from Which repeort
Memory foam mattresses are increasingly popular because they are good at relieving pressure on painful joints. But they're more expensive than ordinary mattresses, with prices from £240 to more than £800 for a single.
Best On Test: Healthbeds
They're made with layers of high-tech material, called visco-elastic, originally developed for NASA. This temperature-sensitive foam is attached on top of springs or thick polyurethane foam. As it's put on only one side of the mattress, most mattresses can't be turned over. Instead you rotate them to ensure they wear evenly.
The sprung type tends to be thicker and heavier than the foam type, so is harder to turn. It also has fixed covers, which cannot be washed. But both types offer similar support and pressure relief.
Sinking in
It takes time to get used to a memory foam mattress because the foam softens in response to body heat, moulding to your shape as you sink into it. It means more of your body is in contact with the mattress.
People who find it painful to lie down in bed should find memory foam comfortable because the body's weight is spread more evenly on the mattress. But the high surface contact can leave you feeling engulfed by the mattress; you may also find it harder to turn during the night.
Best Buys
Most of the memory foam mattresses we tested are well built and offer good body support. But our Best Buys stand out because they have the best overall combination of body and lumbar support, and didn't sag or lose much firmness in our harsh test for durability, which involved passing a roller over each one 60,000 times to simulate around ten years of use.
Foam only
Best Buy: Healthbeds
The Healthbeds is the best choice if you don't like the idea of being swallowed by the surface of your mattress. It's the softest of the foam-only Best Buys. You'll sink into it less than the others, without losing the pressure-relieving benefits of the foam. The cover is removable so it can be cleaned, but there are no washing instructions on it. Healthbeds tells us that it is dry clean only. Prices start from £499 for a single.
Best Buy: Body Impressions
The Body Impressions offers the best body and lumbar support and is the best choice if you want a medium-firm mattress that will stay that way. But you'll sink into it more than the Healthbeds. The cover is removable and can be washed at 40°C and drip-dried. It costs from £499 for a single.
Best Buy: Sleepshaper
The Sleepshaper is another good mattress and the only Best Buy with washing instructions on its cover. The cover is machine washable, which makes it particularly suitable for people who have dust-mite allergies and want to clean the cover regularly. The mattress is medium firm and is available in a variety of thicknesses; we tested the 20cm version. It costs from £520 for a single.
Best Buy: Kaymed
The Kaymed is also a medium-firm mattress and is the heaviest of the foam-only Best Buys, which makes it harder to rotate. There are no washing instructions for the cover but Kaymed says you should wash it at 40°C or lower, with a short spin. Prices begin at £529 for a single. T
Spring and foam
Best Buy: Sleepshaper
The Healthbeds is a pocket-sprung memory foam mattress that is the thickest and heaviest of the Best Buys - making it harder to turn, despite the four handles.
It feels soft and provides the best body and lumbar support of the sprung mattresses. Prices start from £449 for a single.
Durability
We simulated the equivalent of a 20-stone person rolling for around ten years to test durability. Most coped well with this standard test. For instance, the height and firmness of both Healthbeds barely altered. But the Sealy sagged and developed two deep cuts where the end of the roller passed. The memory foam layers on the Tempur were torn open on both samples we tested.
We told Tempur our findings and it expressed its confidence in its mattresses: 'We have sold many hundreds of thousands and have received no complaints against tearing of our material'.
Temperature
Memory foam softens in response to body heat, so your body gradually sinks into it. Even this Healthbeds, which lets you sink into it the least, will have greater contact with your body than an ordinary mattress. This reduces air circulation around your body and makes the mattress feel warmer. Many people find this helpful in winter, especially because you can't use an electric underblanket with memory foam. But you may feel too hot in summer. Memory foam is affected by room temperature so you might find it cold and hard when you first go to bed.
Odour
All memory foam mattresses have a distinctive chemical smell when you first unpack them, but this Body Impressions and The Old English Bed Company mattresses were particularly smelly. Leave your mattress to air for a week before using it and the fumes will disperse.
Buying and care
The Healthbed doesn't engulf you when you lie down
Try a memory foam mattress before you buy it. Wear the most pyjama-like clothing you can in public, take off your shoes and lie on the bed for 15 to 20 minutes.
Take your partner with you. Lie on the bed together and move around to see if the noise from any springs, or movement made by the other person, disturbs you.
Relax in one position, then move into another. Was it easy or did you struggle to move? If the latter, you might find the mattress will restrict your movement too much, especially in cold weather, when the foam will be harder.
Once you've bought your mattress, make sure that, if you put it on a slatted base, the slats are no more than 6cm wide or more than 4cm apart. This ensures sufficient ventilation, but prevents the mattress sagging through the slats. If you're allergic to dust mites, buy a mattress with a washable cover and avoid making your bed in the morning. Drawing the covers up over a warm bed provides exactly the right warm, damp, dark environment for dust mites to breed.
Model Specification Performance Score
Price (£) Ease of use (%)
Foam only
(1) Healthbeds Memory Flex 499,799 82
(2) Body Impressions Night Therapy 499,699 79
(3) Sleepshaper Memory Regular Feel 520,790 78
(4) Kaymed Classic Original 529,799 77
Spring and foam
(5) Healthbeds Memory Med 1400 449,799 74