Visco elastic memory foam was originally developed for NASA, for the astronauts undergoing the high pressure of G-force testing. It is a dense foam that molds to the shape of your body. Researchers realized that this high density elastic memory foam was ideal for relieving pressure on burn patients, this is how the trend of Memory or Visco Elastic foam started.

Tempur-Pedic has successfully introduced this visco elastic memory foam to the consumer marketplace over 5 years ago. Unfortunately for consumers, they have to import this memory foam from Sweden since there weren't any domestic manufacturers making this unique foam. The high cost of importing bulky memory foam on container ships is ultimately passed onto the consumer. Once manufacturers realized that there was a demand created for this elastic memory foam, they started to make it here throughout North America. Fortunately, this unique memory foam is not patented; therefore, any foam manufacturer is able to duplicate the exact same foam product.

Foam is a commodity! Foam is a chemical! Foam is a chemical composition that is mixed and poured into large vats! The memory foam then cures for a certain amount of time before it is ready to be cut into a mattress or bed. Depending on the chemical composition, manufacturers are able to make many different density foam products. The good news is that now the consumer is able to sleep on this visco elastic memory foam mattress at a tremendous cost savings since there are many manufacturer's and marketer's in the bedding industry all selling the same mattress. As with all commodity products, the consumer ultimately benefits once supply and demand is qualified.

Tempur-Pedic and national mattress companies also have to spend large amounts of money advertising via infomercials and print media. This cost ultimately gets passed along to the consumer at the retail level. Local and regional memory foam mattress retailers obviously don't have this cost so they are able to sell the exact same visco elastic memory foam mattresses to the consumer well below Tempur-Pedic. Internet mattress retailers have a greater advantage over companies similar to Tempur-Pedic and are able to offer even more cost savings to the consumer. The bottom line is; visco elastic memory foam is far superior to inner spring mattresses for its comfort and pressure relieving capabilities. Knowledgeable consumers have the upper hand when it comes to sorting through all the hype and are able to make a sound purchasing decision while saving a significant amount of money.