There is a lot of hype about memory foam these days. Exaggerations from it being a miracle cure to the odors being toxic. One thing is certain. Memory foam beds are here to stay. Who benefits the most from these beds? People like me who used to wake up in the morning with lower back pain, the kind of back pain that was caused by sleeping on a bad mattress.
Only a small fraction of the population suffers from this kind of lower back pain. I know the cause of my back pain was due to a bad bed. I worked in an office environment and did no heavy lifting or any activity that was damaging to my back. I only experienced back pain when I woke up in the morning. Year after year the pain in the morning got worse until one day I could barely get out of bed.
I wanted to try one of these space-age beds to see if it would help but the price was outrageous to me. I wondered why should they cost thousands of dollars. After all, it was just a piece of foam. I simply refused to spend thousands of dollars just to see if maybe they would help. With the Internet at my fingertips I did a little research and found out I could make my own and save thousands of dollars.
This space-age foam has been around for a while now and there are many reputable companies manufacturing and selling memory foam at wholesale prices to the public. But, you will have to educate yourself a little to ensure you buy the right kind of memory foam.
A high quality mattress will consist of four layers. The first bottom layer will be a firm base of conventional foam at a minimum of four inches thick. Next is a simple egg crate layer, also of conventional foam, to provide some air ventilation. The third layer is memory foam, typically 3 inches thick with a density of at least 5 pounds per cubic foot. On top this you may want another layer of memory foam, for example a 2 inch thick layer with a density of about 3 - 4 pounds per cubic foot. This fourth layer is optional as some people will prefer only the 3 inch 5 pound foam layer on top. This is dependent on personal preference. For the final step you must have a solid platform frame for a memory foam bed to function properly.
When my little foam bed project was finished I spent a total of about $600 for the memory foam mattress and platform frame. A similar bed at a retail store could easily have cost over $2,000.