waterbed crib mattresses exist, I think they could be niftily optimized.
If you have experienced summer warmth lassitude or perhaps speculated that babies might be happier at an optimal baby preferred temperature you may immediately feel the value of this idea
Like almost everybody I am enthusiastic about making babies happy, giving them comfortable surroundings.
There are studies (ashrae journal) that show that Portland, Oregon highschoolers at comfortable coooler temperatures (72 compared with 81)learn math more than 18 pct more effectively (link, or visit ashrae.org then search "learn math") some studies show a 28 pct greater cognitive enrichment. along with the happier less fussy baby.
Optimizing this would be to have temperature display liquid crystals printed on the water gel mattress, with the water gel mattress being of sufficient size that the baby could scoot towards a preferred temperature. I think a water core gel would create a more constant preferred temperature. among the technologically enthused the babycam could have an IR view that showed parent(s) what the baby preferred, then the parent(s) could adjust towards that. This might work just as well as a kind of bib or beanbag.
also the developing world might really do better with happy babies that learned 28 pct better as a result of skipping warmth fussiness. a developing world version is just a gel mattress similar to some stretch toys yet with an internal channel that can be filled with fresh cool water without disturbing the baby perhaps also with an evaporative cooling panel.
Here at the developed world the gel crib mattress makers could actual video babies using the product to measure the effectiveness then say two thirds more smiles, 20 pct more educational mobile toy grasps during summer!
billions of happy babies, enjoying learning, may support this idea. while it is rather mild as inventions go The many worlds interpretation of physics suggests that among the 10^42 universes generated each second, more human feelings occur at the earlier moments of living thus making babies as happy as possible is unusually beneficial.-- beanangel, Jul 12 2012 ASHRAE Journal 2008 review of temperature, air movement, learning http://www.ashrae.o...062008--feature.pdf [beanangel, Jul 12 2012] Temperature control is one of the major selling points of water beds. This is simply adding a few features with little point, and applying it to babies. [Marked-for-Deletion] Widely known to exist.-- MechE, Jul 12 2012 I think printing the thermochromic material on the mattress, as well as creating zones a baby could move towards, as well as the refillable autocooling mattress to be used at the developing world are sufficiently novel to permit the idea to be here. I thought there might be some people wondering about this whole refillable evaporative cooling thing.
It could use thrilling up though.-- beanangel, Jul 12 2012 I used to get into conflicts with a coworker about thermostat settings.. I hate it when people crank up the heat. It makes me dopey.
I doubt babies have a precise temperature preference. If they do, is it possible that an unborn child finds the temperature in the womb uncomfortable?-- jmvw, Jul 12 2012 I've read equally dubious research that claims the temperature in a young child's environment should be frequently altered in order to 'train' their nervous system to adapt to change. Shaky science.
Congrats to [beanangel] for the preliminary attempts at the use of paragraphs and punctuation. You're on the right track, buddy!-- Alterother, Jul 12 2012 Is there an HB award for longest profile evar?-- Phrontistery, Jul 12 2012 I"m missing something here: is a "gel mattress" the same thing as "waterbed mattress" ? If not then it strikes me that it may not have the same temperature-conducting features as a full water-mattress.
Other than that... [ ] leaning towards a [+] except it's pretty obviously a "REsearch should be done"-- FlyingToaster, Jul 12 2012 [beany] has had a software upgrade. Roughly 30% of the post was coherent English.
If only Alan Turing hadn't eaten that apple.-- UnaBubba, Jul 13 2012 It is possible a kind of curved gel bib or (hmmm) beanbag could work just as well yet be sufficiently novel to be an invention
also, I think the research is pretty supportive. The ASHRAE paper has a graph of about 5 or 7 studies, all showing the same effect. a metanalysis would certainly support the premise that there is an optimal pleasant mood as well as learning temperature among humans-- beanangel, Jul 16 2012 // Like almost everybody I am enthusiastic about making babies happy, giving them comfortable surroundings. //
We hope you're not including us in that group, otherwise the remainder of your life will be brief and full of incident.
// [beany] has had a software upgrade. Roughly 30% of the post was coherent English \r If only Alan Turing hadn't eaten that apple. //
[UB] needs a software upgrade. Roughly 3% of his post was coherent English.
If only Adam and Eve hadn't eaten that apple ...-- 8th of 7, Jul 16 2012 You don't suppose the "American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers" might have a slight bias towards studies that favor perfectly climate controlled environments?
And for the record, the studies don't say anything about improved learning at a given temperature. The report on improved performance at a given temperature, which is not the same as learning. They also both use only three setpoints at a fairly wide range, not a gradient, which limits the viability of the data, since of course performance is going to be worse if one has to pause every five seconds to warm your fingers or wipe away sweat.
In addition, neither study manages to clearly relate comfort even to performance (although the article draws that conclusion). Military watchstanding rooms have typically been kept on the cool side to increase alertness, but rarely at the temperature the watchstanders would pick out of a gradient.
Oh, and as an aside, thermo-chromic printing on the mattress is going to be uncomfortable, especially since it prevents the use of sheets.-- MechE, Jul 16 2012 random, halfbakery