There may be a way of experiencing the many benefits of a memory foam mattress without quite going to the expense of acquiring a new bed. After all, who wouldn’t want that great sleep, the excellent support, and a mattress that contours itself to you as you heat it up, yet returns to its normal shape in the morning? You may decide to go for a mattress enhancer, and save money by placing a foam mattress topper on top of your existing mattress.

But for the sake of your future comfort, you should be aware of some of the drawbacks of foam mattress toppers as well. The reason why memory foam works so well in the first place is that the top 3 inches or so heat up and will change shape, while the lower layer is not affected, remaining cool and firm. This is how much of the good supportive effects are derived. If you don’t already have an existing mattress to provide similar underlying firmness, then the good effects of the foam topper will undoubtedly be lost.

Another crucial factor is that your existing mattress cannot have sags in it, but must be completely flat and firm. A foam mattress topper will rely on the underlying surface for support, and will sag right along with it if it’s not firm or flat. Then as your body heat activates the visco elastic memory foam, it will change shape further, perhaps even accentuating the sagging. You may find that your sleep and comfort are made worse rather than better.

Paying attention to your existing bed may cause you to reevaluate your plan to buy a foam mattress topper. You don’t want to lose all the good effects you were looking for in the first place. You may discover that the cost of acquiring a firm, flat mattress to provide underlying support for the topper isn’t much less than the cost of simply buying a complete memory foam bed. So you might choose to go that route after all, instead of just buying the topper.

Beth Kaminski is a leading expert in the treating panic disorder and has been publishing lots of information on the best anxiety attack medications for years now.

Meteorologists as well as home gardeners measure all kinds of weather. They use a rain gauge to measure rainfall and it can be any old container, similar to a bottle, which is left outside to collect the rain and get a measurement. Whether it’s raining cats and dogs, or only slightly sprinkling, an accurate gauge will collect rainfall and give a measurement, thus informing you of how much rain has fallen. It is a fun and easy project to make a simple garden rain gauge.

A simple rain gauge is a low-tech method of getting a rainfall measurement and all that is required is a container, such as a cylinder with a flat bottom and straight sides. While this type of container can help you gauge whether it was raining cats and dogs, it is very difficult to measure small amounts of precipitation this way.

A tipping bucket records precipitation on a rotating drum or electronically. A simple rain gauge has a funnel, but the funnel leads to two tiny buckets. The buckets are balanced similarly to a see-saw and each holds one-hundredth of an inch of water. When one bucket fills up, it tips down and is emptied as the other bucket fills with precipitation. Each tip of the bucket causes the rotating drum to record an increase of one-hundredth of an inch of rain. This method is not for when it’s raining cats and dogs.

Beth Kaminski is the co-author of Curing Your Anxiety And Panic Attacks which detailed cure panic attack cures as well as tips on the various medications for panic disorder available at anxietydisordercure.com.