27 October 2006 10:06 GMT / By Stuart Miles

They say you spend a third of your life in bed. If this is true, then spending a chunk of your hard earned cash on a comfortable mattress is probably a worth-while investment.

eMats.co.uk believe it has the answer and provided us with one of their top of the line mattresses, the Viscoform 1200.

According to the marketing jargon, a memory foam mattress can help to improve your posture by keeping your spine straight during sleep even though they are not specifically designed for bed ridden people or those with severe back injuries.

The rather heavy mattress came delivered to your door rolled up and vacuum packed in polythene. It's easy to move around, but we found that it was best to open the packaging where we eventually wanted it as the thing pretty much doubles in size thereafter. If you've selected a larger size, you'll have trouble carrying the unrolled mattress through doorways.

Unlike most mattresses, this one is supplied with a good quality, removable cover. A handy feature as most mattresses require a wash from time to time after you've spilt that cup of tea or … well you know what we mean. If you remove the cover, you can see the core consists of two kinds of foam: the bottom layer acts as a base to the top layer made of memory foam.

I must admit that the first night I slept on the Viscoform 1200 seemed a little strange as it felt softer than a sprung mattress. As you lie down, the heat from your body causes the memory foam layer to mould to your shape. There is enough support from the lower layer of foam to stop you sinking too much, creating more of a cushioning effect.

It's great if you like to sleep on your side, as your lower arm sinks into the mattress without being crushed by your body. Sleeping on your back is also an improvement over springs, as the bony parts of your body are able to sink into the memory foam, resulting in a straighter spine.

Verdict

Although comfortable, the benefits of sleeping on a memory mattress did not become fully apparent until it was used for a number of nights. A better nights sleep means more rest, there really is no going back to springs. My only problem now is that the test mattress has to go back to the suppliers!

emats.co.uk

Score

Review Recap

Made by

emats

Price as reviewed

£From £249

The good

Comfortable, hygienic, great if you have back problems

The bad

Not much, strange smell when you first open the packaging but this disappears after a few hours

Quick verdict

These things take a little getting used to but there's not much out there that I'd rather sleep on

Score

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