VariaCool Memory Foam Mattress Layer
The VariaCool Memory Foam Mattress Layer from Sleep Number makes an already good night's sleep - great. The foam does a great job of providing temperature regulation along with some added padding for Sleep Number mattresses. The price is a little high but the investment is well worth it.
- DESIGN
- EASE OF USE
- PRICE
- COMFORT
Sleep Number foam layer adds a new layer of comfort to its bedding options.
In 2018, we upgraded our bed to a Sleep Number mattress and smart frame. I still can’t believe it’s been four years since we switched. I’ve suffered from back problems for nearly half my life now and Nick, my fiancé has had leg and joint pain from various injuries through the years. With those factors in mind, it has been difficult for us to agree on a bed that we were both comfortable with. That all changed when the Sleep Number 360 i10 Smart Bed arrived on our doorstep.
Since then, we’ve both been sleeping better and therefore, have had better days, too. The only thing we’ve really struggled with has been comfortable sleeping temperatures. I like things cooler and actually sleep with a small fan pointed at my head. Nick doesn’t like to overheat but also doesn’t want direct air on him like my fan. So, we’ve been testing out different heating/cooling methods for our bed. This is what has led us to the VariaCool Memory Foam Mattress Layer from Sleep Number.
DETAILS
The VariaCool Memory Foam Mattress Layer is designed to provide pressure-relieving support along with temperature-balancing memory foam. The layer is two inches thick and comes with a cool-to-the-touch cover. The cover has elastic anchor bands that hold the layer in place on top of the mattress.
The layer itself is made with polyurethane foam while the cover incorporates a few different materials including:
- Top 23% synthetic mic / 77% polyester
- Back 10% cotton / 90% polyester
- Gusset 92% polyester / 8% spandex
The cover is made in China while the foam is made in the USA. There is a strong warning that accompanies the foam layer. It states that urethane foam is flammable and if it’s exposed to open flame or a significant heat source, it could be hazardous. In fact, the warning says, “Once ignited, urethane foam is difficult to extinguish.”
In addition to the warning about the foam’s flammability, Sleep Number includes the following instructions about installation.
Allow your VariaCool memory foam mattress layer to air out. Your layer is made from polyurethane foam, which may have a new foam scent. To eliminate the scent, allow the layer to air out at room temperature for 24-48 hours before use.
INSTALLATION OF THE MATTRESS TOPPER
The Sleep Number VariaCool layer was shipped in a large cardboard box. We unboxed it and found that it was shrink-wrapped and vacuum-sealed. This is where the instructions above come in. When the foam is its shrink-wrapped state, it is very dense and weighs around 30 pounds. I stripped our bed of its current sheet set and comforter and placed the roll of foam on the mattress.
I carefully started peeling the shrink wrap away from the foam and as soon as I got the top layer of plastic off, the foam began expanding. I highly recommend that you plan on unwrapping the foam on your actual mattress for this reason. It is really awkward to move around after it has expanded and if you have a King mattress like we do, it’s very large.
I pulled the rest of the plastic away from the foam and laid the topper across our mattress. Given the ‘air-out’ instructions provided by Sleep Number, I left the foam topper on our mattress for the rest of the day. Around 7:00 p.m. that night, I finished dressing the bed. Now, if you do the math – I did not let the foam air out for 24-48 hours. For us it was more like 10-12 hours. That ended up being plenty of time though because I didn’t detect any chemical-type smell coming from the mattress topper at all.
At this point, I started placing the cover on the foam. I do want to point out that the foam was not ‘naked’. It has a thin layer of fabric (almost gauze-like) around it. The cover goes over the foam like a sleeping bag. There is a zipper that closes the cover around the foam that goes around three of the four sides of the topper. The fourth side sits at the foot of the bed.
With this in mind, it really would be best to lay the cover down flat on the mattress and then put the foam down on top of it. You could do this at the beginning of the air-out process but if you don’t (like us), you can fold half of the foam topper across your mattress and lay the cover’s backside down on the mattress, place that folded half back where it was, fold the other side toward the middle of the mattress, and pull the cover under the foam topper to finish covering the top of the mattress. Then, make sure the topper is laying flat and start zipping the top of the cover down around the foam.
We have a FlexTop King Size mattress so it can be a little awkward getting this step accomplished, but it’s not difficult. I think I had it completed in about 5-7 minutes. The zipper was very smooth to use and I only got it caught on the topper once.
SLEEPING EXPERIENCE
After the topper was in place, I placed a new set of sheets on the bed – the Supima Cotton Sheets from Sleep Number. These are my favorite sheets and I thought they would work well with the VariaCool foam. Nick made it to bed before I did that first night. When I slid under the covers, he said, “Did you do something different to the bed?” I said, “Yes, I put that foam mattress topper on, remember?” He nodded and said, “Oh that’s right. I think I really like it.”
I knew exactly what he meant. The topper added a nice layer of cloud to our already super comfortable bed. I could also feel the cooling element immediately, too. We typically watch TV in bed and read on our iPhones and iPads for a while before we actually fall asleep at night. So, I got a good opportunity to really feel how the bedding felt in relation to the new layer addition.
First of all, even though the layer is only two inches thick, I had to laugh at myself when I felt like I was actually climbing into bed. Our mattress already sits about waist high on me (I’m around 5”8’) but the 2-inch addition shouldn’t make me feel like I need a step stool to get into the bed. This really isn’t a complaint at all. It’s just an observation about the experience.
The foam is very soft and I was a little concerned about how it might affect my sleeping quality. I like my side of the bed to be a little firmer. I’ve found that helps with my back and joint stiffness and pain. Fortunately, the topper doesn’t seem to affect the firmness you set on the Sleep Number bed.
As it turns out, my sleep number improved by five points from the night before. In addition to that, I had 84% less restlessness than I did the night before. I asked Nick how he slept that first night and he said that it was great. When I fell asleep he was having some pretty severe leg pain but the foam seemed to help stabilize his joints a bit so the pain didn’t keep him awake.
As far as the temperature goes, I thought the foam did a great job of keeping me cool. For several nights leading up to our first night with the VariaCool Foam Topper, I had been waking up due to overheating. It just started getting warm in our part of the world – almost summer-like – and even though we have central A/C, it can still be stifling overnight sometimes. For the first time in so long, I did not wake up feeling clammy from sweating overnight. I think I was comfortable throughout the night and I didn’t seem to wake up as much either.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The VariaCool Memory Foam Mattress Layer is a wonderful addition to any Sleep Number bed. I’m honestly not sure I ever want to sleep without it now. It seems to improve not only the comfort I feel but also the actual quality of my sleep. I can recommend it to anyone looking to level up their bedding.
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