Features to Look for When Buying an Adjustable Base
Customers are afraid when they come in looking for an adjustable beds. They are often starting their research and are under the impression that the mattress is the one doing the bending and aren’t aware of the base underneath the mattress. Other times the customer has seen videos or infomercials about bases that lift only the head and are unaware that on a quality base, the legs raise too.
If you’re starting your research on adjustable bed frame, here are three top features you need to be aware of and think about before you buy. There is no rank of importance. These are just features you need to know before you purchase. Our explanation of why they are essential comes from hearing our customer’s responses to these features, not from our personal opinion, which can sometimes come from price tag rather than actual usefulness.
Head and Legs Lift
Many of the ads you see speak about a FREE adjustable base with a purchase, featuring an elementary base with only a head lift. This may seem “good enough” to work for what you want, but it isn’t.
The issue with having only a head lift is that you will slide toward the foot of the bed. Gravity kicks in, and you will slide. This sounds like a non-issue until you’ve experienced the back pain associated with being bent in an area where you should not have spent hours.
Another issue is that the head lift is only on “value” bases, not built of materials (motors and electronics) that will last years as a head and leg lift base would have.
When customers consider an adjustable base, it isn’t because they want the latest fad. Instead, they seek something to relieve pain or add to their sleep experience. Having something cheaply made that lasts a year or two makes this base of no worth to them.
Programmable Buttons
At the risk of making an adjustable base seem more complicated than they are, I am going to say that programmable buttons make a world of difference when finding a suitable adjustable bed frame. This is wisdom, again, from our customers, not ourselves.
The ability to set certain positions, like a back pain relieving position, a reading position, or a sleeping position that keeps GERD at bay, is absolutely key to having a base that makes a difference in your health and life.
Most models we’ve worked with make the programming ability of the remote easy to do, with maybe a one-button hold or a two-button hold. Of course, you find programmability in most models nowadays, but still, it is something to ensure capability.
Serviceability
No adjustable bed base manufacturer is flawless. We’ve worked with at least eight manufacturers, and each has had its quirks.
Having someone available to fix your adjustable base is vital. However, service availability is where things get dicey, and it’s essential to ask Who will be available to fix our base when it breaks? How long does it usually take? How long is there a warranty on the adjustable base?
Most larger retailers will not deal with the service themselves and make you deal with the manufacturer themselves, which is not always a bad thing but usually is a slow response. That is where a smaller business model beats a larger one. Our company has trained with several manufacturers to be able to fix their bases quickly. We did this because it took up to two to three weeks for our customers to fix their bases. We trained because this long wait wasn’t something we wanted to be known for.
Serviceability is vital for all power bases. It would be best if you asked this question before you buy. Out of all features listed here, this is important because you need to know what to expect if
things break, which they sometimes do.
Bonus – Snore Detection
This feature is becoming the number one feature asked for in an adjustable base. The ages of customers asking for this feature would surprise you. They’re the 25-30-year-olds.
Snore detection on an adjustable base is relatively new. Most of these adjustable bases work by connecting your cell phone via Bluetooth. There are models with the microphone on the remote, but most models we carry are via Bluetooth tie-in.
The microphone will pick up any breathing noise and then send a signal to the base to adjust until the noise is lowered, NOT stopped. Remember, the base cannot stop snoring. It can only decrease the volume. It’s important to know that an adjustable base does not take the place of a CPAP machine for sleep apnea sufferers, which causes most snoring issues.
We hope this article has proven helpful to you. We have another article that might help you with your research and provides information on why you would want an adjustable base – Why Bending Your Mattress Can Change Your Life. If possible, share with others so that they know where to start their research when shopping for an adjustable base.
3 Reasons Why You Need a New Pillow
Do you blame your sleep position when you wake up with neck pain or headaches? Or maybe your bed? Or even stress? It could most likely be your pillow. Sleeping with the wrong pillow can cause all kinds of issues. For good information on which pillow for which sleep style read this blog – Need Help Finding the Right Pillow.
The good news is that finding the right pillow eliminates the problems instantly, but you have to know what to look for.
Here are three issues caused by having the wrong pillow for your needs:
- Allergens – Your pillow, especially fiber-filled pillows, can hold years of allergens.
Allergens can cause hay fever flare-ups, sinus issues, skin rashes, and, more seriously, cause issues for people with asthma.
- Headaches – Your pillow can cause headaches. Having your head in the wrong position for hours at a time can cause the nerves and vessels in your neck to constrict, which can cause issues with pressure in your head, leading to headaches.
- Shoulder/Neck Muscle Pain-Having a pillow that is too high can stretch your neck muscles, causing pulled muscles and pain when you turn your neck to look sideways. A pillow that is too low can cause shoulder blade pinches and hurt your neck the next day.
Finding the right pillow is easy. When you come in, we’ll ask you what type of bed you sleep on. Is it plush or firm? Then we’ll find a mattress close to the feel of the one you have at home and start to fit you to the right pillow.
Our Shoulder Pillows by Malouf fit the majority of side sleepers, but lately, we’ve had an influx of people needing cooler support for both side and back sleeping. That’s where our Technogel Anatomic and Technogel Contour pillows come in. The Technogel Anatomic is meant for wider shoulder girth, whereas the Technogel Contour is a lower loft for slighter shoulders and more prominent back sleepers.
The first thing to do is lay down in your regular sleep position, and place the pillow as you usually would. Then we check to see if your spine and neck are lined up. Trying to eliminating any upslope or downslope in the line between the neck and spine. The straighter you are, the better off you will be. It’s that easy, pillow fitting takes a couple of minutes and the results are worth it. Imagine, no more neck pain or headaches!
Avoiding Bedbugs this Vacation Season
There is no worse bug infestation than that of the evil little bedbug. This hearty little anthropoid spends its time eating/sucking your blood while you sleep! What can be worse than that!
I wanted to write this article before the Summer Vacation season to ensure everyone was ready and informed on how to keep bedbugs from coming home with you on your travels this year. Every year, starting in May and ending in September, we have many customers complaining about getting rid of bedbugs, replacing mattresses, and asking how to keep bedbugs from returning.
Keeping bedbugs from coming home with you this vacation season isn’t that challenging. First, admit that no hotel level is excluded from bedbug infestations. The best hotel on earth could and will at some point have…bedbugs.
Second, do yourself a favor, don’t put your suitcases, travel bags, etc., on the bed or floor. Instead, place your bags in the bathtub. Take apart the linens on your bed and inspect the seams of the mattress. If there is any sign of bedbugs, ask for another room (in another state).
Third, even if you’ve taken the precautions above, it is best to take precautions when you get home.
When you get home, do NOT put your bags on your bed. Instead, place them in the bathtub. Take all your clothing, dirty or otherwise and place it in the dryer for 45 minutes in de-wrinkle mode (this will kill the nits and eggs).
Another precaution you should take is to make sure you’ve bought and installed a full encasement mattress protector. A full encasement protector goes all the way around your mattress, and it’s designed to keep bedbugs from being able to hide in the seams of your bed and makes it way easier to detect and kill the bedbugs before they become a full infestation. Whenever we have a customer who says anything about traveling often, we tell them a fully encasing mattress protector is a must.
Time to Look into an Adjustable Base
Lower back pain, snoring, acid reflux, swollen feet, leg elevation, and so on, and so on, it’s a list of ailments and conditions that an adjustable base can help you solve. All solved by just lifting either your head or your feet just a little bit to allow you to rest easier.
One of the most common questions we get asked is if using an adjustable base is a good recommendation for someone pregnant. Our answer is a very resounding yes. Think about it, acid reflux – solved, swollen ankles – solved, backache – solved. Even better, what about after the baby is born? Well, then you have an easier way of lifting yourself for feedings, reading to them, and keeping an eye on them while they sleep.
An adjustable base is suitable for anyone and any age. It doesn’t have to be medical or health concerns. It can just be that you like to read or watch TV in bed. An adjustable base will last you not only one mattress lifetime but several mattress lifetimes. They’re easy to maintain and long-lasting. Stop by and have us show you the great things they do. For more great information on adjustable bed frames read our blog Why Bending Your Mattress Can Change Your Life.
Stress Reduction for Better Sleep
Who doesn’t have stress these days, from news to work to life in general? We’ve started moving so fast that sometimes we don’t know if we’re coming or going.
This issue with living life this way is it can quickly start affecting parts of your health that you really should be keeping an eye on. Our company sells sleep, we specialize in helping you find the right bed for you to find better sleep, and with that comes research into what is bothering our customers the most.
People are suffering from overstressing, aside from having an all-around lousy mattress. We’re all battling to keep control over a faster-paced life, and it’s starting to affect our sleep significantly.
Reducing stress can be a hard ask of yourself, but it isn’t. You can reduce stress by adding something as simple as an afternoon walk, or a few minutes of exercise, meditation, or even finding a hobby that you enjoy and can find some escape time.
Your Mattress was Expensive, Protect It Well
A mattress protector is the unsung hero of your sleep. Most people think mattress protectors are still the cheap shower curtain feeling sheets of plastic they slept on in the 80s and 90s, but a lot
has changed since then.
Just as mattresses have advanced to help us sleep deeper and support our bodies a lot better, mattress protectors have advanced eons ahead of the old plastic sheeting.
A mattress protector saves your bed from spills, leaks, accidents, muddy pet paws, and just about any other stain you can think of. After all, who wants to sleep on a bed that’s got months-old wine/coffee stains on it?
Today’s mattress protectors are made of advanced fabrics that not only keep your mattress stain-free but also kill germs and viruses and keep you cool at night. These fabrics are breathable and sweat-wicking, so you’re no longer sleeping in a pool of your sweat. The best part about today’s mattress protectors is that they are so much better at staying on your mattress. You no longer have to constantly pull your sheets off to put your protector back in place.
Come by one of our Live Well Mattress & Furnishing locations today to see the new mattress protectors yourself. You’ll be happy you did.
Need Help Finding the Right Pillow?
Do you wake up with pain in your neck? Do you develop headaches during midafternoon? These are both signs of having the wrong size pillow. Something as simple as having the wrong pillow can cause lasting or daily pain.
The right pillow can not only eliminate neck pain and headaches, but it can also help you breathe easier throughout the night, helping you get better, deeper sleep. The better your sleep, the better your next day is, and the better your overall health is.
Finding the right pillow for you is not that complicated, but you can’t do it without being able to lay on a mattress that matches the support level you have at home. Buying a pillow without laying down to check out your posture can lead to making the same buying mistakes over and over.
Once you’ve found a mattress on the sales floor of your favorite pillow store ( BTW, Live Well has an extensive assortment of pillows), grab a pillow that matches the loft you need. The loft is the height of the pillow, the actual support part of the pillow.
- If you are a side sleeper, you need a mid-loft pillow to a high loft pillow, depending on your shoulder width.
- If you are a stomach sleeper, you need either a low loft pillow or no pillow to make sure your neck and lower back don’t hyperextend.
- If you are a back sleeper, you have a choice of low loft pillows or mid loft pillows. Look for a pillow that keeps your head in a position matching your standing posture.
Your goal while shopping for a pillow is to keep your posture matching your standing posture. Any more tilt to your head than that can cause posture issues, neck pain, and, like we said above, headaches.
If you’d like to get fit for the right pillow, please don’t hesitate to visit us at Live Well. We’ve studied, researched, and learned many different techniques in getting your pillow just right.
Coffee Keeps You Awake For How Long?
Is your afternoon pick me up robbing you of great sleep? It can. If you are in the habit of afternoon coffee to pick you up and keep you from napping in the office, that coffee could be stealing several hours of valuable deep sleep.
Deep sleep is the part of the sleep cycle where your brain goes through a nightly cleaning. Much like the dishwasher concept, your brain does the same thing every night. During the day, proteins build up on receptors in your brain. Deep sleep begins with a cleaning of those proteins. It helps reduce any kind of plague build-up that can slow your thinking and lead to dementia in older ages.
The caffeine in coffees, teas, and energy drinks can stay in your system for over 6 hours. Caffeine prohibits your brain from entering deep restorative sleep. A lot of times, you can still get light sleep, but light sleep does not “clean” your brain. Light sleep is just that, a very light portion of sleep that can still leave you feeling super tired the next day.
The best way to keep your sleep and still have an afternoon pick me up is to time your afternoon caffeine intake to at very least 6 hours before your bedtime. For most of us, 2 pm to 3 pm would be the latest we should be considering having that tea or coffee.