Geltex is a relative newcomer to the mattress market that claims to bring superior comfort while sleeping, but what is a Geltex mattress?
Geltex Mattress: A Newcomer With Some Nifty Materials
Geltex is a brand name of a type of mattress often referred to as a “gel-foam” mattress. It combines the contouring abilities of foam with a kind of gel that can help to provide extra comfort while also keeping the sleeper cooler.
Sealy and Silentnight, two top mattress brands, stock Geltex and offer a range of mattresses using Geltex technology.
What are the Benefits of Gel-Foam Mattresses?
Gel-foam mattresses are usually compared to memory foam mattresses due to their permeable foam layers.
Both are designed to offer body contouring, which means the mattress will react and change to fit your body. When you get up and your body-weight and heat aren’t acting on the mattress anymore, the mattress will return to its normal shape.
People who are concerned about joint pain interrupting their sleep may find foam mattresses can help.
Joint pain and pressure points occur when we lie in one spot and the areas of our bodies touching the mattress are put under stress. Common pressure points can be our shoulders and hips.
Memory foam and other foam mattresses claim to reduce pain by cradling our bodies. There isn’t much research in this area, but many people with conditions like arthritis say memory foam has helped them. Gel-foam mattresses like Geltex may offer similar support.
Memory foam and other foam mattresses come with one major drawback though. Often, memory foam retains heat. This may not be a problem if you live in a cooler climate, but it can make for an uncomfortable sleeping experience for people who get warm easily.
Gel-foam mattresses like Geltex aim to change that. By using foam that allows air to freely circulate, combined with a gel that enhances breathability, gel-foam mattresses are meant to provide better temperature regulation as we sleep.
One other claim made by makers of gel-foam mattresses is improved responsiveness. If you have ever slept in a standard memory foam bed, you will be familiar with the way memory foam discourages you from moving.
This isn’t completely done away with in gel-foam mattresses, but the combination of foam, gel, and air pockets can allow the mattress to return to its resting shape more quickly. This is supposed to make it easier for you to move while still feeling supported.
Do Gel-Infused Mattresses Keep You Cooler?
It’s hard to find independent research to firmly support the notion that gel-foam mattresses are better than memory foam mattresses for keeping us cooler at night.
The idea behind the mattresses does seem to make sense. By replacing foam with beads of gel, we are creating pockets in the mattress that will not warm as quickly, reducing the overall heat retention in the mattress.
This means that, at least when we first get into bed and are trying to fall asleep, we would expect a gel mattress to be cooler than a memory foam mattress. However, through the night the gel will get warmer, and many buyers report gel-infused mattresses only help to a point.
Also, it is worth pointing out that everyone’s threshold for what is “too hot” while sleeping will be different, so unfortunately there is no firm guideline for sleepers.
Geltex mattresses come in a range of sprung mattresses as well, which tend to retain less heat than memory foam. These may be a solution if you are on the hunt for a cooler night’s sleep from your mattress or if you prefer the support of more traditional mattresses.
Are Gel-Infused Mattresses Expensive?
Gel-infused mattresses can be more pricey than standard memory foam mattresses, but the Geltex range and others like it offer various models to suit buyers at different price levels.
Hybrid gel-infused mattresses are available for around £450 or more, while some pocket sprung Geltex mattresses can retail up to £1,000 or more for a single mattress.
Geltex Mattresses: Not So Movable
Like their memory foam counterparts, Geltex and other gel-foam mattresses tend to be heavier than pocket sprung mattresses and coil systems.
While their weight won’t matter much when the mattress is in place, it does mean that moving the mattress, either when first installing the bed or when it comes to moving rooms or moving house or flat, can be difficult.
Final Thoughts
Geltex gel-foam mattresses may not be for everyone, and certainly might not be a good fit if you are looking for a budget mattress.
Still, if you are looking for the body contouring of memory foam but with better temperature regulation and a cooler sleep experience, as well as a more responsive feel from your mattress, Geltex and other gel-foam mattresses might be the right choice for you.
