The Best Adjustable Base Beds

Imagine being able to adjust your position in bed with a single click of a button. You can switch between your favorite lounging position to read or watch TV and transition to the position that helps you get ready for bed. Today, we’re going to explore the world of adjustable bases and see just how or why they can be beneficial to you.

The Best Adjustable Base Beds

Features to Look Out For

If you’re not sure what an adjustable base bed is: it’s a bed frame that can be lowered or raised usually at the head and the foot of the bed to adjust your sleeping position. Over the last few years, plenty of mattress manufacturers have started making adjustable bases that are compatible with the mattresses they sell, but you can find good brands that don’t necessarily sell mattresses yet make solid adjustable base beds.

Even if they are just bedding bases, in the end, the features and characteristics you should look out for when purchasing such a product are a little bit different compared to what you might see in a regular base bed. A good adjustable base bed should have the following features:

— Adjustable height

In general, adjustable bases allow you to increase or decrease the height of the bed. However, not all purchases include leg extensions, so make sure that you carefully read about what’s in the package. If you’re interested in adjusting the height, you might have to purchase the extensions separately. Some bases even come with dual adjustment. That means that the frame’s length is split in the middle and the height can be adjusted separately for each side of the bed.

— Memory position

This feature will memorize your favorite sleeping position based on adjustments you have previously made. Not all adjustable beds have this feature but the ones that have it usually memorize up to four different positions and are later available with a single touch of a button.
Timed adjustment

It’s very common for people to shift between different sleeping positions throughout the night, which makes the timed adjustment features quite a valuable one. These bases are equipped with a timer that readjusts the positions of the bed after a preset amount of time has passed.

—  Zero-gravity preset

Image from Nest adjustable base

With this feature, the bed can simulate what is known as the zero-g condition: the bed creates an S-shape surface by elevating the foot area higher than the head area. Some people prefer this sleeping position because they have high blood pressure or lower back pain, and the zero-gravity position helps alleviate it.

—  Wall-hugging technology

When an adjustable bed moves, it is likely to create a gap between the bed and the wall. Thanks to wall-hugging technology, an adjustable base bed will lower your body when it inclines, leaving the distance between the wall and the bed the same as it was before the adjustment.

—  Anti-snoring system

Snoring is a common thing for people who sleep on their backs, especially for those with respiratory issues or sleep apnea. This problem is generally solved when the head is elevated, and a bed frame with an anti-snoring system can help with that. With a single push of a button, the frame slowly lifts its upper side, opening up the airways and preventing sleepers from snoring.

—  Built-in massage

Today’s modern adjustable base beds come with massage features that are specific to one area of the bed or extend to its entire surface. There are different massage features to choose from on a lot of models, such as the rippling wave effect. Depending on the frame chosen, some of them will allow you to choose the strength of the waves.

—  Silent alarm

One of the most annoying things to wake up to is that stressful alarm clock sound. Instead, an adjustable base bed can have a feature which is called a silent alarm and, instead of waking up to loud noises, you can wake up with gentle vibrations.

—  Plugs and ports

It is not uncommon for adjustable bases to come with USB ports or plug outlets that bring technology closer to you. While that’s not necessarily a good thing (we’re not going to start a debate on why you should avoid technology before bedtime), you might need to have a power source at hand, to charge your phone during the night or read a good book on your Kindle before going to bed. These plugs and ports will make sure that your mobile devices are connected to a power source.

—  Retention system

When you think about how a mattress and an adjustable base move around together, it makes sense to wonder if the mattress isn’t eventually going to slide off the surface of the bed. Retention systems can prevent that from happening. These are, in fact, mere bars that are typically located at the head and foot of the bed. Other models can have hooks that help keep the mattress in place no matter how many times the frame shifts positions.

—  Lighting

Having lighting under the bed is important if you tend to wake up during the night to take bathroom trips. This will make sure that you can reach for your sleepers instead of babbling in the dark, but it will also help you find your way to the light switch without tripping over any obstacles.

—  Remote control

Some adjustable base beds have buttons that are located on the frame and that allow you to change the settings, but it’s best if you opt for models that include at least one remote control. This way, you can have easy access to the features of the bed without even having to turn on the lights. Some models also have app connectivity, which means that you can use a free app to gain access to the features of the bed, and you can use your smartphone as a remote control for the frame.

Pros of Adjustable Beds

Talking about the pros and cons of adjustable beds seems a little bit unfair because there are so many features that these frames are equipped with, basically, every one of them can be considered an advantage to at least one category of sleepers. When talking about adjustable beds, you can think of the following pros:

• They can help reduce snoring. Since adjustable bases elevate the head area, they can adjust the position of the snorer to a point where airways are opened up and breathing is much smoother, preventing snoring altogether. This can usually be achieved with a single press of a button.
• They can offer power sources for your mobile devices. It is not uncommon for adjustable bed frames to come with a multitude of different USB ports and power plugs that allow you to keep your mobile devices nearby whilst always having a power source for them, just in case they need charging throughout the night.
• They can help relieve pain. That’s because adjusting your sleeping position also means that you get to adjust the amount of comfort and support that you feel throughout the night. Adjustable beds can help with problems such as scoliosis or fibromyalgia.

Cons of Adjustable Beds

Naturally, every product on the market comes with a series of downsides, even if some of them are circumstantial and may seem like downsides at all to some of you. The reason why some people dislike adjustable beds include:

• They are expensive. Of course, some sleepers are willing to pay the price and, for others, it may not seem that expensive at all. In general, an adjustable base bed costs between $1,000 and $3,000, with some models being cheaper or more expensive than that. The more features a bed has, the higher the cost will be.
• They tend to be noisy. This is another circumstantial downside and it’s mostly a negative thing for light sleepers. When the bed changes its position, it does so with motors that can tend to be quite noisy to some people. Also, the metal hinges that are used in the construction of the bed can be quite noisy too.

Bottom Line 

When you’re looking to invest in an adjustable bed base, there are multiple features available that you have to prioritize if you don’t want to end up spending thousands of dollars on such a product. As we told you earlier, the more features an adjustable base bed has, the more it’s going to cost, so you have to ask yourself what it is that you expect to get when investing in such a product.