The Right Recovery Rate for a Memory Foam Mattress
One of the biggest complaints I hear from customers searching for memory foam mattresses is about the slow recovery aspect of some memory foam. Bad memory foam recovers too slowly, and this makes it hard to roll over in bed. I’ve had many calls from people who have memory foam beds that have this problem. Their question will typically be something like this:
“I’ve been sleeping on a memory foam bed for a few years, and I like it, but it’s very difficult for me to roll over. A concave dip forms wherever I lay, so when I want to change positions, or get out of bed, I have to crawl out of this hole. How do I find a bed that is easier to move around on?”
This is a common problem with a lot of memory foam mattresses. The only solution is to find a bed that uses foam with a faster recovery rate.
If a foam’s recovery rate is too slow, it can make changing positions quite a chore. Some memory foam can literally take 30-60 seconds to recover its original form. This means that, in order for you to change positions on the bed, you have to climb out of your body mold, go to the new position, and hold it for 30-60 seconds while the bed molds to your new position. When it’s cold, some foams can take even longer to mold to your new form.
Tip for Finding the Right Recovery Rate
Memory foam should easily change positions with you as you move. It should take foam no longer than a few seconds to recover its original form after pressure is released. Most of us have seen the common image of the hand imprint in foam. This makes a good test for assessing whether or not a foam bed has a fast enough recovery rate. If you push your hand into the bed, and it takes more than a few seconds to recover, then it may be difficult to move around in. Most customers don't think about recovery rate, and find, several months after they have bought their bed, that it is an issue for them. So if you are thinking about the recovery rate of foam, while you are looking at memory foam mattresses, then you are way ahead of the curve. Simply find a bed that you intuitively feel will be easy to move around in, and you will be happy about your decisions for many years.
