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How Do Adjustable Beds Work? Your Quick & Easy Guide

By Maurice

How Do Adjustable Beds Work

For many people unfamiliar with adjustable beds, seeing them in action can seem like magic. They move in ways that a traditional bed doesn’t and can provide many benefits to people who use them. But they are not magic, they are simply an evolution of traditional technology.

How do adjustable beds work? This is your short and plain English guide to how adjustable beds work and what their secrets are.

What is an adjustable bed?

An adjustable bed is a bed frame and base that uses electrical components in order to move into various positions. Adjustable beds were made to meet the needs of individuals who cannot sleep flat for various reasons. Having your head slightly elevated has been shown to help with sleeping ailments such as apnea and snoring. Also, people who have suffered from recent injuries or have chronic pain oftentimes need to have their torso or legs elevated in order to increase blood flow.

With an adjustable bed, people can rearrange the traditional sleeping configuration into something more conducive to their specific lifestyle and conditions. This helps people sleep much better while also serving to alleviate some common sleeping issues.

What are the positions of an adjustable bed?

There are a large number of different positions that a typical adjustable bed is able to take. A standard adjustable bed often has motors that allow you to elevate the foot of the bed as well as the head of the bed independent of one another. The average rate of elevation for adjustable beds is often forty-five degrees for the foot of the bed and up to seventy-five degrees for the head of the bed. Together, this gives you a vast number of different configurations that one can try out.

The three main positions one can take with an adjustable bed are a raised head, raised feet, or raised head and feet. The raised feet position is great for elevating your legs after a long day standing up or for someone recovering from leg issues that need elevation. The raised head allows the sleeper to be kept in a seated position. This is great for watching television from bed or for people who do better sleeping upright. Then there are a number of different configurations that you can use for both the head and the feet that will put you into a zero gravity position.  

What are the electrical components of an adjustable bed?

There are three main electrical components that make up a typical adjustable bed. First, you have a power source. This is often a plug that you simply need to jack into the wall to power the bed. Other units might include a battery pack for a backup system. The second component is the motors which is the part of the bed that does all of the heavy lifting and hard work. No motors, no adjustable bed. Lastly, you have the control mechanism. In modern adjustable beds, that usually comes in the form of remote control but there are some models which have a switch or button on the frame itself that you press to adjust the bed.

Other more advanced models also include things such as USB phone ports, built in lighting, embedded speakers, massage rollers, and more. Those come with their own unique set of electrical components that they run on.

How do you control an adjustable bed?

All adjustable beds come with a control mechanism. Most of the adjustable beds today come with a remote control that have simple buttons that allow you to raise and lower the end of the bed and the head of the bed. Some advanced remotes come with buttons that will immediately cause the bed to take on a predefined shape. Other remotes simply have buttons that you have to press or hold to adjust the bed completely manually.

Some models might have the controls on the side of the frame itself and require you to adjust the bed while standing or have someone adjust it for you.

What are the best mattress types for an adjustable bed?

At the end of the day, the best mattress for an adjustable bed is going to be the mattress that is best for you. Adjustable beds are all about enhancing sleep quality in their users and choosing a mattress that you do not sleep well on will do nothing to help you sleep. However, some styles of adjustable beds require certain mattresses to work at their best.

For example, split king adjustable mattresses will only be able to work properly if the bed is outfitted with two twin mattresses of the appropriate size. A single king mattress will not allow the adjustable split king to work properly. More modern adjustable beds might benefit from modern mattresses such as gel and memory foam.

You might also want to get a new mattress to go with your new adjustable bed. Old mattresses that have lost their structural integrity might sag too much to give you the shape that you require out of your adjustable bed.

What are the benefits of an adjustable bed?

The benefits of an adjustable bed are many and varied. Some of the benefits are purely personal. Some people simply fall asleep better when they have their feet elevated or if their head and neck are elevated. That is a completely personal preference that you might get out of an adjustable bed.

Then there are also various health benefits that are associated with an adjustable bed. There has been a lot of recent studies going into the benefits of adjustable beds for people who suffer from sleep apnea. Elevating the head and neck is also a surefire way to help decrease snoring which can greatly benefit couples where one person’s snoring has affected the other persons’ sleep.

There are also some other lesser known benefits such as elevation helping people who have acid reflux disease. Elevating the torso can help keep stomach acid down and can ease heartburn before bed, especially after a large meal.

The benefits of an adjustable bed are many and the effectiveness of each bed is going to depend on the individual.


1 thought on “How Do Adjustable Beds Work? Your Quick & Easy Guide”

  1. We recently purchased an adjustable bed. My husband has parkinson’s disease and needs a bed assist bar to aid in getting out of bed. Do you know of any such devices that work with and adjustable bed base?

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