Memory Foam Mattress Reviews and Guide

Speak to a lot of people that own a memory foam mattress and they'll undoubtedly speak of the support and comfort that they experience from using these mattresses. Memory foam (or visco-elastic) is becoming more popular as the mattress to buy. If you are going to make the wise investment in a memory mattress, this guide will tell you everything you need to know.

Why memory foam?

Memory foam was originally developed for NASA space flights as a way to relieve the pressure of extreme g-force that astronauts experienced. Due to the benefits that the memory foam possessed, they were introduced to the consumer retail market. The main selling point of memory foam mattresses is their temperature sensitivity. The ability to respond to body heat allows the mattress to shape to the curves of the body. What this ultimately means is proper alignment of the spine during sleep and relief on pressure points.

There are three main factors that influence the feel of memory mattresses; firmness, thickness and density of the foam layer.

What is the best firmness?

The firmness of the mattress is an important component in how the mattress will feel. As a result of the temperature sensitivity of memory foam, the mattress firmness can alter due to room temperature. The firmness of the memoryfoam mattress is measured in ILD. A good ILD range to look for is between 10 and 14, and the Tempurpedic memory mattress falls somewhere in the middle. Mattresses either side of this range may not have the effect that memory foam should have.

Memory foam thickness

The thickness of the layer of memory foam will have the largest effect on how comfortable the mattress is. Whereas a lot of people tend to think the height of the mattress indicates its comfort, it's the thickness of the memory foam within the mattress that you need to pay attention to. Thickness of 3 or 4 inches is recommended for most people.

You may even find that some retailers will advertise 10" memory foam mattresses, whereas there are only a couple of inches of actual memory foam inside. This might be the case if you find a cheap memory foam mattress so make sure you check the thickness of the memory foam rather than the mattress.

Click for memory foam mattress sizes.

The density of memory foam mattresses

Memory foam mattress prices can vary greatly, and this can be because of density. The best memory foam mattress sets can cost several thousand dollars or pounds, and that's because the density contributes to the pain relief capability of the mattress. The higher the density (pressure relief), in general the higher price.

Discount memory foam mattresses will probably be less than 4lb density. You will probably not notice much "memory" in mattresses of this density so check for at least 5lb or more. Some of the best memory foam mattresses in the market, like Tempur-Pedic are at around this density mark. There are mattresses on the market that have density much higher than this (how about a 10 inch memory foam mattress!?) but they can be very expensive. You might want to look at higher densities if you suffer from hip or back problems.

Where to buy memory foam mattresses

The internet is arguably the best place to buy memory foam mattress sets. Although offline retailers can provide you with a good idea of what memory mattresses feel like, the internet offers a good opportunity to make a financial saving. With the number of online stores selling these mattresses you might even strike lucky and find a memory foam mattress sale!

There are several manufacturers that you might want to review. Serta, Silentnight and Sealy memory foam mattresses are a few well worth looking in to. When you compare the many brands you may even find a few names that haven't heard of before, but don't discount them. Consider the 3 factors mentioned above and get the support and comfort of a luxury memory foam mattress.