What is an adjustable bed? And why should I consider one?

An adjustable bed, or Semi-Fowler bed (we will explain this a bit more coming up), is relatively self explanatory in definition. This type of bed can be adjusted to and from a number of different positions by elevating both the head and foot portion of the bed. The adjustment is not a manual procedure, rather, either a wired or wireless controller allows the sleeper to adjust certain aspects of the bed with the simple touch of a button.

Before we move on to why you should consider an adjustable bed, let us get to the discussion about why it is also referred to as a Semi-Fowler bed. Dr. George Ryerson Fowler graduated from medical school in 1871 and was known as a pioneer in first aid work. After many years, Dr. Fowler determined that if a patient was put in a semi-sitting position following certain medical procedures (head raised 30 to 45 degrees, with bent knees), this facilitated breathing and overall comfort of the patient, alleviating many common concerns in earlier medicine. This position was found to relax tension in the body and to this day is still used, most commonly in the delivery room for new mothers. So taking a cue from Dr. Fowler, adjustable beds take advantage of his insight. By elevating certain areas of the body, many adjustable bed owners say that they find relief from conditions like arthritis, GERD, breathing disorders, back pain and neck pain to name a few – all conditions that affect how we sleep and the quality of our sleep.

With the way we live our lives in today’s non-stop, always on the go world, many of us deprive ourselves of the thing we need most to be productive, happy and healthy – sleep. We use sleeping pills to get to sleep and caffeine to jump start our day, and our lack of quality sleep shows. Losses from accidents and reduced productivity are estimated to cost American businesses $150 billion a year and motor vehicle accidents involving tired drivers account for $48 billion a year in damages, according to the American Public Health Association and the National Transportation Safety Board.

From my perspective, if we want to live our lives to the best of our ability, we need to take some measures to help improve the quality of our sleep and the length of time we spend sleeping before it is too late. Insufficient sleep has been linked to hypertension, heart problems, diabetes, depression and obesity and it is a proven fact that getting more than 7 hours of sleep a night improves memory and makes people healthier and more alert.

I have found that after sleeping on an adjustable bed, I am truly comfortable when I put my head on the pillow, and when I wake up I feel as if I have actually rested and recharged my body for the next day. When you think about it, the majority of us will spend almost a third of our lives in bed, so why not find the right bed that can help deliver sweet dreams as opposed to tossing and turning.

If you have not taken the opportunity to investigate or take a test drive on an adjustable bed, you may spend the next few years counting sheep instead of living your life the way you would like.