Mattress technology has improved by leaps and bounds during the past few decades, and the mattress industry has seen a corresponding explosion of growth as consumers move past the old-style spring mattresses that don’t offer the same levels of comfort and support.
Bedding may be more comfortable these days, but a wealth of new mattress styles has made shopping for the right product a complex affair. Review these five hot trends in mattress comfort before you make your purchase.
1. Memory Foam
Although its been used by NASA and other government agencies for years, memory foam has been available commercially for a relatively short period of time. It’s steadily gained in popularity, however, thanks to its unique ability to conform to sleepers’ body shapes and provide support without the uncomfortable resistance common to traditional metal-spring mattresses.
In fact, memory foam beds are often used in therapeutic environments to prevent bedsores in patients with limited mobility. Memory foam mattresses have helped propel sales in the industry.
2. Custom Settings
Memory foam is to the metal-spring mattress what the personal computer is to the typewriter: A technological sea change that represents an increase both in convenience and complexity.
Many memory foam beds are dual-sided and come with a programming device that adjusts each side’s level of support according to the sleeper’s preference. These custom settings can be changed at any time, so they’re perfect for restless couples that can’t agree on how their mattress should feel.
3. Latex
Latex has had plenty of uses over the years, but mattress coverings were not among them until recently. Like memory foam mattresses, latex bedding products are springy without being bouncy and readily conform to body shapes.
Latex mattresses are available in organically grown “natural” and synthetic iterations: The former lasts between five and ten years and may aggravate existing latex allergies while the latter should theoretically last a lifetime.
4. Air
You may have to think back to your younger, exuberant days to conjure up memories of the air mattresses that kept you from sleeping face down on the floor after a night on the town, but these innovative bedding devices have decidedly more civilized uses as well.
These days, air mattresses come in all shapes and sizes, including deluxe versions that can fit on a king-size bed frame. As with programmable memory foam devices, each side of a dual-chamber air mattress can be customized by varying its internal air pressure according to preference.
5. Water
Another “elemental” mattress type, waterbeds are no longer the laughingstock of a generation of snooty furniture critics nor a staple of honeymoon motels across the country.
Modern waterbeds are stronger and less prone to puncture than their predecessors, although it can be disruptive to sleep with a partner on one. They may be the best type of widely available therapeutic mattress, however, thanks to water’s unique ability to conduct heat.
John Reynolds contributed this post on behalf of Nature’s Sleep where you can find a wide range mattresses to fit your sleep comfort needs.
