If you have any problems sleeping, you are not alone. Insomnia is very common in the United States. While the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) reports that adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, most people admit they do not get that much. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that somewhere between 50 and 70 million people suffer from chronic sleep and wakefulness disorders. Not getting enough sleep can have a lot of negative health consequences. Improving your comfort while sleeping can make a big difference in the quality of your sleep and the amount of sleep that you get.
Many people turn to adjustable beds to improve their comfort while sleeping. If you suffer from medical conditions that impact your sleep, an adjustable bed may be the right way to go. Here are some of the health benefits of using any of the types of adjustable beds.
They can help with back pain.
If you have back problems, including sciatica, being able to sleep on your back for the entire night can make a big difference. Sciatica occurs when the nerve is trapped near the spine. Any pressure to this nerve can cause pain and numbness that travels down one or both legs. Adjustable beds can support the spine in ways that traditional beds cannot. These kinds of beds can keep your spine correctly aligned while you sleep. They also prevent you from rolling over onto your stomach. Sleeping face down can be a very painful thing to do if you have any back problems.
Another things adjustable beds do for your back at night is keep pressure off of some parts of the spine. When you sleep in certain positions, your back is forced to compress during the night. This can be a cause of pain and and even injury. Adjustable beds do more than improve your comfort while sleeping but you can make sure your back and neck are correctly supported while you sleep. Often people who sleep on traditional mattresses compensate by using pillows, which can cause neck problems and headaches.
Many digestive problems can be improved by sleeping on an adjustable bed.
If you suffer from a host of digestive problems, you can start feeling better by sleeping on an adjustable mattress. Most gastroenterologists recommend their patients with ulcers or gastric reflux sleep with their head elevated. By raising your head, you prevent stomach acids from traveling up into the esophagus. This does a lot to improve a person’s comfort while sleeping. This also helps the esophagus heal.
For other people, going to sleep on a full stomach can be very uncomfortable. When you go to sleep with your head elevated, it helps your body process any good you have eaten within a few hours of going to bed. Experts recommend going to sleep with the head elevated by about six inches to get the best effect for better digestion and sleep
Breathe better with an adjustable bed.
People who have problems with sleep apnea and/or snoring can sleep better and become more healthy by using an adjustable bed. When sleeping on an incline, the windpipe is kept more open. This will prevent snoring in people for whom that is a problem. People with sleep apnea stop breathing multiple times each night. They can stop breathing for a few seconds up to a minute or more. Sleeping with the head raised can open a person’s airways to help them breathe while sleeping.
Swelling in the lower legs and feet can be helped.
People who suffer from swelling in their feet and legs can be helped by using an adjustable bed. One way to encourage fluids to return to the core of the body to be eliminated by the kidneys is to raise the feet above the heart while laying down. This can be especially important for people who work on their feet all day. Sleeping with the feet elevated can also alleviate pain in the feet and legs.
According to a recent Gallup poll, nearly 43% of all American adults say they would feel a lot better if they got more sleep. If that describes you, you may want to consider an adjustable bed.
