Memory Foam vs. Spring: What's the Best Mattress?
When it comes to buying a mattress in Singapore, picking the right one can start by differentiating between two of the major mattress types: memory foam and innerspring. These two mattress types offer a broad variety of features, each with their own pros and cons.
Here is a helpful guide to help you differentiate between the two mattress types and identify what works best for your needs.
What is a Memory Foam Mattress?
Memory foam is made from polyurethane foam or polyfoam materials that have been treated to enhance their viscosity. These are called visco-elastic polyurethane foams. Memory foam offers a springy and conforming support that gives you a hugging feeling during sleep.
This foam type follows the mould of your body through body heat to alleviate the pressure from the heaviest parts of your body without any pushback. This slowly bounces back to its original shape afterwards, thus the term "memory foam."
Pros
- This mattress type gained its popularity due to the extreme comfort that it provides. A memory foam mattress conforms to your body’s unique shape and thoroughly targets your pressure points to achieve your best night’s rest.
- Memory foam helps in distributing your weight. Since it is made from visco-elastic polyfoam materials, memory foam provides a versatile support for your spine, hips, shoulders, and other parts of your body that receive the most weight when you sleep.
- Does your current bed trigger your allergy symptoms? With a memory foam mattress, you don’t have to worry about this nuisance. Memory foam is treated with anti-dust mite, anti-bacterial, and hypoallergenic properties.
- Memory foam is a quiet sleep solution. With its soft and conforming properties, you don’t have to worry about your bed squeaking or disturbing you.
Cons
- If you are a hot sleeper, a memory foam mattress might not be your best choice, especially here in Singapore. Memory foam is notorious for its heat retention as it uses body heat to contour your muscles. Since it is made from pure foam material, it may provide a little passage for air circulation. If you love the contouring feel of memory foam, choose a variety with a cooling gel layer or opt for a hybrid of innerspring and memory foam mattresses.
- Memory foam may change its firmness depending on the climate. If the place is hot, the foam may become softer. In colder places, it may become firmer.
- Memory foam produces strong off-gassing odours. If you plan to own a memory foam bed, make sure to give your bedroom continuous ventilation.
- Some memory foam brands are expensive.
- Do you toss and turn a lot? If you are a restless sleeper, a memory foam bed can give you the feeling of being stuck due to its hugging feel.
What is an Innerspring Mattress?
Innerspring mattresses are regarded as the "traditional" mattress type. These feature a number of metal springs or coils that work as the supportive layer underneath the foam. These coil structures come in many types, including Bonnell springs, continuous springs, offsets, and pocketed spring mattresses. While many sleepers prefer the traditional feel of their traditional spring bed, others embrace more technologically advanced pocketed coil mattresses.
Quality spring mattresses are extremely comfortable and supportive, especially for heavy sleepers. If you prefer some pushback instead of a conforming feel, an innerspring mattress is the way to go. Modern pocketed spring beds offer excellent motion isolation for mattress sharers.
Pros
- Innerspring mattresses offer a comfortable firmness and a pushback feel to target aches and pains, resulting in a restful and revitalising sleep. Aside from sleepers who prefer the traditional mattress feel, spring mattresses are also ideal for those who want a bouncier mattress with more pushback support.
- The structure of a spring bed allows air to properly flow within the unit, which makes it an excellent choice for hot sleepers. Many innerspring beds feature an open cell foam structure to further improve their breathability.
- Being on the market for a long time, mattress manufacturers have mastered various technologies to produce the best inner coil units without the hefty price tag.
- Pocketed spring mattresses offer an excellent amount of lumbar support and reliable motion isolation. Pocketed coil mattresses provide excellent edge support to extend the areas that you can sleep on, especially if you are a restless sleeper.
- Mattress manufacturers use a variety of comfort layers that you can choose from based on your preferences. Love the conforming feel of memory foam and the pushback support of inner coils? Modern innerspring beds can feature the comfort of both materials. You may also find high-end combinations of latex and pocketed coils.
Cons
- Like with other bed types, the comfort of a spring mattress depends on your preferences.
- Due to the presence of the springs, coil mattresses are heavier and harder to assemble. This can be a disadvantage if you rearrange your bedroom items often.
- Continuous spring beds are not as efficient as memory foam beds in terms of motion isolation. Luckily, modern pocketed spring models are designed to address this problem.
Memory Foam vs. Innerspring Mattress: Which One Should You Choose?
Spring mattresses are adored by sleepers who love the familiar bouncy comfort. Memory foam mattresses, on the other hand, are preferred by those who need a hugging feel in their sleep. When making a mattress choice, go for an option that fits your sleeping needs and comfort preferences. Assess the pros and cons of both mattress types and determine what feature matters to you the most. Do you prefer the conforming comfort of memory foam? How about the breathability of a spring mattress?
Luckily, modern bed options now feature various foam and innerspring combinations to offer the best solution for multiple sleeping needs. In this way, you can enjoy a soft, breathable, and supportive rest with just a single mattress choice.
Feel free to explore various mattress types and combinations for the best chance to score the most comfortable mattress based on your needs!
