The Surprising (and Life-Changing) Benefits of an Adjustable Bed
Sleeping on an adjustable bed has obvious and clear benefits if you're suffering from chronic conditions like lower back pain, sciatica, and GERD, which we cover in detail below.
But what if you don't have a painful condition that makes it hard to sleep at night? Is an adjustable bed frame still worth the extra money? The truth is every sleeper can benefit from using an adjustable bed.
Adjustable bed frames can lift up your legs and upper body. This has major health benefits for all sleepers, including:
- Increased blood flow
- Reduced back pain
- Reduced neck pain
- Reduced tossing and turning throughout the night
Adjustable bases also make it easier to watch movies, read a book, work from home, and ever make the bed.
At Slumberland, we like to show our customers all the benefits of using an adjustable bed frame (compared to sticking with a traditional, non-moving flat foundation). This way they can make an informed decision on whether they want to make the extra investment on getting an adjustable frame.
That's what we're going to do in today's post. We cover our 11 favorite (and often surprising) benefits of sleeping on an adjustable bed.
But first, we want to clarify what an adjustable bed is, and give you some tips in case you're just starting to look for one.
Ready to start shopping? Check out our selection of adjustable bases online, or visit a Slumberland store to try one out in person.
What is an Adjustable Bed?
Most customers put their mattresses on a flat foundation. This foundation helps support your mattress, which in turn supports you. Traditional foundations are usually wood or metal and almost always contain slats that are spaced apart by a few feet.
But instead of using a stationary, non-mechanical foundation, you can switch to an adjustable bed frame.
This is a bed frame that uses a motor to move sections of your mattress up and down.
There are two main types of adjustable beds:
- Ones that only move your upper body (your head)
- Ones that move your upper and low body (your head and feet)
Within that second category, there's a lot of variety. There are adjustable bases that have an extra lumbar bar for support, or a neck tilt that's great for watching movies while in bed. There are also ones with massage features to help relax muscles and increase blood flow.
The Best Adjustable Bed for Your Money
If you're ready to get an adjustable bed frame now, you can get a closer look at your options online or by visiting a Slumberland store. If you're also buying a new mattress, most mattress companies have their own version of an adjustable bed that matches their mattresses.
For example, if you're buying a Tempur-Pedic mattress, then we would pair it with a Tempur-Pedic adjustable bed base, like the Smart Base, or Ergo 3.0 Base.
But if you already have a mattress and want to switch out your foundation for an adjustable bed frame, we'd recommend the Glide Motion 100.
The Glide Motion 100 comes with:
- A wireless remote, which has a flat button (puts your bed flat with one touch), a zero-gravity button (which automatically raises your head and legs so it’s like you’re floating) and an anti-snore button
- Power neck lift, which is great for watching TV in bed
- 2 presets on the remote so you can save your favorite position
- USB ports on the side to help charge your smart devices
- Massage
- LED under bed lights (Need to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom? Turn on your underbed lights to guide the way.)
Now let's look at the benefits of using an adjustable bed frame.
1. Helps Reduce Back Pain
When you sleep flat, you're putting pressure on your lower back. Good mattresses work to relieve you of this pressure (see our post on the best mattresses for back pain for more info).
But nothing really compares to using an adjustable bed to elevate your legs. By sleeping with your legs elevated, you’re taking pressure off your lower back. Sometimes our customers try to do this with stacked pillows or a wedge pillow. And while it’s the same principle, an adjustable bed is more effective and convenient. Pillows can shift throughout the night and you can’t easily adjust the height of a wedge pillow.
When you use an adjustable bed, you can adjust its height until you're in the most comfortable and supportive position possible.
And with some adjustable bases (like the Glide Motion 100) you can program the base to remember your ideal position. Just get in bed, press the preset button and the Glide Motion 600 automatically moves into your ideal position.
2. Helps with Snoring
The loud snores your partner makes at night are due to partially obstructed airways. It's relatively harmless for them, but can be a huge pain for you. Some people's snoring can get as loud as a weed whacker. Luckily, an adjustable base can nip this problem in the bud.
When you're sleeping on an adjustable bed, you can lift up your partner's head, which then opens their airways, and greatly reduces snoring.
The Tempur-Pedic Smart ERGO base has sensors on the adjustable bed, directly beneath your mattress.
When it feels the vibration of someone snoring, the base automatically lifts them up 15 degrees. This means you don’t need to wake yourself up or have your partner wake you up to tilt the adjustable bed up. It happens automatically, helping both of you sleep through the night.
3. Helps with Acid Reflux/GERD
Acid reflux (sometimes called GERD) is when stomach acid makes its way up to your esophagus and throat. This results in an uncomfortable — and sleep-interrupting — burning sensation.
When you sleep with your head tilted up slightly, you make it harder for stomach acid to make its way up to your throat. The stomach acid stays where it belongs (in your stomach), your throat doesn’t get that burning sensation, and you get to sleep through the night.
4. Helps with Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous condition where you stop and start breathing throughout the night. You can treat sleep apnea by making lifestyle changes, such as weight loss or using a breathing machine at night (called a CPAP machine) that pushes continuous air into your lungs.
But an adjustable bed can help in two ways.
- Sleeping with your head elevated opens your airways. This helps you breathe in more air throughout the night.
- Reduces tossing and turning. If you're wearing a CPAP mask, then you don't want to knock it off in the night as you toss and turn to get comfortable.
5. Increases Blood Flow
A lot of our customers who buy an adjustable bed do so because it lets them sleep in a zero-gravity position.
Zero-gravity is when your legs are just above your hips and your head is above your heart.
When you sleep in the zero-gravity position, you get more than just increased comfort. You get increased blood circulation. More blood flows to your heart, so then your heart pumps harder, which then pushes more blood to your limbs.
Why is this a good thing?
With increased blood flow, you get:
- Better heart, lung, and muscle function
- Stronger immune system (with better circulation, your white blood cells are transported throughout the body more effectively)
If you have poor circulation, you're at greater risk for:
- Muscle pain
- Numbness
- Slower nail and hair growth
- Weaker immune system
6. Easier to Make the Bed
No one likes making the bed. You put one sheet over one corner, go to do the other, and the sheet comes undone.
A surprising benefit of adjustable beds is how they make it so easy to make the bed. You can tilt the head and the feet up a little bit. This brings the head and foot of your mattress closer together. Now you can put it on your sheet easily.
Then just hit the flat button, which brings down the head and foot at the same time.
7. Sleep Better when You're Sick
When you’re not feeling great — whether it’s the cold, flu, or any kind of upper respiratory illness — you’re going to have a harder time breathing. This could be because you’re full of mucus, your sinuses are stuffed, or your airways are constricted. Either way, when you’re flat on your back, your airways are tighter, which makes all of the above even worse.
But when you’re sleeping on an adjustable bed,
- It helps you cough up what you need to cough up
- It helps you breathe better because your airways are less obstructed when you're slightly elevated.
8. Turn Your Bedroom into a Home Theater
Adjustable bed frames make it easy and fun to watch TV in your room. You can tilt up your head just a little, or even have it completely up, in an upright sitting position like you’re sitting in a chair, so you can eat popcorn and watch your movie in comfort.
9. Work Comfortably without Getting out of Bed
With more people than ever working at home, an adjustable bed can turn your mattress into a comfortable office chair.
Instead of being hunched over in your bed, your elbows below your wrist, which can lead to significant arm pain, you can tilt your upper body up to type on your computer. Plus, you can raise your legs up to take pressure off your back.
And when you want to take a break? Just turn on your massage feature and feel the stress get massaged out of your body.
10. Works with Practically All Mattresses
Adjustable beds are suitable for latex, memory foam, coil, and hybrid mattresses.
If you’re getting an adjustable bed and are unsure if your mattress can work well with it, there are just a few things to consider.
- The firmness of your bed. The harder it is for your bed to bend, the less suitable it is for an adjustable bed. Just grab the corner of your mattress, put your knee on it, and then try to bend the corner back. Can you bend it or is it too rigid?
- The height of your bed. Sometimes mattresses can get very tall (we’re talking about 17+ inches). Some of these mattresses will work with an adjustable bed, but others will just be too tall to bend correctly.
- Your current setup. if you have an existing bed frame, then you want to make sure it’ll work with an adjustable bed. Most bed frames do, but every now and then we come across one that won’t. What happens is you take out the insides of the bed frame (the wooden slats and rails) and drop in the adjustable bed. But if you’re on a custom-made bed frame — or a bed frame that goes a generation or two back — then you may want to double-check compatibility before buying an adjustable bed frame.
Worried about knowing if your bed will work or not with an adjustable base? Visit a Slumberland showroom where we can help you figure it out.
11. Get In and Out of Bed Easier
Whether you’re sore from a workout, sick with the flu, or suffering from a chronic condition, sometimes you need help getting in and out of the bed.
With an adjustable bed, it couldn't be easier.
When you’re getting in bed, just raise your head up and then lean into your mattress. From there you can kick your legs over, and then lower your head to your preferred angle.
When you want to get out of bed, just do the reverse. Raise your head until you’re nearly upright, and then lower your legs so they’re flat, and then get out of bed.
Next Steps: Trying an Adjustable Bed in Person
An adjustable bed has a huge variety of benefits. It can help you manage chronic pain, it can make it easier to work from home, watch a movie, and make your bed.
Obviously, it’s easier to feel these benefits first-hand than to read about them. For example, when you lie on a mattress and lift your legs up, you will immediately feel the pressure taken off your back.
Visit a Slumberland showroom to experience in person all that an adjustable bed frame can offer.