How Do Adjustable Beds Work?

Adjustable beds can be amazing for your sleep experience. They can do everything from making your sleep more comfortable to alleviating a host of sleep-related symptoms.

However, adjustable beds can be a little more complicated to put together and operate than your average bed frame, but the good news is with a bit of research, you can enjoy these amazing advancements in sleep technology with little to no effort. Let’s talk about the components of an adjustable bed and how they work.

The Sleeping Surface

The sleeping surface of an adjustable bed is the flat surface where you lay the mattress. Once your mattress is in place, your bed’s sleeping surface can adjust to any number of angles to elevate your head, feet, or both.

Sleeping surfaces can be slatted just like a platform bed, and they may also be a few solid pieces pressed together. Some sleeping surfaces might be upholstered in fabric as well, for a better surface and to create a modern-looking upholstered bed frame.

Lots of adjustable bed sleeping surfaces also have bars, straps, rubber strips, or other features to keep your mattress from sliding around on them.

The Joints

The joints of an adjustable bed are what move the sleeping surface up and down. These joints are attached to electric motors that shift them around depending on how you want to adjust your bed.

Each of the joints rotates a certain percentage so the head and foot of the bed can move independently of one another, allowing you to elevate one portion of your body without necessarily having to elevate the other.

The Adjustment Methods

There are three basic ways to adjust your bed’s position: a side panel, a remote control, and a phone app. Each of these methods has its own advantages and drawbacks.

Side Panels

Back when adjustable bed options were basically limited to hospital bed setups with mattresses for bed sores, buttons on the side of the bed were quite common. Nowadays, however, side panels have fallen out of fashion in favor of remotes. This is because you have to either get out of bed to adjust with buttons or lean over and reach around—not great for people with mobility issues.

Buttons also wouldn’t work for many of the newer adjustable bed base models, which are too sleek for a panel on the side.

Remote Controls

Remote controls are much more common than buttons for repositioning your adjustable bed. Remotes can be wireless or wired to the bed, but they’ll typically have either a touch screen or a panel of buttons with labels telling you how they adjust the bed’s position or which features they activate. Many remotes have a backlight as well.

Remotes are currently the most popular of the methods for controlling your adjustable base because they’re easy to use in the bed and they don’t require much tech savvy to set up and use.

Phone Apps

Newer adjustable bed models may come with an app that allows you to adjust the bed with your smartphone. Apps are increasing in popularity because just about everyone has a smartphone these days, but there are still plenty of people who don’t want to deal with the hassle of downloading an application and pairing it with their bed.

Voice Control

A limited number of modern adjustable beds are compatible with smart home technology, and once they are connected an adjustable bed owner needs to simply speak the command. This can be helpful for anyone who may worry about losing the remote or anyone who has difficulty moving in the morning, such as older individuals operating an adjustable bed for seniors.

Best Mattresses for Adjustable Beds

When it comes to adjustable beds, not all mattresses are created equal. The best mattresses for an adjustable bed are memory foam, latex foam, and hybrids.

Memory Foam

Memory foam beds are the best mattresses for an adjustable bed. Memory foam mattresses are heavy and flexible enough to contour to the curves of your bed’s sleeping surface, maintaining a tight fit no matter what position you prefer.

Latex Foam

A close runner-up to memory foam, latex mattresses are also heavy and flexible. They’re not quite as contouring as memory foam, but if you prefer a springier and cooler alternative to memory foam, latex might be more comfortable for you.

Hybrid

Hybrid mattresses are also a good option for adjustable beds. Their pocketed coil support layer is flexible enough to bend with the movements of the bed while allowing for more air circulation and increasing the bed’s bounce.

Innerspring

Innerspring mattresses do not work with adjustable beds. Their coil support networks are too stiff to flex with the adjustable base. Their rigidity can cause the innerspring mattress to “float” over the base when it’s not in the flat position. Innersprings can also break on adjustable bases.

Consider also Mattress Size

Naturally, you have to make sure the size of your mattress and adjustable bed match. Otherwise, parts of the bed will hang off the side or the mattress will slide out of place, if it is too large or too small.

FAQs

How can an adjustable bed improve my sleep?

Sleeping in an elevated position helps with all kinds of sleep-related ailments. Sleeping with your head elevated can help reduce acid reflux symptoms and cut down on sleep apnea-related snoring. It can also help relieve pressure points, alleviating pain in your shoulder and hip joints. Sleeping with head and legs elevated is often called a zero-gravity position.

Zero-Gravity sleeping has many benefits, including reducing snoring, symptoms of sleep apnea, and lower back pain.

Adjustable beds can also reduce lower back pain symptoms by allowing you to sleep in a position that encourages spinal alignment. The great thing about adjustable beds for back pain is they can move into the position you find most comfortable.

For back sleepers, that might mean sleeping with the head and feet steeply elevated. For stomach sleepers, sleeping with the feet elevated and knees slightly bent might help the most. For side sleepers, mild elevation in the head and/or feet might be best.

What is a split adjustable bed?

Split adjustable beds (most commonly split king beds) allow you to raise and lower your bed’s position independently of your partner. To accomplish this, you’ll need two adjustable bases, two mattresses, and two different fitted sheets all in the same bed frame.

Typically, this is accomplished by using two twin XL mattresses in a split king-size frame or adjustable bed. However, you can get a split queen or split California king—they’re just harder to find and have to be made specifically as a split bed.

Can I use an adjustable base in my current bed frame?

Lots of adjustable bases can fit in a bed frame without changing the look of your bed. If the adjustable base has no legs, you will need to check your bed frame’s maximum weight capacity, and you might need to add more slats.

If your adjustable base comes with legs, you can remove the slats in your bed frame and set up your adjustable base inside the bed frame. This will allow you to use your adjustable bed without changing your bedroom’s look. You can also use a bed skirt with an adjustable bed to quickly and easily dress it up.

Are adjustable bases hard to put together?

Nowadays, adjustable beds can be pretty straightforward to assemble. Many adjustable beds come with detailed instructions for putting them together and can be assembled in less than an hour. Don’t be phased if you’re not handy—some adjustable bases also come with an optional in-home set up so you don’t have to deal with it at all!

Which features should I look for in an adjustable bed?

Adjustable beds can have a lot of cool features. However, selecting the right adjustable bed for you will depend on your personal preferences and how much you want to pay.

Adjustable beds can come with massage features, internal heaters, nightlights, USB ports, and more! They can also have decorative features like headboards and footboards. Some adjustable bed frames even come with storage space.

Bottom Line

Adjustable beds are the best new development in sleep technology since the invention of the mattress! They can help relieve tons of sleep-related ailments, reduce back and joint pain, and even come with cool luxury features. No matter your preferred sleep style, adjustable bases can improve your comfort and your sleep quality.