Importance of Choosing an Adjustable Bed for Seniors

As the body ages, it undergoes dramatic changes, including decreased bone density, lessened muscle strength, and lowered oxygen levels. Some of these changes cause great inconvenience to seniors, disrupting their ability to perform their day-to-day activities and reducing their overall quality of life.

Health benefits of an adjustable bed

While it is impossible to stop these bodily changes, there are ways to alleviate the symptoms that come with old age. One of these is the use of an adjustable hospital bed that can provide seniors with plenty of health benefits.

From offering pain relief to improving blood circulation, here is a brief guide elaborating on the importance of choosing an adjustable bed for seniors.

Alleviates chronic pain symptoms

Many seniors complain about severe back pain due to osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, or the degeneration of joints in the lumbar spine. That’s why they often stack pillows under the head, feet, or hips for support.

However, this is wrong because this way they are more susceptible to shifting throughout the night from one position to another, causing even greater pain and soreness.

An effective way to alleviate such pain symptoms is to use an adjustable bed which will allow them to keep their head and feet elevated properly, relieving significant pressure from the lower back.

In addition, this bed can also help promote better posture and reduce the strain exerted on the hips and the shoulders.

Prevents acid reflux

If your loved one has problems with acid reflux, they shouldn’t lie on their stomachs because the acid can easily pool in and cause the food to block from moving through the esophagus.

That’s why many people use pillows to help raise their heads and prevent acid reflux. But, if the person is a restless sleeper, the pillow can easily slip or slide, causing more harm than good.

Instead, using an adjustable bed is a better option because the bed can be raised to a position that will not allow the acid to travel to the esophagus.

Experts also recommend that you elevate the entire mattress to ensure that you don’t suffer from additional acid-reflux-related breathing problems in the middle of the night.

Improves blood circulation

Another common bodily change seniors experience when they age is poor blood circulation. This is due to several factors including becoming more sedentary, thickening of the aorta, and decreased sensitivity in the baroreceptors.

They may also suffer from atherosclerosis which is one of the most common causes of poor blood circulation.

An adjustable bed can also help prevent this health issue by elevating the feet and back to improve blood circulation, and even recover from the mobility issues they may be experiencing.

For optimal results, position your bed so that the lower half is higher than the heart. This will help you reduce stress and anxiety.

Reduces the severity of snoring

One of the main reasons why people snore at night, especially the elderly, is because their windpipe has closed due to the neck’s weight.

When this happens, air cannot travel easily through the windpipe to the lungs, causing sleepers to produce an unpleasant sound like snoring that indicates breathing difficulties.

Using an adjustable bed can help reduce the severity of snoring by preventing the neck’s weight from putting pressure on the trachea. This will help seniors stop snoring and allow them and their partners to get a good night’s sleep.

Offers greater comfort

Probably the greatest benefit of using an adjustable bed is increased comfort. The comfort arises due to the ability to customize a sleeping position that best suits the individual and provides them with the relief they are looking for.

The bed can be set at a certain incline, most commonly between 30 and 45 degrees, which is more comfortable than lying flat.

Besides comfort, adjustable beds also offer independence which is very important for most seniors. They want to be able to move around the bed easily without depending on a family member to help them find a suitable position.

Wrap-Up

Seniors need to consider acquiring an adjustable bed. This type of bed model offers plenty of benefits, all of which will ensure you enjoy quality, uninterrupted and pain-free sleep at night.

If you want to know more about adjustable beds, refer to our post and learn the importance of choosing this model to improve the quality of life of an elderly person.

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