The Making of each Material
Latex: - Latex is found in nature, as a milky fluid obtained from 10% of all flowering plants. It is a complex secretion of an emulsion of proteins which also contains vital sugars, oils, resins and gum. This secretion happens when the plant suffers from a tissue injury like a cut on its bark exposing the inners to air. This is when the plant excretes this emulsion called latex. Since the early 17th century, the term latex has been used to describe the white stuff that comes out of plants that produce emulsion liquids when suffering a tissue injury. The main purpose of this secretion by the plants are primarily for defence against the herbivore insects and secondly to heal its torn tissue. Latex rubber portrays some unique physical and chemical properties. The best one of these is elasticity. How is it made to be used in a mattress?
The liquid latex (sap) which is collected from the plants are mixed with some rising agents and then made into sheets of 6 feet by 3 feet or bigger.
Memory Foam: - Memory foam mainly consists of polyurethane, PU with some additional chemicals increasing its viscoelasticity and density significantly than the other regular foam. Hence it's also called Viscoelastic foam. Memory foam was first developed by NASA in 1966 under the contract from the Ames Research Center to improve the safety of the aircraft cushions. A memory foam mattress is usually denser than other foam mattresses, making it both more supportive and heavier. Memory foam mattresses are often sold for higher prices than traditional mattresses and the property of firmness (hard to soft) of memory foam is used in determining comfort. Second and third-generation memory foams have an open-cell structure that reacts to body heat and weight by moulding to the sleeper's body. Manufacturers claim that this may help relieve pressure points to relieve pain and promote more restful sleep.
Varieties Available in Each Material
Latex: -
Dunlop:- It's made by collecting the tree's sap, whipped into a froth, adding additional ingredients and then baked into sheets in huge steam moulds. This process has its unique characteristics which one can easily distinguish by touching the mattress top and bottom. The froth blend provides a soft top and a firm bottom. This unique property gives the best of both worlds and enables the customer to have a two-way usage mattress.
Talalay:- This variety involves a few additional steps. Latex mixture is partially poured into the mould and is expanded into a complete sheet using a vacuum. This process is unique in providing a lush, soft and luxurious feel to it. This particular latex sheet is best for one who is looking to relive their back and shoulder pains. It is also less dense than a Dunlop latex sheet and has a more consistent feel throughout the sheet.
We do get both Dunlop and Talalay sheets in India. Although they might be referred to by different names.
The most common names in the latex sheets would be Latex slab, regular, and pin core. Each of the specific types has a separate purpose. The slab or the Dunlop would help provide a stiffer feel while the pin core or the Talalay will help you with pain reliefs on your body. Usually, latex mattresses are combinations of slabs and pin core latex rubber sheets. For instance, a typical rubber latex mattress would have a slab latex rubber sheet as its base and pin core rubber sheet as its top. This combination results in dual side usage of the mattress. If the consumer does not like the top soft layer and would rather prefer a firm surface, then they could simply turn the mattress upside down and wallah! You’ve got an entirely new mattress altogether.
Memory Foam: - There are three kinds of memory foam mattresses. Each has got its unique advantage and unique characteristics. Each has a different texture, different materials composition and different feel to it.
Traditional Memory Foam: - These kind of memory foam are kind of extinct, they are the very first generation of memory foam which was developed in the ’60s and hence become popularised. The biggest drawback however about the traditional memory foam is its property to retain heat. Excess heat made some uses uncomfortable and made it difficult to sleep especially in hot and tropical climates.
Open Cell Memory Foam: - Open cell memory foam has become the industry standard since its launch. These foam sheets solved the heat problem in the traditional memory foam, making them instantly popular. However, it too is not perfect. You see, memory foam uses body heat to mould around your body to provide that optimal support. So the heat is still there, however since there are open cells in the memory foam sheets, heat can flow freely hence making this memory foam much more bearable.
Gel Memory Foam: - Taking the memory foam game a little bit further and raising the bar is this kind called the cool gel memory foam. As the name suggests there is no actual gel present in the foam sheet; instead cooling beads are added in the regular open-cell memory foam. These cooling beads help disperse heat more efficiently than the open cell memory foam.
Features of Latex and Memory Foam Mattress
Relieves pressure points: - If you have certain pain points in your body, such as back pain, lower back pains and shoulder pains, then a latex mattress will be best suited for you. Latex rubber sheet in its form provides adequate softness while maintaining rigidity at the bottom to help you relieve those god awful pains fast.
Better for someone who carries a lot of weight: - If you are someone who is considerably healthy and has a few extra pounds on, then a latex mattress would be a perfect fit. Latex rubber mattress helps to disperse body weight evenly across the mattress. Depth wise, it's even better with a Dunlop latex rubber sheet as the top layer spreads to give that pressure relief and the bottom layer provides you with much-needed support.
You’re looking for a product that will last: - In general, a typical lifestyle of a latex mattress is about 10-12 years. Our mattress at SAFIRA lasts about the same, making a latex mattress a more sensible investment for your furniture.
Cool Mattress: - If you are someone who has a problem with your mattress getting unusually hot and uncomfortable, then latex mattress have you covered there as well. Latex mattresses on average tend to be much cooler when compared to their PU foam cousins.
Movement shock transfer: - Latex rubber sheet is a fantastic shock absorber. For example, your partner keeps tossing and shifting throughout the night and you can't help but get disturbed by those tossings and turnings? Well, the latex mattress is the answer.
Eco Friendly: - Latex in its natural form is liquid and it is derived straight from the tree. When making a latex rubber sheet, a few chemicals(about 20% in some sheets) are added to make it puff. This makes it an environmentally better option than a memory foam mattress as it is 100% synthetic and man-made.
Hypoallergenic: - Latex rubber sheets are impervious to dust mites.
Support: - Memory foam lacks support as it is a viscoelastic foam, it is usually soft and with its butter-like properties, it will mould around your body providing better stress relief than providing firm support. Memory foam reacts to the body heat and shapes itself around your body.
Comfort: - Memory foam is in its league of its own when comfort is in question. If you are someone who likes their bed super soft, that melts around your body as you sleep and has a somewhat buttery feel to it? If yes, then memory foam will do justice to your needs.
Pressure relief: - Memory foam offers the best pressure relief in PU foams. But this comes at the cost of heat. As explained above, memory foam uses body heat to work properly, hence if you are someone who does not like a hotbed, then latex will be a great substitute.
Bounce back rate: - Memory foam is great at absorbing shocks and movements. It does a fairly good job of not transferring the shock to the adjacent sleeper making it the best for shock absorption in the PU foam family.
Temperature: - Memory foam as discussed several times in this article that it works with our body heat. Therefore memory foam tends to get a little warm. Not uncomfortably warm, but warm enough to make you notice. If you have air conditioning in your room then you won't even notice the heat.
Verdict
To put it simply, both latex and memory foam mattresses have strong cases to make. Each has their specialities and drawbacks making the consumer very confused. That's where this guide can help. You simply have to question your needs. As to what you are looking for while you sleep. It is spine correction or maybe a cool mattress could be a bouncer feeling mattress or shock-absorbing mattress. Anything it could be you just have to ask yourself these vital questions before purchasing either one of the mattresses.
Maintenance wise both the mattress does not need heavy maintenance, however, memory foam tends to collect and store dust. Someone with dust allergy must regularly vacuum the mattress top to avoid the dust accumulation. Latex mattress does not accumulate dust hence it does not require constant dusting or vacuuming.
Cost-wise latex mattresses are much pricier than memory foam mattresses for several reasons. Not to forget memory foam mattresses are also expensive, there will be a difference of upwards of 10,000 RS in both of them making latex mattresses that much costlier.
A word about our website
We at SAFIRA Mattress believe that the consumer is king, therefore you should never cheat on them. Built on this philosophy, we make custom mattresses in the heart of Hyderabad, India. Our custom mattress service allows the customer to pick and choose their desired materials which go into making their future mattresses.
To know more please head on to our website by clicking here!