The Buzz About Adjustable Bases

Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer. Swimming pools open, women can wear white and men may don seersucker. Picnics and parades honor those who have died while serving in the U.S. military.

Memorial Day also heralds the start of a new season, one that allows (or requires) us to arise from our long winter’s nap and go to work—in the yard or the garden, to get active, be productive, get outside and bask in the vitamin D-producing rays of the sun.

It’s good for body and soul. But bodies that have lain nearly dormant all winter need the rest and rejuvenation that only a good night’s sleep can provide, so they can meet the demands of the summer season.

Sleep Outfitters, and just about any medical professional you consult, will tell you sleep is as important as diet and exercise to leading a healthy, productive life (hence our slogan, “outfitting you for a healthy life”). Perhaps it’s obvious, but if we don’t sleep well, our waking hours suffer. We’re less mentally and physically sharp, more error-prone, and more subject to a litany of diseases and health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

Which brings us to the rise in popularity of the adjustable foundation, or, as we also refer to them at Sleep Outfitters, “zero-gravity bases.”

Adjustable foundations allow you to raise or lower the head and foot of the bed via remote control to find the sleeping position most comfortable for you. Zero gravity refers to that adjustment that puts the least load on your body’s pressure points, thereby affording you the sensation of being in a zero-gravity state.

Adjusting your mattress also means adjusting your neck and spine for optimal sleeping comfort, but an adjustable foundation’s benefits go beyond that.

Snoring occurs, especially for people who sleep on their backs, because the tongue falls into the back of the throat and partially blocks the windpipe. In the worst cases, that blockage can cause sleep apnea, a condition where the sleeper stops breathing for 10 to 30 seconds, and then resumes breathing with a gasp. Sleep apnea can occur several times a night.

Adjusting the head of the bed to open the windpipe can help reduce or alleviate snoring, as well as help alleviate the effects of some sleep apnea conditions.

For people suffering from back pain, the less stress on the back, the better. Adjustable foundations allow for better spinal alignment, which can help relieve stress on the sciatic nerve, which controls most of the brain’s communication with the limbs.

Elevating the foot of the bed can be particularly beneficial to people who work on their feet all day and, as a result, experience tired, sore or swollen feet or legs at night.

To accommodate nearly every sleep need and budget, Sleep Outfitters recommends and stocks several adjustable foundation models, all activated via remote control.

At Sleep Outfitters, your sleep health is our main concern. For chronic sleep problems, consult your physician. If you think your sleeping problem might be solved by sleeping on the proper mattress, please visit us this Memorial Day weekend, or any weekend. We all sleep. Why not sleep well?