Pros And Cons Of Air and Viscoelastic Foam Mattresses Compared

We’ve found that most people in the market for a new bed compare air mattress beds with memory foam mattresses. Both work in a unique fashion and have important advantages but neither is spared from drawbacks. Here are the most important disadvantages but, let’s look at the benefits first. You can use our mattress comparison tool to compare 5 types of mattresses side-by-side.

Benefits Comparison

Advantages of Visco Elastic Foam Mattresses

• Relieves pressure and enhances deep sleep by reducing pressure points, increasing comfort level and reducing night time movement by as much as 90%.
• Conforms precisely to your body, distributes weight, improves circulation and allows your blood to flow more freely.
• Has the ability to react to body temperature, softening accordingly.
• You don’t sink right through a high density memory foam mattress nor do you risk bottoming out.
• The foam dampens shock and absorbs motion.
• Lifespan of 10-20 years, depending on the manufacturer.

Advantages of Air Mattress Beds

• Adjustable firmness and, subsequently, comfort.
• Better and more restful sleep due to proper spine alignment and improved pressure relief
• Easy to move
• Lifespan of more than 10 years, if maintained and cared for properly.

Drawbacks Comparison

Drawbacks of Viscoelastic Mattresses

• High quality memory foam mattresses like Tempur-Pedic are quite expensive.
• Responds with stiffness when you quickly lie down or throw yourself onto the mattress like you would do when you were a kid.
• Can get uncomfortably warm during sleep.
• Because of the melting weightlessness feeling it induces, memory foam requires an adjustment period.
• May have a strong odor when new.

Drawbacks of Air Mattress Beds

• Has many parts which can break down in time (the pump or the firmness control system may malfunction, the glues in the air chamber may dissolve).
• The inflating pump may be too noisy (even though you will usually inflate or deflate the bed before you go to sleep, so you won’t be bothering anyone).
• The remote control may get lost somewhere in the house.
• The foam used for rails, foundation or topper is the lower quality type, so the air mattress gets deformed and sags after only a few months.
• If the bed deflates during sleep (which is very unlikely, but possible, especially with cheaper mattresses), your head may be trapped between the rails and the headboard, causing injuries, suffocation and even death – more than 40 deaths are considered by the FDA to be caused by deflating air beds in the last 10 years.