| With all the advertising about memory foam these | | | | a spacecraft. |
| days, it's hard to imagine that this material has only | | | | Whatever the reason, this material was too expensive |
| been in existence for a little over 30 years. | | | | to be used in the form of a memory foam mattress or |
| It's difficult to find an exact date when memory foam | | | | memory foam pillow for the average consumer. |
| first came into being, but it was originally formulated | | | | It was not, however, too expensive for use as an aid |
| during the early days of manned space flight. Most | | | | to recovery for multi-million dollar racehorses who had |
| likely, it was in the mid to late 1960's. | | | | been injured or were recovering from surgery. |
| The National Aeronautics & Space Administration, aka. | | | | Horses cut off their circulation when they lay down so |
| NASA, needed a material that would cushion the | | | | when horses are recovering, they need to be in the |
| astronauts from the unparalleled g-forces of launch | | | | upright position, so that their blood circulation isn't |
| and re-entry during space missions. | | | | restricted. |
| In response the their request, a material was produced, | | | | This can be very difficult or impossible, because if the |
| called visco-elastic memory foam. | | | | injury is to a limb, the horses massive weight is too |
| I've seen dozens of articles explaining what | | | | much for the limb to support. |
| visco-elastic memory foam means and none of them | | | | Laying the horse on a large, thick, slab of memory |
| has the same explanation. | | | | foam solved this problem. |
| The online dictionary gives no definition for the word | | | | Because memory foam melts away from where |
| visco, but the word is derived from viscous, which | | | | pressure is placed on it, the body of a horse or human |
| means "gummy or pasty." It is a cross between a solid | | | | can lay on it without restricting the blood flow. |
| and a liquid. | | | | Blood flow is critical, to healing and recovery from |
| I think we all know what elastic means, but, again, the | | | | surgery, so it makes sense that recovery is greatly |
| definition is, "being able to return to it's original shape | | | | enhanced by sleeping on a memory foam mattress. |
| after being deformed." | | | | Of course, it was only a matter of time until someone |
| Well...that's enough of the grammar lesson. The point is | | | | thought to apply this factor to the human body. |
| that this material hadn't existed before...it's unique. | | | | Medical researchers have more money to experiment |
| The whole idea, of showing a picture with a hand print, | | | | than consumer businesses, so it was in medical |
| over the top of a memory foam mattress, is to | | | | research that memory foam was found to be a great |
| illustrate that this material isn't forcefully pushing against | | | | inhibitor to bedsores. |
| you. | | | | Bedsores occur when the blood supply to the |
| That's why it takes a while for the memory foam to | | | | capillaries is restricted over a period of time. Bedsores |
| react and slowly return, to it's original shape, once the | | | | are also called pressure ulcers. |
| hand is removed. | | | | Since the unique character of memory foam is it's |
| The other quality, of visco elastic memory foam, is that | | | | ability to melt away from anywhere that pressure is |
| it's temperature reactive. When it's heated, it becomes | | | | applied, bed sores are reduced or eliminated. |
| softer and when it's cooled, it becomes firmer. | | | | It's broad use, in the medical field, finally led to the cost |
| A body, laying on the memory foam material, will heat | | | | effective use of memory foam for consumer |
| it, making it softer under that heated area. | | | | mattresses. Now, memory foam mattresses have |
| Again, it's not clear whether or not this earlier version | | | | come into the mainstream in the mattress industry. |
| of the memory foam material was ever actually used | | | | Memory foam mattress pricing, for a quality product, in |
| in any space missions. | | | | queen size, is usually about $2,000 to $2,500 which is in |
| Some claim that the material off-gassed, producing an | | | | line with most of the high quality innerspring products. |
| odor that couldn't be tolerated in the small quarters of | | | | |