# Tempur-pedic Swedish Sleep System questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616 "2004-01-15T18:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/1 "2004-01-15T18:06:40Z")
I am thinking of going with this mattress of foam, but it is REALLY expensive. My questions are: 1. Does anyone out there own one (or tried one) and if so, what are your thoughts? 2. If it was originally invented by NASA, why is it the “Swedish Sleep System”? 3. If NASA did invent this material, why can’t American’s get a break on the price (since taxpayer dollars paid for it in the first place?) Did NASA sell the rights of this material, or do they just let this kind of stuff out to whomever wants to capatalize on it? thanks, SFP ---
**Author:** ![cmurdough](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@cmurdough](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmurdough)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/2 "2004-01-15T19:02:07Z")
My fiancé and I bought a queen-sized Tempur-pedic. What we didn’t know was that the inch-and-a-quarter-thick sample they gave us represented all the thickness of special foam that you get. Inside, most of the mattress is common egg crate-style foam. Of course, there’s Tempur-pedic foam on the sides, too, so when you’re at Brookstone or some other store and you feel the mattress, it seems as if the whole thing is made of the Tempur stuff. Also, once the zippered casing and your typical fitted sheet are placed on the mattress, the ability to “sink in” is reduced. We’ve had our Tempur-pedic about two years, now. Overall, the mattress is okay, but we bought it with high expectations and we’ve been disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/3 "2004-01-15T19:21:24Z")
I was scared off by the price, too. I ended up buying a ‘mattress topper’ made of the same material - viscoelastic foam. You can get them up to 4" thick - that’s what I got. The price break was considerable. I paid $250 for it, shipped. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/4 "2004-01-15T19:23:05Z")
I’ve got a pillow and it was worth every cent of the (about) $100 I spent on it. As for mattresses, I’d go for the ~3" thing and put it on top of an ordinary mattress, since the thicker stuff, as **cmurdough** notes, still only has about 3" of Tempur material on top. The company that owns (owned) Tempur developed a process for large scale manufacturing. It _is_ a Swedish Company but there is nothing ‘Swedish’ about Tempur, so the Sleep System thingy is just marketing hype. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/5 "2004-01-15T23:23:43Z")
Thanks everyone for the answers so far. Gravity - are you sure it’s the same material, or is that what the company you bought the mattress top from said? That seems to be an excellent solution, especially if cmurdoch’s explaination is true. cmurdoch - I always thought it was a mattress made entirely of the material, too. That revelation really surprised me. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/6 "2004-01-16T12:58:17Z")
Absolutely positive. I did a lot of research into it before I bought one. If you’d like to talk about it, just send me an e-mail. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/7 "2004-01-16T13:42:51Z")
I bought one a couple of weeks ago, and I’m calling them today and telling them to pick it up. Here’s my story involving mattress (that I just happened to post yesterday): > **[Help Turek purchase a mattress](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=235049)** > > Ok, I’ve had it, and I’m looking for Dopers to help me. For the past couple of years I’ve been struggling with mattresses and the mattresses are winning. Several years ago, I bought mattress. It wasn’t too expensive, about $600 for the mattress... Long story short: The Tempur-pedic is the worst thing I’ve slept on lately. I toss and turn all night, if I wake up to visit the room down the hall or something, I can’t go back to sleep, and I have a tremendous backache in the morning. I sleep on my side, and it feels like my hips sink further than my shoulders so that it forces my spine into a (head)----\_\_\_\_(hips) pattern. ---
**Author:** ![Wooglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@Wooglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wooglin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tempur-pedic-swedish-sleep-system-questions/224616/8 "2004-01-16T13:46:50Z")
I used to sell those POS’s when I worked at Brookstone back in high school. F’in manger was always screaming “Sell more pillows! Sell more pillows!” but, they were good product. I’d don’t know if I’d spend that kind of money, but if you DO have cash coming out your ear, there’s no reason not to buy them. And when you do get it, be a good sameritan and buy it from a the most pitiful looking sales clerk.