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The first memory foam material was invented in the 1970's by NASA. At that time, NASA was trying to come up with a material that could cushion the astronauts when taking off due to the high G levels. The material was invented yet never made it to any space program. Instead, several medical companies saw the potential of memory foam material and adapted it to be used in the medical industry to help relive bed sores.

When memory foam was first used, though it was effective, it was also very brittle and was not suitable for long term use. However, Tempur-Pedic, the swedish tempurpedic manufacturer was the first company to came up with a new version of memory foam material that was not only effective in the medical industry but also had a longer life span. Tempur-Pedic was also responsible for introducing tempurpedic mattresses and other related tempurpedic products to the average consumer.

Needless to say, it was a hit with the consumer market as there was nothing like it on the market prior to Tempur-Pedic's entry. The ability to conform to your body and body temperature and pressure relieving properties soon made tempurpedic products the market leader in memory foam industry.

Lately on, other memory foam companies join in the fray and came up with many other varieties of memory foam products. However, they could not duplicate the success of tempur-pedic products.

Part of the reason for this is most other memory foam has a lower density per foot than tempurpedic. Typically, tempurpedic products has 5.3 lb/cubic density while other memory foam products are in the range of 2.5 to 4 lb/cubic density.

The higher the density of memory foam material, the more cushioning effect it has. The higher density is also one of the reasons why tempurpedic products cost more than other memory foam products.

Another property of tempurpedic products is its visco-elastic ability. The visco-elastic material will soften and conform to your body contours and temperature. The lower the temperature, the more rigid the memory foam material.

Tempur-Pedic has also perfected the memory foam technique, something other companies have not done. The memory foam manufacturing process is inherently complicated and not easily duplicated. This has enable them to produce better quality memory foam mattress and other products.

Though many companies have tried to imitate the visco-elastic and density of tempurpedic memory foam, none have come close to it and this is the reason why tempurpedic products continue to be well liked by consumers even though the cost is higher than other memory foam products. Consumers have come to associate better quality with tempurpedic products.