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6 Best Memory Foam Mattresses 2021
Memory foam mattresses are a good choice if you want consistent all-over support and they usually come with longer warranties than a similarly priced pocket spring mattress.
You may have read that memory foam mattresses are much better for people with allergies to dust mites but I'd say that this issue is up for debate as a Norwegian study produced contrary results (Schei, Hessen and Lund, 2002). Instead, they suggested that 'A simple replacement of foam mattresses with spring mattresses may reduce the exposure to house‐dust‐mite allergens.'
A study in China by Hou and Zhang in 2020 looked at various types of mattress material amongst back sleepers and side sleepers of different ages. They found that younger and middle-aged people who slept on their back and side gave a 'high evaluation' of memory foam and latex mattresses ('The young and middle-aged subjects had high evaluation on memory foam, and latex mattress in supine and lateral position'). They also found that slightly older people had a positive response to memory foam whilst the oldest participants in the trial prefered the memory foam mattress for side sleeping but preferred the 'coir and cotton' mattress if they slept on their back (read the summary here).
Memory foam mattresses are also good because you can use them on a divan or a bedframe/bedstead (as long as you aren't using a flimsy old thing which can't take the weight or a bedframe with massive gaps between the slats).
On the downside, some people don’t like the odd sinking feeling of memory foam. Others find they get a bit hot on a memory foam mattress, although companies have attempted to improve that by putting the memory foam as a middle layer, with a cooler material on top. Other companies keep the memory foam on top but use magical techniques to make it more 'breathable' than older memory foam.
We’ve picked out 6 of the best memory foam mattresses on the UK market in 2020 and 2021, based on customer reviews, awards and value for money. Prices are for double mattresses and are correct at the time of writing.
You may have read that memory foam mattresses are much better for people with allergies to dust mites but I'd say that this issue is up for debate as a Norwegian study produced contrary results (Schei, Hessen and Lund, 2002). Instead, they suggested that 'A simple replacement of foam mattresses with spring mattresses may reduce the exposure to house‐dust‐mite allergens.'
A study in China by Hou and Zhang in 2020 looked at various types of mattress material amongst back sleepers and side sleepers of different ages. They found that younger and middle-aged people who slept on their back and side gave a 'high evaluation' of memory foam and latex mattresses ('The young and middle-aged subjects had high evaluation on memory foam, and latex mattress in supine and lateral position'). They also found that slightly older people had a positive response to memory foam whilst the oldest participants in the trial prefered the memory foam mattress for side sleeping but preferred the 'coir and cotton' mattress if they slept on their back (read the summary here).
Memory foam mattresses are also good because you can use them on a divan or a bedframe/bedstead (as long as you aren't using a flimsy old thing which can't take the weight or a bedframe with massive gaps between the slats).
On the downside, some people don’t like the odd sinking feeling of memory foam. Others find they get a bit hot on a memory foam mattress, although companies have attempted to improve that by putting the memory foam as a middle layer, with a cooler material on top. Other companies keep the memory foam on top but use magical techniques to make it more 'breathable' than older memory foam.
We’ve picked out 6 of the best memory foam mattresses on the UK market in 2020 and 2021, based on customer reviews, awards and value for money. Prices are for double mattresses and are correct at the time of writing.
1. Nectar Sleep Memory Foam Mattress (medium/firm - £699)
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Nectar Sleep is one of the newer 'bed in a box' memory foam mattresses on the market but it offers a longer warranty and home trial than any other memory foam mattress we've found. In fact, the warranty lasts 'forever' and you can try it out at home for a whole year (check the FAQ for terms and conditions). Most similar mattresses offer a 10 year warranty and a 100 night trial.
Reviews averaged 4.3/5 on TrustPilot when we checked and it has been given a thumbs up by several expert websites, including Good Housekeeping and Ideal Homes. It cunningly puts a 'cooling layer' on top of the memory foam layer in an effort to stop you feeling hot. It's 25cm deep, which is similar to the Emma Mattress. You'll find that cheap mattresses are thin, so don't offer quite as much support particularly if you're on the heavy side. The Nectar Sleep has a weight limit of 46 stone, which is much higher than most mattresses on the market in the UK. Studies into the environmental impact of memory foam mattresses are worth consideration before you leap to a purchase. A team of researchers in Portugal found that foam mattresses have 'a higher environmental impact' than the main alternative, which is a pocket sprung mattress. Both types of mattress had issues but they said that the 'manufacturing process' is the 'main issue' for a foam mattress (Lanoë, Simões et al, 2013). However, Nectar Sleep's 'mattress production is certifiably climate neutral' and the company say that they 'calculate the carbon footprint from our manufacturing process, find strategies to reduce this, and offset the remainder' (Nectar Sleep's sustainability page) Nectar will also take away your old mattress for a fee and attempt to recycle it (lots of 'bed in a box' companies don't offer this so you have to persuade the council to do it or stick it on your roof rack). |
The Nectar Sleep mattress comes with a 365 day trial and a 'forever' guarantee
The depth of memory foam is considerably more than you'll get on a budget mattress
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2. Ergoflex 5G Memory Foam Mattress (medium/firm - £749)
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The Ergoflex memory foam mattress is another 'bed in a box' which comes with a 'risk-free' trial period, although it's a 30 day trial rather than the 200 days you get with the Emma Mattress or the 365 days you get with Nectar Sleep.
We've included it because of its outstanding TrustPilot reviews which were averaging 4.7/5 when we checked. That makes it the the second highest scoring mattress brand at the time of writing (posh latex mattress brand Dunlopillo was number one. See the full list here as it doesn't include every brand). The Ergoflex 5G has got a generous 9cm layer of memory foam on top, whilst some budget memory foam mattresses only have 2cm or 3cm (see the Silentnight 3 Zone further down this list). Independent experts gave it rave reviews and it comes with a 10 year guarantee. Much like most of the other memory foam mattresses on this list it comes in a box and then magically expands on arrival. It’s 23cm deep, so slightly thinner than the Nectar Sleep but I wouldn't say that's a major thing. |
Ergoflex is the joint highest rated mattress brand on TrustPilot (when we checked, anyway)
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3. Emma Mattress (medium firmness - £699)
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Customers and experts fall over themselves to say nice things about The Emma Mattress (also known as Emma Original, in case you're getting confused).
As with several others on this list, you get a generous guarantee (10 years) and several months to try it out at home before deciding if you want to keep it (200 days). It's been given approval by experts including Ideal Home and Good Housekeeping. Customer reviews were averaging 4.5/5 on Amazon when I checked whilst the brand as a whole scored 4.6/5 on TrustPilot, which is decent but not quite as high as Ergoflex (4.7/5). If you've not lost interest already in this guide, I'll point out that this mattress sandwiches memory foam in between two other types of foam. The top layer is a breathable foam with the odd name of Airgocell. The idea is that you won't get as hot in bed and you don't get as much of a sinking feeling as you usually get with a memory foam mattress. The Casper mattress has a similar design. Read our full Emma Mattress guide (if you've got nothing better to do) |
The Emma Mattress comes with a trial period which lasts for several months
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4. Studio By Silentnight (medium - £599)
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Studio by Silentnight is worth a look because it's made by the biggest name in the UK mattress market.
It's a medium firmness memory foam mattress which has been given a glowing report by independent expert testers. Customer reviews were 9/10 on Mattress Online when I checked. It's worth noting that it comes with a 60 night 'comfort trial' during which time you can swap it for a different firmness, whereas some others on this list come with a 'risk free' 100/200/365 night trial, so you can send it back for a refund (e.g. Emma, Nectar). The memory foam layer is towards the middle of the mattress, which aims to stop you feeling too hot (that's a common complaint about memory foam). Most sizes arrive squashed up so they can be carried upstairs, although the larger versions come flat. It's 26cm thick, which is a sign of good quality (most high quality mattresses are 25cm or more). |
Silentnight is the UK's biggest mattress company
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5. Silentnight 3 Zone Memory Foam Mattress (medium firmness - £199)
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The Silentnight 3 Zone mattress is a decent budget memory foam mattress which gets good customer reviews on Amazon (4.3 out of 5) and on Mattress Online (8.4/10) and which is made by the biggest name in the UK mattress market.
It’s a little bit thinner than the more expensive memory foam mattresses on this list (18cm deep) but it should do the job as long as you haven’t been eating too many pies. The top layer of memory foam is only 3cm deep, which is where the main cost cutting has been made. The ‘3 Zone’ name means that it is firmer towards the middle where your bottom rests and softer for your head and your feet. That’s a good thing, apparently. We carried out a keyword analysis of the 8000+ Amazon reviews and found that 448 customers called it 'good value' or said it offered 'value for money'. However, 152 customers mentioned a 'chemical smell' in their reviews. This 'off gassing' is a common issue with foam mattresses which is usually resolved with several hours (or sometimes days) airing with an open window. There’s also a slightly more expensive 7 Zone version which is 2cm thicker for an extra £50ish. I've seen them both in Black Friday sales at a bargain price. |
This is one of Silentnight's cheapest mattresses, but it gets good reviews
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6. Tempur Original/Cloud/Hybrid/Sensation Memory Foam Mattress (soft/medium/firm - £2399)
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Tempur mattresses cost three times as much as most, but they’re the original and (according to some people) the best.
The company took NASA technology and developed it into the first memory foam mattress. Other companies have been trying to catch up since. Tempur sell four different mattresses which are available in different thicknesses, depending in your budget:
In each category you can pick a 'supreme' (cheapest) 'elite' (mid-priced) or 'luxe' (most expensive). The main difference is the thickness of the mattress - heavier people will benefit from the thicker options. We’ve picked this 'elite' 25cm deep one which gets strong customer reviews, but there is also a 21cm version which is cheaper and a 30cm version which is more expensive. Tempur also offer a 100 night trial, so you can send it back if you don’t think it’s worth the money (check the Ts & Cs). Tempur were scoring 3.8/5 on TrustPilot when we checked in March 2021. Tempur reviews on Dreams were mostly 4.5/5 or higher. Read our full Tempur guide. |
Tempur mattresses aren't cheap but they are the original memory foam mattress brand
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How much memory foam is in your memory foam mattress?
One of the key things you need to look at within the specifications of a memory foam mattress is how much is actually made from memory foam. Generally, about 2cm - 10cm of the mattress will be memory foam with other types of foam making up the rest. For many years, most mattresses used memory foam as the top layer but several mattresses now use memory foam lower down and other types of foam on top.
Our graph shows the amount of memory foam on six popular mattresses:
Our graph shows the amount of memory foam on six popular mattresses:
Our graph above seems to show that the Tempur ‘original' Elite, the Nectar Sleep and the Ergoflex 5G have the most generous layer of memory foam.
However, it's not quite as simple as saying that the mattress with the most memory foam is the 'best'.
For starters, The Emma Mattress and Studio by Silentnight have decided to use alternatives to memory foam on their top layer and use memory foam lower down in an effort to make the mattress more breathable and less warm.
Maintaining a regular temperature during the night has been shown to be a key factor in determining how well we sleep. Bischof, Madsen et al studied this topic and published their finding in a 1991 research paper called 'Sleep and the temperature field of the bed'. They found a 'correlation between the quality of sleep and the variations of temperature and that larger fluctuations of temperature in the bed are connected to a shorter deep-sleep time.'
Studio by Silentnight has a 4cm layer of 'Geltex' which aims to have 'enhanced breathability' and responds slightly differently. That makes a total of 7cm of memory foam and Geltex, which is similar to the 9cm of memory foam offered by Ergoflex and Nectar Sleep.
Meanwhile, The Emma Mattress has a layer of Airgocell which is 'very open pored' and has 'an air percentage of approximately 50%' in an effort to make a 'comfortable sleeping climate'.
Meanwhile, the Tempur Elite has caveats all of its own as they don't actually make memory foam mattresses, although according to Dreams 'TEMPUR mattresses are similar to memory foam mattresses' (my emphasis added). The company explains that their 'Tempur material' is 'not just any memory foam' and provides some criticism of what it considers 'standard memory foam'. For example, Tempur say that 'It is our opinion that standard memory foam mattresses are not very effective when it comes to relieving pain and pressure'.
On the Elite model, there's a 3cm layer of 'Tempur comfort material' and then a deeper 9cm layer of 'Tempur support material'. Our graph shows the total of the two layers and classes them as memory foam, but that is something of an oversimplification.
However, it's not quite as simple as saying that the mattress with the most memory foam is the 'best'.
For starters, The Emma Mattress and Studio by Silentnight have decided to use alternatives to memory foam on their top layer and use memory foam lower down in an effort to make the mattress more breathable and less warm.
Maintaining a regular temperature during the night has been shown to be a key factor in determining how well we sleep. Bischof, Madsen et al studied this topic and published their finding in a 1991 research paper called 'Sleep and the temperature field of the bed'. They found a 'correlation between the quality of sleep and the variations of temperature and that larger fluctuations of temperature in the bed are connected to a shorter deep-sleep time.'
Studio by Silentnight has a 4cm layer of 'Geltex' which aims to have 'enhanced breathability' and responds slightly differently. That makes a total of 7cm of memory foam and Geltex, which is similar to the 9cm of memory foam offered by Ergoflex and Nectar Sleep.
Meanwhile, The Emma Mattress has a layer of Airgocell which is 'very open pored' and has 'an air percentage of approximately 50%' in an effort to make a 'comfortable sleeping climate'.
Meanwhile, the Tempur Elite has caveats all of its own as they don't actually make memory foam mattresses, although according to Dreams 'TEMPUR mattresses are similar to memory foam mattresses' (my emphasis added). The company explains that their 'Tempur material' is 'not just any memory foam' and provides some criticism of what it considers 'standard memory foam'. For example, Tempur say that 'It is our opinion that standard memory foam mattresses are not very effective when it comes to relieving pain and pressure'.
On the Elite model, there's a 3cm layer of 'Tempur comfort material' and then a deeper 9cm layer of 'Tempur support material'. Our graph shows the total of the two layers and classes them as memory foam, but that is something of an oversimplification.
Are memory foam mattresses good for your health?
There's a bit of heated debate about what happens when you sleep on a foam mattress.
According to an article by WebMD called 'Is Your Mattress Releasing Toxins While You Sleep?' research suggests that 'your body heat might trigger the release of potentially harmful chemicals from your mattress.' The article refers to a piece of research which was carried out by Dubowski, Sabach et al in 2019 titled 'Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Polyurethane Mattresses under Variable Environmental Conditions'.
The issue relates to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which you have probably seen referred to on the side of a tin of paint.
According to the article, 'Mattresses are known to release minute amounts of (these) gaseous chemicals' and it suggests that it is 'mainly from the polyurethane used in the mattress'. According to Wikipedia, 'Memory foam consists mainly of polyurethane as well as additional chemicals increasing its viscosity and density.'
The WebMD article later says that 'Mattresses containing cotton, wool and natural latex will all produce lower levels of gases'. We've got a guide to 'natural mattresses' and other guides about wool mattresses and latex mattresses if that's what you're after.
However, I would keep reading before you leap to a conclusion as the article notes that 'The estimated doses of most VOCs remained well below the levels that could cause health effects'
One final thing from the article worth noting is that 'Experts are generally more concerned about children's exposure to VOCs' and that 'even if these chemicals don't do immediate harm, there is concern that exposure will increase their lifelong risk of cancer'.
Of course, health is a complicated thing and a big factor is how well you sleep each night.
On that note, a study worth mentioning explored the relationship between the type of mattress you use and the quality of your sleep. It was carried out in 1997 by Scharf, Stover et al and compared two mattresses - an 'experimental foam surface' and a 'high quality innerspring hospital mattress'. An 'innerspring' mattress is the name for a sprung mattress in the USA.
If had the title of 'Comparative Effects of Sleep on a Standard Mattress to an Experimental Foam Surface on Sleep Architecture and CAP Rates'.
The CAP mentioned in the title is something called the 'cyclic alternating pattern' which are patterns of how we behave in our sleep. According to the study, poor quality sleep is often linked to 'elevated CAP rates'. Notably, in this study researchers found that 'CAP rates were significantly reduced on the foam surface' which seems to be a positive result for foam mattresses.
However, the study also found 'no differences in sleep stages, number of wakes, or total sleep time' between the two mattresses.
According to an article by WebMD called 'Is Your Mattress Releasing Toxins While You Sleep?' research suggests that 'your body heat might trigger the release of potentially harmful chemicals from your mattress.' The article refers to a piece of research which was carried out by Dubowski, Sabach et al in 2019 titled 'Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Polyurethane Mattresses under Variable Environmental Conditions'.
The issue relates to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which you have probably seen referred to on the side of a tin of paint.
According to the article, 'Mattresses are known to release minute amounts of (these) gaseous chemicals' and it suggests that it is 'mainly from the polyurethane used in the mattress'. According to Wikipedia, 'Memory foam consists mainly of polyurethane as well as additional chemicals increasing its viscosity and density.'
The WebMD article later says that 'Mattresses containing cotton, wool and natural latex will all produce lower levels of gases'. We've got a guide to 'natural mattresses' and other guides about wool mattresses and latex mattresses if that's what you're after.
However, I would keep reading before you leap to a conclusion as the article notes that 'The estimated doses of most VOCs remained well below the levels that could cause health effects'
One final thing from the article worth noting is that 'Experts are generally more concerned about children's exposure to VOCs' and that 'even if these chemicals don't do immediate harm, there is concern that exposure will increase their lifelong risk of cancer'.
Of course, health is a complicated thing and a big factor is how well you sleep each night.
On that note, a study worth mentioning explored the relationship between the type of mattress you use and the quality of your sleep. It was carried out in 1997 by Scharf, Stover et al and compared two mattresses - an 'experimental foam surface' and a 'high quality innerspring hospital mattress'. An 'innerspring' mattress is the name for a sprung mattress in the USA.
If had the title of 'Comparative Effects of Sleep on a Standard Mattress to an Experimental Foam Surface on Sleep Architecture and CAP Rates'.
The CAP mentioned in the title is something called the 'cyclic alternating pattern' which are patterns of how we behave in our sleep. According to the study, poor quality sleep is often linked to 'elevated CAP rates'. Notably, in this study researchers found that 'CAP rates were significantly reduced on the foam surface' which seems to be a positive result for foam mattresses.
However, the study also found 'no differences in sleep stages, number of wakes, or total sleep time' between the two mattresses.
Do memory foam mattresses and synthetic materials make you feel warm?
A common concern or issue raised with memory foam mattresses is that they make you feel too warm.
Several foam mattress manufacturers have offered solutions to this. For example, The Emma Mattress reckons that its top layer of Airgocell is 'very open pored' to keep you cool whilst the Nectar Sleep Memory Foam Mattress offers a 'cooling layer'.
Some academic research was carried out into this topic in Japanese in 2018 by Chiba, Yabi et al. The research compared what it called 'high rebound mattress toppers' with 'low rebound mattress toppers'. To clarify, a memory foam mattress is considered 'low rebound' as it takes longer to return to its original shape than other materials.
A Tempur product was amongst those used in the study as an example of a low rebound product whilst a product which was a 'polyethylene fiber-resin-based mattress topper' by a company called Airweave was used as an example of a high rebound product. The toppers were put on top of standard mattresses and volunteers had their body temperatures checked throughout the night (I won't go into the details of how they checked, but it doesn't sound very comfortable).
The study found that amongst 'young adult males' body temperature was consistently lower with the 'high rebound' topper compared to the memory foam-type topper. At certain times of night, the difference between the two was less than 0.1°C whilst at around 2am, the difference peaked at about 0.3°C. A similar study was carried out with older sleepers, which found less of a difference but that the 'high rebound' product was still slightly cooler.
Meanwhile, another study was carried out in 2016 by Shin, Halaki et al called 'The effects of fabric for sleepwear and bedding on sleep at ambient temperatures of 17°C and 22°C'. As astute readers will note, this was a study more about what we wear in bed and the bedding we use rather than mattress materials, but I mention it as there some general principles about wool, cotton and synthetic materials which are worth exploring.
The study took a group of 17 sleepers and tested how they responded to different materials whilst they slept. The sleepwear compared cotton v merino wool (both naturally breathable materials) whilst the bedding comparison was between polyester (a synthetic material) and wool (a natural material). It focused on wool and the authors thanked the 'Australian Wool Innovation Ltd (AWI) for financial support' in carrying out the study.
A key result was that 'Sleeping in wool sleepwear produced a significantly shorter Sleep Onset Latency than cotton'. In simpler terms, people wearing wool fell asleep quicker. There were also 'Marginally significant results...observed for an increased Total Sleep Time and Sleep Efficiency when sleeping in wool compared to cotton sleepwear'. So, people wearing wool slept for a bit longer and better, but it wasn't as noticeable a difference as the time it took to get to sleep.
The results when they compared polyester and synthetic bedding were quite different. They referenced a study by Ha, Tokura et al which noted that 'Unsurprisingly, when comparing cotton to polyester fabric at a body temperature of 37°C and 60% relative humidity, a higher sweating rate was observed with polyester, since polyester is less hygroscopic than cotton.'
However, in their own study they noted 'there was no bedding effect on sleep' and that 'no main effects were observed for bedding types'.
Several foam mattress manufacturers have offered solutions to this. For example, The Emma Mattress reckons that its top layer of Airgocell is 'very open pored' to keep you cool whilst the Nectar Sleep Memory Foam Mattress offers a 'cooling layer'.
Some academic research was carried out into this topic in Japanese in 2018 by Chiba, Yabi et al. The research compared what it called 'high rebound mattress toppers' with 'low rebound mattress toppers'. To clarify, a memory foam mattress is considered 'low rebound' as it takes longer to return to its original shape than other materials.
A Tempur product was amongst those used in the study as an example of a low rebound product whilst a product which was a 'polyethylene fiber-resin-based mattress topper' by a company called Airweave was used as an example of a high rebound product. The toppers were put on top of standard mattresses and volunteers had their body temperatures checked throughout the night (I won't go into the details of how they checked, but it doesn't sound very comfortable).
The study found that amongst 'young adult males' body temperature was consistently lower with the 'high rebound' topper compared to the memory foam-type topper. At certain times of night, the difference between the two was less than 0.1°C whilst at around 2am, the difference peaked at about 0.3°C. A similar study was carried out with older sleepers, which found less of a difference but that the 'high rebound' product was still slightly cooler.
Meanwhile, another study was carried out in 2016 by Shin, Halaki et al called 'The effects of fabric for sleepwear and bedding on sleep at ambient temperatures of 17°C and 22°C'. As astute readers will note, this was a study more about what we wear in bed and the bedding we use rather than mattress materials, but I mention it as there some general principles about wool, cotton and synthetic materials which are worth exploring.
The study took a group of 17 sleepers and tested how they responded to different materials whilst they slept. The sleepwear compared cotton v merino wool (both naturally breathable materials) whilst the bedding comparison was between polyester (a synthetic material) and wool (a natural material). It focused on wool and the authors thanked the 'Australian Wool Innovation Ltd (AWI) for financial support' in carrying out the study.
A key result was that 'Sleeping in wool sleepwear produced a significantly shorter Sleep Onset Latency than cotton'. In simpler terms, people wearing wool fell asleep quicker. There were also 'Marginally significant results...observed for an increased Total Sleep Time and Sleep Efficiency when sleeping in wool compared to cotton sleepwear'. So, people wearing wool slept for a bit longer and better, but it wasn't as noticeable a difference as the time it took to get to sleep.
The results when they compared polyester and synthetic bedding were quite different. They referenced a study by Ha, Tokura et al which noted that 'Unsurprisingly, when comparing cotton to polyester fabric at a body temperature of 37°C and 60% relative humidity, a higher sweating rate was observed with polyester, since polyester is less hygroscopic than cotton.'
However, in their own study they noted 'there was no bedding effect on sleep' and that 'no main effects were observed for bedding types'.
How popular are memory foam mattresses?
The most reliable data I've found on mattress sales for the UK comes from the National Bed Federation, which is a trade body of mattress manufacturers. The figures are a little out of date, but I reckon they are still useful.
In their Mattress End of Life Report in 2019, the National Bed Federation quotes 'official government figures' that 30% of mattresses sold in the UK are polyurethane foam mattresses (which includes memory foam), 1% are latex, 47% are sprung mattresses and 22% are 'other'. Meanwhile a survey of members of the National Bed Federation's members records that 82% of mattresses sold in the UK are sprung mattresses about half of which were pocket sprung and half of which were open coil. They said that 17% are either latex foam or polyurethane, which includes memory foam. They suggest that the big difference between those two figures may be 'due to mattresses being miscategorised, i.e. classified by their comfort layer as opposed to their core'.
There is also evidence that memory foam mattresses have risen in popularity over the last few years.
The graph below shows how many people searched for the term 'memory foam mattress' on Google in the UK from 2004 to today. The data is relative to the number of people using Google, so it isn't just the case that more people are connected to the internet than there were in 2004.
Interest in the term 'memory foam mattress' saw a steady increase for several years from a very low level in 2004 up until about 2012. Since then, the figures have stayed around the same, albeit with fluctuations throughout the year.
In their Mattress End of Life Report in 2019, the National Bed Federation quotes 'official government figures' that 30% of mattresses sold in the UK are polyurethane foam mattresses (which includes memory foam), 1% are latex, 47% are sprung mattresses and 22% are 'other'. Meanwhile a survey of members of the National Bed Federation's members records that 82% of mattresses sold in the UK are sprung mattresses about half of which were pocket sprung and half of which were open coil. They said that 17% are either latex foam or polyurethane, which includes memory foam. They suggest that the big difference between those two figures may be 'due to mattresses being miscategorised, i.e. classified by their comfort layer as opposed to their core'.
There is also evidence that memory foam mattresses have risen in popularity over the last few years.
The graph below shows how many people searched for the term 'memory foam mattress' on Google in the UK from 2004 to today. The data is relative to the number of people using Google, so it isn't just the case that more people are connected to the internet than there were in 2004.
Interest in the term 'memory foam mattress' saw a steady increase for several years from a very low level in 2004 up until about 2012. Since then, the figures have stayed around the same, albeit with fluctuations throughout the year.
Image from Google Trends showing popularity of the 'memory foam mattress' search term in the UK