While memory foam was developed for NASA in the 1970’s, it didn’t hit the consumer market until the early 1990’s - first as memory foam mattress topper pads, and later used in memory foam mattresses. Since then, memory foam mattresses have become the fasting growing segment in the mattress industry.
 
 

After memory foam was developed as part of a NASA project, some saw the promise of memory foam for use in the medical industry to relieve pressure sores. Over the years, memory foam was shown to be unique in the way it responded to temperature and also in its ability to spread pressure over a greater surface area (and thereby reducing pressure points significantly). While the initial version of the foam developed for NASA (called T-Foam) did have a great deal of promise as a bed topper or wheel chair cushion material, it did have issues with wear over time. This first generation of material wasn’t very durable, and would often compress or crack over time.
 

The first company to realize the potential of memory foam for the consumer market was Tempur-Pedic® (Tempur-Pedic® is a registered trademark of Dan-Foam A/S Corporation. We don’t sell the Tempur-Pedic® brand, and we are in no way affiliated with Tempur-Pedic®. The information on this page with regard to Tempur-Pedic® foam is for comparison purposes to our memory foam and memory foam mattress product line only). They had worked on creating their own version of memory foam, and developed foam they called Tempur®, 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, and felt more refreshed in the morning. A light bulb switched on over someone’s head in Sweden, and Tempur-Pedic® began to sell the products to consumers.
 

Due to its origin as a medical device, Tempur® foam was very expensive, and has stayed that way to this day. After a few years on the consumer market, other foam manufacturers saw the potential of memory foam and began to produce their own memory foam product lines. Because these manufacturers came from the consumer foam industry, rather than the medical industry, their cost structure for memory foam was much lower and they priced their products at a fraction of the Tempur® foam. As the years went by, memory foam became more and more popular, and now manufacturers all over the world are making their versions of memory foam.
 

It is important 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 durability and longevity. In looking for the right memory foam for our mattresses, we looked at a number of products that were in the 3 to 5 pound density range, and we found they really do differ significantly in quality and feel.
 
 

We have looked at many bedding materials, from latex to cotton to wool. And nothing compares to memory foam in the way it conforms to your body and reduces pressure points. However, you wouldn’t want an entire mattress made strictly of memory foam. Memory foam is too soft a material and isn’t meant to be supportive. So 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 memory foam mattress.
 

There are a couple of reasons that memory foam is so unique. First is the way memory foam cells deform when weight is applied. Unlike standard foams that compress and want to spring back to their original shape immediately, memory foam cells (open cell foam, which means the individual cells in the foam have holes in them) compress fully and spread their air pressure to adjoining cells. This spreads the pressure through a greater number of cells of the memory foam - which decreases the pressure you feel in the cells of the memory foam that you are laying on. This accounts for the way that memory foam actually reduces pressure points. And this ability of memory foam to deform also allows it to really conform to your body’s shape and weight bearing areas, thereby reducing these pressure points. No other material has this ability to shape to your body - this is unique to memory foam.
 

Second, memory foam is temperature sensitive. Which means that at lower temperatures it is firmer (more viscous), and at higher temperatures it is softer and more conforming (more elastic). Hence the reason memory foam is known as visco-elastic memory foam. This temperature sensitive quality accounts for the melting feeling that you get lying down on memory foam, and also accentuates the custom molding affect of the foam. Certain memory foams, such as Tempur-Pedic’s® Tempur foam, are quite temperature sensitive and can get firm even near room temperature. The memory foam used in our toppers and mattresses, in contrast, have a broader range of temperatures where they stay nice and soft, so they work well in different climates.
 
 

Many manufacturers have begun producing memory foam in recent years. This has allowed the retail price of memory foam to drop and become an affordable product. And while this has meant that a good number of quality memory foams have come onto the market, it also means that a greater number of low quality, cut rate foams have also appeared.
 

Memory foam is not a commodity, and not all memory foams are created equal. As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid the noticeably 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 and ingredients. These inexpensive memory foams just won’t give the same comfort as higher quality pads and will wear out relatively fast.
 

So what type of memory foam should you look for? This issue is somewhat different depending on whether you are looking to buy a memory foam mattress or a memory foam topper pad to put on your existing bed. This is because the memory foam in a mattress is bonded to the “mattress core”, and as such, can’t be replaced, so it must not only be comfortable, but durable as well. A topper pad, on the other hand, is less expensive and can be replaced if it wears out after a few years (usually 4-5 years with our 4 lb density memory foam). So when you are researching a memory foam mattress, you need to look for one that uses memory foam which is both comfortable and durable. With a topper pad, comfort alone is the main issue since you can easily replace the topper.
 

With a mattress, you should look for at least 3 inches of medium to high density memory foam. 3 inches of memory foam gives you a proper amount of material to cushion and conform to your body. While you could get by with 2 inches of memory foam in a mattress, 3 inches is plusher and a more comfortable feel for most people. It’s a nice depth of foam where you wouldn’t sink uncomfortably into the bed or lose the support of the base foam. We’ve seen memory foam mattresses that offer much thicker memory foam layers and they feel too cushy - you get sucked in, and adjusting from side to side can be a real problem. And you just don’t have the same support for your body and back as you would with memory foam mattresses that are 3 inches or so of memory foam depth.