TEMPUR

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TEMPUR is a brand of memory foam owned by Tempur-Pedic.

Memory foam is a material originally developed by NASA (they called it 'tempur foam') to relieve the pressure built up from the G-Force experienced by astronauts during lift offs. It was later developed over a span of 3 decades by Swedish and American scientists into the Tempur-Pedic Swedish Sleep System. The viscoelastic foam is very dense and feels like wet clay (which is why it must always be enclosed in a fabric casing).

Currently Tuempur-Pedic offers two varieties of their propietary Tumpur material. The original formula is a 5.3 lb. per cubic foot density foam. The new Tempur HD material is a 7 lb. per cubic foot density foam. The density of a foam is measured be how much a 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot cube of the material weighs in pounds. Most other visco-elastic foams being used in mattresses and pillows range between 2.5 and 4 lb per cubic foot density, making Tempur material a much more durable product.

In addition to its density, Tempur material is also an extremely tempurature sensitive material, reacting well to body heat. Many visco-elastic memory foams being used for mattresses are not body tempurature sensitive, which causes them to not perform as well as foams that are. A good way to test the tempurature sensitivity of a memory foam is to place a small sample of it in a freezer for about 1 minute and then see how quickly it recovers by molding it in your hand. The foam should come out of the freezer very hard and not pliable, but within 1 - 2 minutes of working it in you hand should again be soft and pliable.

Though the original visco-elastic foam was never actually used in the Space Program, it has been proven to relive presssure points tremendously when laying on it. Many medical facilities use this in their trauma and burn units for this reason, and it has gained popularity in residential mattress uses for this reason.

Over time Tempur material will gradually become softer, but the mattress should not see more than a 3/4 inch sag (half the amount allowed in conventional innerspring mattresses). This process is caused by the opening of individual memory foam cells that may have remained closed during the manufacturing process. The softening of Tempur material does not affect the pressure relieving properties of this material and typically goes unnoticed due to the amount of time it takes for this to occur. Overweight individuals may see this process occur faster due to increased pressure on parts of the mattress.

Currently Tempur-Pedic offers a 20 year warranty (first 10 years full coverage, second 10 prorated) on all of their mattresses made from Tempur material and a 3 year warranty on all pillows.