Latex orthopedic mattresses

The two types of foam found in many of today's luxury mattresses are memory foam (also known as visco foam) and Latex foam (often described as Dunlop or Talalay.

Most of these latex mattresses also have very good orthopedic qualities, giving contouring support to the spine, and they promote the deepest stages of sleep.

Latex mattresses are produced from natural sap from rubber trees. The latex substance is turned into a foam and mixed with a synthetic latex, following which it is vulcanized. The two (alternative) methods of forming the vulcanized latex are known as Dunlop and the (more advanced) Talalay techniques. The Talalay method is widely recognised as producing a superior, better wearing and structurally superior mattress to the Dunlop version.

Latex and contouring

The primary orthopaedic quality of a latex mattress is its intrinsic ability to mould itself to the shape of any body. In doing this it is able to reduce the body's critical pressure points whilst in a sleeping state. This ensures that all parts of the body are supported evenly and avoids localised areas like the hips and shoulders from supporting the rest of the torso.

The ability of a mattress to provide support and body shape conformity are at the heart of its orthopedic performance and latex mattresses score very highly in this respect.

Hypoallergenic Latex mattress

Because Latex mattresses are naturally hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial and resist moisture build up, they can be recommended for almost anyone with almost any medical condition. They also have a very high resistance to mould and dust-mites and this makes them ideal for those with allergies or breathing problems.

Latex mattresses do not have an odour during their initial life which some people do notice with a memory foam mattress.

Firmness

Latex mattresses (and orthopaedic latex mattresses) come in a variety of tensions from soft to very firm and hard, but the characteristic that they all share is good support for the complete body. Latex mattresses also have a long lifespan and are not prone to sagging, lumpiness or taking on permanent body impressions.

Differences between Latex and Memory foam mattresses

Orthopaedic Latex mattresses have a denser feel to them (it is claimed) than memory foam and are great at helping to relieve the pressure points of the body. Furthermore, Latex does not react to heat like memory foam, which means that it is more resilient and pushes back against the sleeping body.

Both Latex foam and memory foam mattresses have the ability to conform with the shape of the body, however, latex foam offers a springy almost bouncy resistance that is very different to memory foam.

Latex mattresses differ from memory foam in their elastic open-cell structure which is able to recover from pressure immediately. Memory foam takes several seconds or even minutes to recovers its original shape.

Latex foam does not heat up in the same way as memory foam and this makes it ideal as a cushioning that comes into (almost) direct contact with the human body. Its Latex cell structure gives it maximum breath ability and keeps any sleeper cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It is often said that memory foam sleeps hot whilst latex foam sleeps cool.

A Latex mattress does not let off gas (toxic petrochemicals) like some cheaper memory foam and synthetic chemical mattresses do during their first few uses. Even so, Latex allergies can be a serious problem for some people if they have an intolerance to the material.

In summary, Latex is probably the most durable orthopaedic mattress material available today. Unlike memory foam it is not heat sensitive and it takes a long time to wear out.

Why buy an orthopaedic Latex mattress

The main feature that makes Latex the perfect orthopaedic mattress option is the way that these mattresses mould to the shape of the human body.

The other differentiating feature of Latex mattresses is their temperature sensitive qualities – namely sleeping cool and increasing in contouring properties as the heat from a human body causes them to mould and shape.

The best way to buy a latex mattress is probably online. The reason for this is because bed outlets and retailers stock very few Latex beds and this limits choice. Hopefully this will change in the future.