Mattress toppers/overlays What are they, and do you really need one?

First, some history.

For the past few decades, until just recently, mattress makers wanted to sell more and more of their product by trying to convince the public that firmer was better.

The sales jargon they used usually linked SUPPORT with FIRMNESS and they tried to convince you to shelve your sagging mattress and replace it with a nice firm one which would last you for a long long time.

Around the world consumers went out in their millions and bought firm mattresses, only to find that when they used it their body’s load-bearing regions such as the shoulder, buttocks, and feet, were resisting the mattress and unable to submerge into it and achieve the even and balanced support that the body requires for a comfortable night's sleep. In other words your body was literally fighting the mattress through the night because your spine was distorted, and you'd wake up after a restless sleep feeling not good about the world!

The mattress makers perpetrated a con on the public. That simple.

... Enter the woollen overlay

It was an opportunity too good to miss — the woolen overlay people said because your mattress was too hard then you ought to put one of these woolen things over it and it will soften it ... and because it’s wool your body will 'breathe'.

Well we think that is a lot of hogwash also because it didn't take more than a week or two for the wool to flatten, and the breathing hype was a thing of the past because as your body's load flattened the wool it also trapped the air. It was a good thing for the wool growers though because they sold lots of wool when wool prices were down.

... magnetics came next

Oh yes, the magnetics people saw an opportunity, and all of a sudden they were slipping magnets into woollen overlays as a point of difference. They sold plenty, and for the aged folk magnetics may have some benefits in respect to helping one's circulation, but you wouldn’t want the magnets to be too powerful because you’ll overheat ... and besides they don’t do a thing for helping spread the pressure points to the body.

.. It was time for the foam mattress toppers to make their entry!

It was over a decade ago that Therapeutic Pillow International launched its premium-grade Body Huggar mattress overlay. Nice and thick at 6 cm, and produced from heavy density foam to ensure that it wouldn't collapse under the body's load.

We produced it in convoluted foam (eggfoam) which is designed to spread the pressure so that not one part of the body is mis-aligned to the other. We also introduced a patented lumbar support column on the underside (flat side) of the Body Huggar, and this helps maintain the spine's natural curvature during sleep.

So, we not only had (and have!) what we consider to be the world's best eggfoam overlay *, but we can also claim to have saved thousands of Australians the cost of having to purchase a new mattress. That’s because our Body Huggar can go over a sagging mattress just as efficiently as it can go over a mattress that is too firm. You save a lot of money, and you get a great night’s sleep. Nice thing!

... and the Memoryfoam Mattress Topper?

Memoryfoam is a visco elastic foam that is temperature sensitive to body warmth. It has a different cell structure to that of traditional foam (the Body Huggar foam), and your body tends to submerge more into it. Forms a mould so to speak. Therapeutic Pillow International produce this Memory Mattress Topper in a 5cm thick version, in all sizes. For those who seek a different 'feel' and are prepared to pay more for this rather expensive-to-produce memoryfoam, then enjoy.

So which one?

It’s a matter of personal preference over that of the Body Huggar eggfoam. We are often asked "what’s the difference"? Well, there are lovers of Memoryfoam, and there are those who are absolutely convinced that the Body Huggar eggfoam overlay does an equally as good a job in spreading the body's load. We think it's a toss up!

* You can get eggfoam overlays in bedding discounters and department stores, but you will find they are thin and made of a cheap sub-standard foam that not only will not give you the support you need, but which will also collapse quickly due to lack of quality. It's a fact!