in queen size, is usually about $2,000 to $2,500 which is in line with most of the high quality innerspring products.

About The Author

Charles "Chuck" Harmon is a the author of several articles including The 5 Deadliest Sins Most People Commit When Buying A Memory Foam Mattress...And How To Avoid Them. Get the article at: http://www.memory-foam-buyers-guide.org/Memory-Foam-5-Sins-Optin.html

Visco Memory Foam Mattress Guide

Visco Memory Foam Mattress Guide

by: Charles "Chuck" Harmon

A visco memory foam mattress gets it's name from the visco-elastic material developed for NASA in the early 1970's in conjunction with the space program.

The astronauts in the space program were facing incredible g-forces, at take-off and re-entry, and the materials that were available, at that time, weren't sufficient to cushion their bodies.

Of course, they weren't looking for a memory foam mattress, they needed seating that was more like a big, overstuffed recliner.

Visco memory foam was developed from foam that had some unique characteristics, such as being open celled and able to return to their original shape and resiliency after being compressed.

You may have seen the commercial with the 30 ton steam roller smashing a mattress flat and how it slowly returns to it's exact original shape...or maybe you're more familiar with the picture of a hand above a mattress...

Visco Memory Foam Mattress Guide

Mattresses > Visco Memory Foam Mattress Guide

Air Purifiers ? Will They Be Able To Help You?

by: William Bell

The market for air purifiers has become big business these days. More and more people are buying them, or those reading this report are probably in the process of selecting an air purifier for the home. It is without doubt that we are living in a world where air pollution is becoming more of a problem. For some it can be worse than others, having a huge impact on their quality of life. We have written this report to look at some of the issues surrounding air purifiers in order to keep you better informed.

What does an air purifier do?

Allergens that exist in the air come in many forms. They may be dust particles, pollen, from pets or hazardous gases and smoke particles. These can cause misery for some people, which is where the need for an air purifier comes in. Air purifiers come in many different designs, but all work on the basis that they will remove high percentages of...

Air Purifiers ? Will They Be Able To Help You?

Mattresses > Air Purifiers ? Will They Be Able To Help You?

Memory Foam Mattress vs. Coil Spring Mattress; How Do They Differ?

by: Charles "Chuck" Harmon

Have you ever wondered how anyone got the idea to start sleeping on springs in the first place?

I mean, think about it for a minute, what would it feel like to lay down on the bare springs?

And why is it, that laying on springs with some kind of material over them, is considered any better?

The creation of a coil spring mattress was first documented, by patent, in 1865, and there have only been a couple of minor changes, to that original design, in the following 140 years.

During that same period, we went from plowing fields with oxen, to men living in space.

Don't you think it's conceivable that we could find new ideas and materials to improve the mattresses we spend 1/3 of our life on?

The differences, between a regular coil spring mattress and a memory foam mattress, will be presented, to help you understand the difference....

Memory Foam Mattress vs. Coil Spring Mattress; How Do They Differ?

Mattresses > Memory Foam Mattress vs. Coil Spring Mattress; How Do They Differ?

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