What Is Memory Foam?
First designed in the mid-1960s for NASA airplane seats, memory foam is made from a substance called viscoelastic. It is both highly energy absorbent and soft.
Memory foam molds to the body in response to heat and pressure, evenly distributing body weight. It then returns to its original shape once you remove the pressure.
In addition to protecting against impact, these properties make memory foam very comfortable. After its “virgin flight” for NASA, memory foam made a foray into other applications. For example, it was used as cushioning in helmets and shoes. Medicine found a use for it in prosthetics and products to prevent pressure ulcers such as seating pads for people who are severely disabled.
Then, memory foam really took off. It’s now well known for its use in pillows, mattress pads, and mattresses, which come in different densities and depths.
Memory Foam Pillows using this material are either shaped like a normal pillow or are contoured to fit more closely to the head and neck. Because of its properties, memory foam pillows are often sold as offering effective pressure relief and unparallelled comfort, many users do rave about them although in reality, they are not to everyone’s taste. Because memory foam is relatively dense, the height is relatively fixed so it is not adaptable to different height requirements, it can also be quite warm as it doesn’t offer much air flow.
Pros
– Outlines the unique shape of the body and supports your neck and heat
– Prevents cricks in your neck
– Keeps your spine aligned
– Provides relief for pressure points that cause pain
– Synthetic material and safe
Cons
– Retains little body heats
– Climate temperature of home affects firmness
– Chemical off-gassing with a new pillow but this smell dissipates quickly
