Memory foam mattresses have become increasingly popular in the last few years. It seems to be a symptom of a larger concern that Americans have with their health in general, and sleep in particular. Some research has shown that a memory foam mattress can actually help the user sleep more deeply, by reducing the amount of times the sleeper awakens at night.

Without a memory foam mattress, almost no one sleeps through the night undisturbed. In fact, most of us wake up, if only slightly, as many as a hundred times during our slumber. The small disturbances are caused mostly by discomfort. Because of the way most of our mattresses function, pressure builds up and causes us to switch positions during the night. Although we may not fully awake during these episodes, they are enough to disrupt important deep sleep patterns. Memory foam mattresses help users get the deep rejuvenating sleep they need.

Memory foam mattresses used to be prohibitively expensive for all but the very wealthy, but as Americans become more health conscious, rising demand has spurned new companies to enter the memory foam mattress market. Today there are a number of companies producing quality memory foam at a fraction of what it used to cost.