I heard that sleeping on an air mattress, long term, will be bad for your back. Are there any models of air beds that aren’t bad for your back?
I havent slept on an air mattress long term……but at posturre.com….it is a website run by physical therapists. They liked the Sleep Number mattress for back pain. I think Air Pedic is better because it has 3 chambers per side instead of 1 with SN.
John
Hi JBR2022,
You are correct, air beds are not recommended for those with back pain as a long term solution. Air mattresses, like waterbeds, some memory foam and buckling gel foam are considered ‘passive support’ rather than ‘ active support’. Passive support is support that is less resilient and can affect the ease of movement on the mattress and may not adapt as well to different sleeping positions regardless of the zoning of the air bladders. You can read more about this in the airbeds article on TMU and also about @Phoenix article pros & cons of Airbeds here
In summary … active or passive support is determined by two characteristics: One is how progressive the support is in the material (called support factor or compression modulus or spring rate in an innerspring) and the second is how much the material bounces back (called resilience). It is also called “pushback”. Air cores are used mostly in the support layer of beds. In beds containing adjustable air pockets, there is a lot of material in the comfort layers above the air chambers, which provides a lot of the support, so it can be difficult to see how much support these air bladders themselves are actually providing. Like innersprings, an airbed support core needs an effective comfort layer above it. In general Airbed mattress cores have inflated prices and are less effective as a mattress core than many innersprings, latex, or high quality polyfoam … in spite of many statements otherwise by those who make them. All that being said, a mattress with air chambers in the support layer would be preferable to a ‘plain’ air mattress.
Like with everything else it depends on the quality and design of the airbed and how suitable it is for you, but IMO better support and comfort feel can be obtained in a more resilient, supportive mattress set up like a solid latex, hybrid latex or hybrid foam mattress depending on your Stats(height, BMI, sleeping position(s), and any underlying health conditions.), and your PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). Though a mattress is unique to those sleeping on it, having more progressive support and comfort layers not only can help with back pains and alignment issues, but are also far more durable than a sleep system with air bladders of any kind. @Phoenix Airbeds post here addresses this in much detail.
~ Basilio
I don’t have back pains. What I was wondering was if airbeds will create back problems for people with healthy backs.