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Memory foam mattress claims of comfort and durability have made them one of the most accepted sleeping surfaces in the bedroom today. But do these mattresses relieve pressure points and will you wake up your partner when you turn over too readjust body position? We will attempt to answer these questions concerning out of this world space age memory foams.

Visco Elastic Memory Foam is a soft material that was originally designed as a fundamental safety feature for the great folks in the NASA space program. Engineers developed it in the 1970s as a way to decrease the G forces and pressures on the human body. Lift off creates approximately 3 times the gravitational force that we feel on earth. Scientists’ goals were to lessen the pressure points felt on the body by the United States Astronauts and promote proper blood circulation throughout their bodies. Through state of the art technology Visco Elastic Foam NASA was able to significantly reduce the shaking and rattling undergone in a launch and throughout this unique journey while minimizing the affects on the human body.

So how did memory foam originate? Simple, the American way of life has been touched and changed in a whole host of ways through NASA’s space ingenuity and cutting edge know-how. Over 1400 NASA inventions have been catalogued since their beginning. This has benefited the United States and her capitalist industries by improving upon the quality of our lives, and in the creation of more jobs. Visco Elastic memory foam is just one result of such ingenuity and yes it has changed the way we sleep.

Memory foams poster boy and most recognizable brand name memory foam mattress today is Tempur-Pedic®. It has made an appearance on A&E and The History Channels’ popular TV show Modern Marvels. With affective marketing and infomercials The Tempur-Pedic® Visco Elastic Memory Foam Mattress has literally become a household name. Through an advertisement that includes a wine glass that doesn’t spill helps demonstrate why you won’t wake up your sleeping partner when turning over. To an exhibit of an egg that doesn’t break when thrown against a mattress, effectively displaying its energy absorption ability. Lastly they use a gigantic weighty breakdown roller in the attempt to smash down The Tempur-Pedic® Mattress showing that it is the ultimate display of memory foams durability and strength.

The big question, how long will memory foam mattresses last? Well actually that depends on several factors, however life expectancy of various memory foam mattresses can range from a few years up to 20 years and an average life of about 12 to 15 years. Dissimilar to the pore structure of ordinary foams that resist the forces that are submitted to it, memory foam uses an open cell structure that absorbs and disperses pressure and energy all the way through the material by discharging air and conforming to the shape of the object. Does that mean it won’t eventually wear out or soften up? No like most everything on this earth it has a life expectancy. In this case, it happens to be 2 to 3 times that of the average mattress and box spring that typically only lasts about 6 years.

A memory foam mattress is unique because it is reactive to temperature. In warmer areas such as upstairs and in attics that have been transformed into bedrooms you could experience a softer feel due to typically warmer room temperatures. Cooler basements can have the opposite affect on memory foam causing the mattress to be firmer and less flexible. Truck drivers who use memory foam are cautioned not to leave the mattress in cold temperatures for extended periods of time because they can freeze solid. The bottom line, in the average house this mattress will perform amazingly reducing the average number of times we turn over in a night and increasing our quality of sleep, so it’s no wonder that this is the fastest growing area of mattress industry.