What is Closed Cell Foam?

The memory foam mattress we have on our bed is made with closed cell polyurethane foam.

This is a thick type of foam that is different than a regular foam mattresses. With this type of foam, it will form to the shape of your body, and then return to its smooth shape when there is no pressure on it.

This is supposed to help you sleep better because of the way it conforms to your body. Our mattress is 2 inches thick, and we have really noticed a big difference.

At first I thought it was too thick and too hard to turn over when sleeping on it. Now I am used to it, and if I sleep on a different bed, it feels really strange and I don't sleep as well.

I used to sleep on a closed cell foam mattress when we went camping. This is way more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. Not only is is softer, but you stay warmer because your body is not against the cold ground.

Now when we go camping, I will usually sleep on an air mattress. If I have enough room, I will still take a foam mattress along. Placing the air mattress on top of the foam helps me stay even warmer.

These foam mattresses last a long time and can be used over and over again. They are probably made from the same thing that my closed cell foam cushions for my dining room chairs are made of.

It is always nicer to sit down on something soft than not having any kind of cushion at all.

I think neoprene has such an interesting feel to it. It has a heavy, spongy feel, but does a great job of keeping your body warm.

My husband likes to scuba dive, and his wetsuit is made of neoprene. This makes all the difference when he is diving in cold water at keeping his body temperature balanced.

Once year we all went swimming in the Pacific ocean. The water was too cold to swim without a wetsuit. Sometimes it can take quite a bit of effort to get them on, but once they are on they are not too uncomfortable.

You can still easily move around like you need to. It is much better than freezing when swimming in water that is too cold.

We used Styrofoam insulation in our basement when we were building our house. This was economical and was the best insulator we have ever used..

I don't remember how thick the insulated sheets were, but the basement stayed at a pretty constant temperature year round.

We didn't finish the basement for several years, but it was not an unpleasant place to be because of how warm it stayed in the winter, and it stayed cool in the summer.

I have lived in other houses where the basement was too cold and damp to spend much time down there. This wasn't the case with the Styrofoam insulation.

We went to a lot of home and garden shows before we built our house, and this was one of the ideas we used. Before seeing this, I would have never guessed that Styrofoam would make such a good insulator.

@OeKc05 - Closed cell foam is so good at cushioning that you can substitute one type for the other. In college, I couldn’t afford an actual exercise mat, so I used some polystyrene sheets that I had bought for art class as a mat. They were maybe an eighth of an inch thick, but they did the trick.

I would mount my drawings by using polystyrene sheets as backing. They were easy to cut, and I could find them in black, which was the color of the mat frames I always used on the front.

I did find that it was better to cut them with a big cutting board that had a giant razor blade with a handle than with a box cutter. The box cutter tended to leave jagged edges behind, but the professional cutter sliced through the polystyrene so quickly that I could avoid this.

I have some pool noodles that are made of closed cell foam. It is amazing that something so small can hold up hundreds of pounds of human weight.

The noodles float on top of the water when I’m not using them, and when I do put part of my body on one, only the portion of the noodle that I am pressing on goes underwater. I can sit on a noodle like a chair or I can put my arms over it and lean on it that way.

It pushes against me, because its natural tendency is to float. This makes it a great exercise tool. I use its resistance when doing arm presses, and I fold my arms across it while doing leg lifts.

I use an exercise mat made of closed cell foam. When I lived in a house with carpet, I never needed a mat, but since I moved to a place with hardwood floors, it is a necessity.

I was a bit skeptical at first about whether or not the mat would be cushioning enough on top of such a hard floor. It was only about a quarter inch thick, after all.

I was pleasantly surprised by how soft the mat was. I could do crunches and pushups on it without any discomfort. I also use it for doing stretches and to stand on while lifting weights.

Neoprene is a wonderful insulator. If it can protect divers from cold ocean temperatures, you know it has to be effective.

I have heard of some people abusing it, though. People desperate to lose weight will wear neoprene suits while working out, and this makes them sweat off pounds of water weight. They stay so warm because of the insulation, and they can easily become dehydrated.

If they get dehydrated, they get bad muscle cramps and even worse things. Since you are only losing water weight, this sounds like a terrible exercise plan to me. You will put the weight back on as soon as you drink something.