Although the benefits of sleeping on a memory foam mattress are quite clear, you might still be bothered by the fact that they are a little more expensive than normal spring matresses. Many people are tempted into buying memory foam matress toppers (also known as memory foam mattress pads) instead. However, before you do so, it’s important to know the difference between the two, and to judge carefully if a foam matress pad is worth the money.
A memory foam mattress topper is a piece of foam, similar to a full memory foam matress, but not as thick. You place the memory pad on top of your normal spring matress, and it is supposed to give the same benefits as a proper memory foam matress. The truth is though, that although this can happen, it doesn’t usually.
For people who already have a good matress, and just need something to improve their sleep a little, a topper might be a good idea. It won’t give you all the benefits of a memory foam matress, but it will do a moderately good job at a lower price.
However, you have to remember that a foam matress topper is only a pad of a few inches thick, and does not have the full performance of a real foam memory matress. When you lie on it, you’re not going to get the support that you would have from ten inches of real memory foam, you’ll only get the shallow support that the thinner mattress topper offers.
Also, to get the best out of a memory foam matress, it really needs to go on a firm base. If you take a relatively thin topper and place it on top of a spring matress, you’re defeating the purpose of the memory foam matress altogether. The full benefits of a memory mattresses are felt when the memory foam goes right down to the firm base below it. If the topper sits on a soft or word out matress, it won’t give the support you expect, and will not help you sleep better. The memory foam topper will just sag where the underlying matress sags, leaving you as uncomfortable as before.
So, buying a memory foam mattress topper is really false economy, as you’re not likely to see the benefits of a real memory foam matress, and you might as well save your money. You’re far better off investing in a proper memory foam mattress and getting a really good night’s sleep.