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If you haven't had the chance to try an adjustable base, you're not alone! Although they've been around for decades, they've only recently started getting popular outside of the medical community. And just like in a hospital, there are legitimate health benefits to using one, better sleep notwithstanding.
So what is it?
At the most basic level, it's just a replacement for the foundation of your bed that moves. Because there are a variety of manufacturers with different feature sets, we'll just focus on the simplest features - typically raising the head and feet of the mattress.
Although more like a adjustable pool lounger than a bed, they've been used as far back as Ancient Rome. An electric adjustable bed more similar to what we know today was invented by an American surgeon in the early 1900s.
Like we mentioned earlier, adjustable beds found their first use in medicine, but those days are long-past now and they're becoming increasingly common in the residential space. Since they can be adjusted into a variety of positions, they can help with a myriad of sleep issues, pain, snoring, and even just providing a more comfortable position. The other great part - they work with just about any mattress (just be sure to get a base that's the same size as your mattress)!
Cool! So what is right for me?
This is where the topic gets a little trickier... What's right for one person may not be for the next as our sleep styles and comfort are entirely subjective. Nearly every adjustable base will include a rising head section to help lift the upper part of the body. This is great if your primary concern is being able to more comfortably read or watch TV in bed. No more having to stack a mountain of pillows or crane your neck to get a good view!
Getting more advanced, many bases also offer lifts for the legs and feet. The combination of lifting the extremeties helps increase blood flow and open airways, making a major difference for snorers. Other bases will include a vibrating massage feature, temperature and heartbeat monitoring, and can even connect to and be controlled by smartphone apps.
Sleeping on a split-mattress king? There's bases for that! Taking the subjectivity point into consideration, not everyone will want to share their ideal sleeping position with someone else. Why not have the option to adjust both sides of the bed independently?
So what beds do they work with?
Here's the next cool part... Just about any modern bed can work with an adjustable base. The bases are made to fit traditional box spring dimensions, so they'll either sit directly on top of the existing bed platform or have adjustable-length legs to fit in the mattress footprint. Easy!
And don't worry, we consider an adjustable base part of our ideal sleep solution so we have quite a few functioning bases available to try! Just ask a Wichita Furniture Sleep Expert for a live demo!
