Memory foam is a temperature sensitive viscoelastic material that was developed under contract as part of a NASA Programme to improve the safety of aircraft cushions.

It was released to the public in the 1980s and later developed for use in Hospital Environments for patients who had to remain immobilized for a long period of time. It’s remarkable supportive qualities prevented pressure sores form developing through inactivity.

Initially Memory Foam was thought too expensive for commercial use but more recently the manufacturing process has been refined and prices are much more reasonable.

Memory Foam has an open Cell structure which reacts to the bodies temperature making it softer as it warms up. This softening enables the foam to contour to the body shape of the user. The higher the density of the foam normally the longer it will last. Caution must always be taken when purchasing products that contain Memory Foam as there are some cheap low quality products which do not contain the recommended densities.

The most common use of Memory Foam is in bed mattresses. Caution must however be taken when using Memory Foam mattresses with young children as memory foam reduces motion transfer and it is more difficult to turn.