Inclined Bed Therapy... Anyone?

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello Everyone!

How many of you have tried elevating the head of your bed 4" - 6" for better sleep and better health?

An engineer named Andrew Fletcher has been promoting inclined bed therapy for 16 years, though I just learned of it. And a medical anthropologist, Sydney Ross Singer, has written a fascinating article about the benefits of elevating the head and the dangers of sleeping flat:
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I’ve been experimenting and I sleep so much better with my head higher! I have sleep apnea/bruxism with severe head, neck and shoulder pain. I tried a medical poly foam wedge, which helped, but I kept falling off of it! So, I put rolled blankets under top of the mattress to lift it 6 ". Wonderful!!! However, it’s not working for my husband. :frowning:

I’m thinking of buying the Miracle Sleep whole body talalay bed wedge. It’s 1/2 Queen size. At 30" wide, it’s 6" wider than the wedge that I tried… a good thing!

Now, I’ve never slept on latex, but am thinking that this might work, giving me the elevation that I need, and the softness to sink into it a bit. It comes in soft, medium, and firm. The manufacturer suggested that I get the medium. I want pressure relief in my shoulders. The best price I could find is $399 - 20% = $349: http://www.eco-mattress-store.com/search.php?search_query=miracle+sleep&x=0&y=0. Free shipping, 30 day trial, full refund - I would have to pay return shipping. Any opinions on this product?

Alternatively, maybe I can talk my husband into an experiment whereby we elevate the head of our wooden platform foundation using blocks. I do fear that it might not be sturdy enough for that. Has anyone tried this?

Ideally, we’ll buy a new bed in 6 - 12 months and get a dual king with an adjustable base. I’m leaning toward FloBed because of the VZone and the convoluted layer, or SleepEz, but I have a lot of testing to do.

This site and forum have been invaluable to my research.

Thanks!
RLK

2

Hi rlk,

I don’t think there is any doubt about the benefits of inclined bed therapy for those with medical issues that would benefit from it and thanks for bring up the subject in the forum :slight_smile:

This thread is from another member who mentioned it as well.

Some of the benefits would be similar to having an adjustable bed but the advantage of having an inclined surface from top to bottom rather than just the top part of the bed is that you can sleep on it in any position while an adjustable bed that has the head raised slightly is limited to back sleeping. It would also have a much more even incline that a typical wedge that only raises the upper part of the body.

A quick scan shows that Simmons also has a wedge topper (among othes that do as well) that performs a similar function made from polyurethane (although it doesn’t say the quality of the polyfoam) but it would be less durable than latex and have a greater effect on the feel of your mattress being on top instead of the bottom. Used on top it probably also wouldn’t provide the same type of even incline or alignment as an inclined wedge on the bottom of your mattress which wasn’t part of the actual comfort layer of the mattress. Of course it could also be used under a mattress.

There are also some inclined beds available such as here that have a similar function to the full body wedge you are considering and these have the advantage of being able to adjust the degree of the incline.
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There are also many discussions around the web about inclined sleeping for those who want to do more research including a forum here with a number of threads that mention it (and there are others as well).
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Talalay latex is a high quality material and very durable so it would make a good choice for a full body wedge but I would use it under the mattress rather than on top. I wouldn’t consider it as a layer that will affect the feel of the mattress as much (I would leave that to the mattress design itself) because you will only feel it’s properties through the mattress itself and the further away from a layer you are the less it will affect how the mattress feels in most cases (although this will also depend on the specifics of your body type and sleeping positions).

Putting a foam wedge on top of a mattress where it will have a larger effect on how your mattress feels may also have a negative effect on spinal alignment.

I know this is a much larger topic but I thought I’d include a few links to add to yours for those who are interested and hopefully there are other forum members that have some experience with inclined sleeping that can share their feedback.

Phoenix

3

I have always elevated my children’s mattresses when they’ve been sick as per my pediatrician. It helps with their asthma as well as with GERD and the all mighty cold. I’ve now patented a product (mattress) which is elevated but also keeps the baby/ child from gliding down. To whom should I market this to? I’m finding it so hard because of the fear of the inclined mattress. Although ,most pediatricians will agree that inclining your child’s bed is the way to go this darn flat on back at all times nonsense seems to make mattress makers such as myself the enemy.
Any tips on how to go around this and help children AND parents sleep better at night?

4

Hi jessicakent,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

Congratulations on your new invention. :cheer: Unfortunately, I’m not an expert in marketing, nor am I particularly “plugged in” to that part of the industry. Besides the obvious suggestion of hiring a marketing firm to assist you with this, I would think that you could inquire to various health care forums like this one for better advice on this subject, as it seems that your product would be more closely affiliated (at least initially) with the health care industry and pediatrics. Also, you may wish to inquire to different web sites that sell durable medical equipment online about offering your product as well.

I don’t think that there is a fear of inclined mattresses, at least not for adults, in the industry. The sale of power foundations is one of the fastest-growing segments currently in this industry. However, I can’t speak to how that relates to the opinions of pediatricians and the specific application of your product, and I can’t speak to the accuracy of the statement that most pediatricians agree that inclining a mattress is the best way to go for a child, except of course in specific medical conditions like your patent describes such as wheezing, colic, ear infections, acid reflux, etc.

I wish you luck in your endeavors with this product!

Phoenix