Choosing the right air mattress bed for your needs

Have you considered buying an air mattress bed for your aching back? Did you come here expecting enthusiastic support for your decision? Are you expecting me to tell you, definitively, that a particular style of air mattress such as the Sleep Number bed is the right solution for precisely your problem? Well, hang on to your hat because you won’t get that here.

Confused? A site about air mattress beds not supporting them as a cure for back pain? Well, I’m being a bit tricky. CAN air mattresses help with back pain? Sure. WILL they ALWAYS? No. That’s the rub. It isn’t a matter of whether or not I feel they can offer a solution (one very well might), it’s that I’m not going to commit my integrity (or your money) to a solution that might not be the right one for you.

Any mattress that, with absolute conviction, sells itself as a definite cure for back pain is suckering its consumers out of their hard earned dollars. The truth is that a flat board with a half inch of foam on it might be the right cure for you. I simply have no way of knowing, and neither do air mattress bed manufacturers, what the right requirements are for you specifically. What they can tell you with reasonable honesty is how independent testing has rated their beds relative to other styles and in that regard, air mattress beds do fairly well.

Air mattress beds such as the Sleep Number bed often are a fantastic solution for back pain relief. The customizable nature of adjustable air mattresses alone is a major factor behind that. My own back problems were alleviated after switching mattresses. But, I don’t attribute my success to the mattress so much as an ancient Chinese secret I’ll reveal later. In some cases, however, a memory-foam mattress may be the better solution for your back problems. In others, a particular brand of innerspring mattress is the right solution. What’s the common theme here? No one brand or style of mattress is going to be the universal solution for all people.

If you do suffer from chronic back pain you can begin your search for the right mattress for you by applying some of the knowledge you’ve hopefully learned here. Consult with your physician and if he/she is honest, you’ll receive some simple wisdom such as “some people report improvement from sleeping on air mattresses” or “your condition might be best served by a very firm mattress.” That information being about as useful as what I’ve offered so far in this post, let’s get to the real best solution for you.

The best thing for your back is sleeping on a mattress that affords good back support, promotes healthy curvature of the spine and is very comfortable. If you can find all three in a single mattress, you’ve probably found the mattress that will help you with your back pain. The last item, comfort, is very important, though. The bottom line is that no amount of ergonomic engineering will matter to you if you can’t get comfortable enough to sleep well.

The hard part here is that finding the right mattress to alleviate back pain isn’t like finding which candy bar you like best. Mattresses are expensive. In finding a mattress that’s good for your back, take several minutes to test each model in the store. This will give you at least a glimpse into what you can expect when you get the mattress home. More importantly, though, ensure that your purchase comes with a generous satisfaction guarantee and return policy. You won’t know until you’ve invested a week or two sleeping on your new mattress if it is the right one for you. Select Comfort offered a one month trial period at one point (and may still) on their Sleep Number bed which, to me, was a major selling point. Try to find something similar in your purchase.

So, the answer to your question is that, yes, air mattress beds of varying styles can do wonders for back pain relief but there are no guarantees. Your best bet is to test a variety of mattresses and ensure you are protected should you later determine the mattress is not right for you.

Oh, and that ancient Chinese secret for curing back pain? Stop carrying your wallet in your back pocket. I did, found relief in weeks and I haven’t had back problems in the 5 years since.

Let’s continue from our previous post on the benefits of healthy sleep with air mattress beds and discuss how the Sleep Number Bed performed in an independent, Chicago-based firm’s study. We’ll start with pressure points as this is the single biggest frustration I’ve had in the past. For me, getting comfortable on most mattresses is a matter of rolling around for the first 30 minutes or so before I finally doze off. According to my wife, I continue shifting around on innerspring mattresses excessively which leads to poor sleep for both of us. I don’t have the same problems on an air mattress bed.

First let’s introduce the study on pressure point comparisons. It was independently conducted. The mattresses compared were similarly priced but different designs. The Sleep Number Bed was compared to a Tempur-Pedic ® “space-foam” mattress and a high-end innerspring mattress. The manufacturer and identity of each mattress was hidden from the subjects. 66 subjects in all participated in the study and were divided about evenly between women and men. Finally, the average pressure exerted by the mattresses on each participant’s body was measured using pressure mapping equipment in both back and side sleep positions.

The results of the pressure point study revealed 94% of the participants had significantly lower average pressure levels when lying on their side. 86% had significantly lower average pressure levels when lying on their backs. It’s important to note that those percentages are the results gathered from the pressure mapping equipment, not just the subjective opinions of the participants.

The pressure map study isn’t the only study to result in favorable marks for the Sleep Number Bed. A study performed at the Stanford University Sleep Research Center resulted in surprising results. This study compared the Sleep Number Bed to a high quality innerspring mattress. Average participants fell asleep in half the time, spent more time in deep (restful) sleep and reported better sleep quality.

Numerically, the Stanford study breaks down like this.

• 67% experienced less daytime sleepiness
• 77% discovered increased energy.
• 87% fell asleep faster and experienced better sleep.
• 89% reported improved sleep quality.
• 90% reported reduced aches and pains.
• 93% experienced back pain relief

While the experiences noted by participants above are subjective (based on a participant’s opinion rather than a measurable metric) they are supported by objective metrics as well such as decreased amount of light sleep states, increased REM sleep and slow wave sleep. The pressure map studies noted earlier also support the subjective comments associated with reduced aches and pains.

Select Comfort^TM, the makers of the Sleep Number bed, also offer data from tests performed at the Duke University Medical Center Sleep Disorders Center which focused on both subjective and objective measures of sleep in comparing the Sleep Number bed with the participant’s own beds. Results showed the Sleep Number bed provided a more efficient sleep experience and that participants spent an average of 15 minutes less time in bed each night on. That last part is notable given that, despite needing less sleep, study subjects reported feeling less fatigued and more rested after sleeping.

Finally, a study performed at the University of Memphis focusing on spinal curvature and displacement concluded that the Sleep Number bed “gave the best comfort and spinal alignments to the subjects tested.”

In a mix of studies covering both objective and subjective metrics, test subjects time and again show a preference for the Sleep Number Mattress. With loads on pressure points more forgivingly distributed, independent adjustable firmness and exceptional construction, these air mattress beds shine. But what does all this data really mean to you, the consumer.

Overall, reduction in pressure point discomfort means less tossing, turning and discomfort during sleep. This means you spend more time getting healthy, restful sleep. The importance of this can’t be overstated. Not only does this mean you’ll endure less joint discomfort, aches and pains, but an air mattress bed’s benefit in this regard is that it also facilitates important stages of healthy sleep.

REM sleep, or Rapid Eye Movement sleep occurs an average of 4-5 times per night in increasing duration. While the purpose of REM sleep is not completely understood, it has been established as critically important to our health and may be linked to learning and memory. While we may not fully understand the need for REM sleep, our bodies do. If we do not receive enough of it, we accumulate a sleep-debt which our body will make up for with prolonged periods of REM sleep at the next opportunity.

Slow wave sleep or SWS is the deepest level of sleep. If you’ve ever woken up feeling terribly groggy and have difficulty focusing and thinking, you probably were pulled out of slow wave sleep. As with REM, those deprived of SWS will experience a sharp increase in duration of this sleep period at the next available opportunity. This supports the thinking that the body knows what it needs and that slow wave sleep is an important part of healthy sleep.

That air mattress beds in general can promote improvements in these areas may often be a subjective claim. Studies performed on Select Comfort’s Sleep Number beds, though, lend credibility to the assumption that, at least in this case, an air mattress bed can truly make a difference in the health and life of its users.