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Buying a memory foam mattress

While memory foam was developed for NASA in the 1970's, ironically it was never used in any space mission. It really only hit the consumer market in topper pads and later memory foam mattresses, in the early 1990s. Since then, however, the memory foam mattress has become the latest flavour of the day in the mattress industry. With every year you see more and more companies are selling a memory foam mattress and memory foam topper pads, and it is very difficult even for those of us in the industry to keep up with all the new memory foam products coming out.

Brief History of Memory Foam 
The initial memory foam, known as T-foam, was shown to be unique in the way it responded to temperature and also in ability to spread pressure over a greater surface area (and thereby reduce pressure points significantly). This first generation of material just wasn't very durable, and would often compress or crack over time.
The first company to really realize the potential of memory foam for the consumer market was Tempur-Pedic ®. They had worked on creating their own version of memory foam, that was much more durable and still had the pressure reducing benefits of memory foam. Initially this Tempur ® foam was used in medical settings, but soon they began to hear that patients who used the foam slept better, had less back pain or other pains in the morning, etc. A light went off over someone's head in Sweden, and Tempur-Pedic ® began to sell the products to consumers as well. Coming from this medical background, Tempur ® foam was very expensive, and has stayed that way to this day. Over time other foam manufacturers saw the potential of memory foam and began to produce their own versions. Since these manufacturer's came from the consumer foam business, rather than the medical business, their cost structure for memory foam was much lower and they priced their products at a fraction of the Tempur ® foam.
 
There are a couple of reasons that memory foam is so unique. One is the way memory foam cells deform when under a load. Unlike standard foams that compress, but want to spring back to their original shape immediately, memory foam cells (an open cell foam, which means the cells of foam have holes in them) compress fully and spread their air pressure to adjoining cells. This accounts for the way that memory foam actually reduces pressure points. This ability of memory foam to deform, also allows it to really conform to your body's shape. No other material has the custom shaping that you get from memory foam.
In addition, memory foam is temperature sensitive. This means that at lower temperatures it is harder (more viscous), and at higher temperatures it is softer and bouncier (more elastic). Hence the reason memory foam is also known as visco-elastic foam. This temperature sensitive quality accounts for the melting feeling that you get lying down on memory foam, and also accentuates the custom molding effect of the foam. Some memory foam, like Tempur-Pedic ® are pretty temperature sensitive and can get firm even near room temperature.

What you need to remember is that not all memory foams are equal. They differ a great deal in quality - density, hardness or softness, response to temperature, and also in their durability. I have looked at a number of products that are all 3 - 4 lb. density, and they really do differ in feel and quality a good deal. I've looked at a lot of bedding materials, including latex, cotton, wool etc, and there is nothing like memory foam in the way it conforms to your body and reduces pressure points. That isn't to say that you would have a whole mattress made solely of memory foam. Memory foam is just too soft a material and isn't meant to be supportive. It works best when layered over a firm, supportive material. That is why you will mainly find memory foam as a 2" or 3" topper to be used on your existing, firm mattress or as a 2" or 3" topping layer in a new mattress. 
 
I think that it is great that a lot of manufacturers have begun producing memory foam. This has allowed the price of memory foam to come down and finally become an affordable product. And while this has also meant that a good number of quality memory foams have come onto the market, it has also meant that a greater number of low quality, cut rate foams have also appeared.  As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid the really inexpensive pads or pillows you will find on the market. They are generally made of either low density memory foam or layered with other, cheaper foam products. These inexpensive memory foams just won't give the same comfort as higher density pads and will wear out relatively fast. If the price seems too good, it may well be an indication that something just isn't right and the foam may not be up to the advertised specs. When you buy a memory foam, you will pay more for a denser foam. It just costs more to make a denser foam - more raw material goes into making a denser substance.
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