In the past several years adjustable bed popularity has sky-rocketed due to the incredible versatility to fulfill the needs of people with health conditions, as well as the working population who find themselves fulfilling their professional responsibilities in locations other than the workplace. Not to mention the outstanding medical benefits that adjustable beds have continued to offer for many decades. The adjustable bed, also known as an adjustable base, has become a staple in the country's shift to focus on healthy sleep habits, patterns, and a health-conscious way of life. With many apparent benefits surrounding adjustable beds, it is still wise to contemplate the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing and owning an adjustable bed frame.
What is An Adjustable Bed and Why Are They Gaining So Much Popularity?
Any product on the market today will entertain its specific features and benefits. But many forget to contemplate both the pros and cons when investing in a product that can significantly impact our mood, overall health, and sleep quality. First off, an adjustable base immediately adds functionality to your mattress. It also serves as the structured foundation to help retain your mattress's longevity. By offering the ability to raise and lower the head and feet to fill in the ergonomic curves of the body, the adjustable base is a universal and technologically advanced piece of bedroom furniture. Adjustable beds are known to occupy a variety of benefits known to the medical community. However, large-scale world events have sparked a trend of impressive Smart products for working remotely to add leisure, convenience, and entertainment value to the home or bedroom.
These Smart bed products, like Bed Tech adjustable beds, offer an array of functionality to customize individual comfort, including your work and bedtime routine. Adjustable beds are suitable for all ages, shapes, and sizes. They are an undeniably universal product benefiting just about anyone who uses them. With the ‘new normal’ of working from home still prevalent years later, health experts continue to advise against working, or sleeping, while sitting on any flat unsupportive surface. Sitting for extended amounts of time has historically contributed to bad posture and ‘compression of the discs.’ Improper posture can leave your back and body feeling stiff, sore, and immobile from the lack of support to the natural curvature of your spine. It makes even more sense now why medical research claims that sitting is the new smoking. Upgrading to a Bed Tech 3000 adjustable base to incline your head and feet is a worthwhile solution to help you work more comfortably, live a health-conscious life, and sleep better.
Adjustable Bed Popularity Fueled by a New Way of Life
During the times of recommended social distancing, research spelled out that 75% of people reported using their bedroom, including their bed, as a workstation. With new ways of life in place, the pandemic shook the world of what we knew as social normalcy while interacting outside of our homes. It has forever changed the way we work, dine, and grocery shop to the tune of a new digital era.
In a study conducted during the pandemic, research reported that 1 out of 10 people spent ‘most or all of their workweek’ (24-40 hours) using their bed as their workspace. And this particular ‘way of life,’ we now call 'working remotely,' has stimulated the mass popularity for home goods and smart devices that help to inspire simplified, healthy, and convenient living.
Even still today, adjustable beds help make it easier to successfully work from home, complete daily tasks, and relieve aches or pains. At the same time, an adjustable bed does what it does best by helping you sleep better too.
Downsides to Purchasing an Adjustable Bed
If you’ve tossed and turned through one or more sleepless nights, have chronic back pain, or just have trouble sleeping, you can benefit from the personalization of an adjustable bed. But, with the clearly indicated superabundance of moveable base advantages, many skeptics are left to wonder about the downsides of owning and purchasing an adjustable bed.
Cost
An adjustable bed is more often than not more of an investment compared to your traditional box spring or basic platform foundation. Adjustable bases, also known as power foundations, utilize impressive mechanics and technology, like the Bed Tech App, that will often drive up the cost. State-of-the-art adjustable bases fully loaded with all the features, like the Bed Tech 6500, often become more of an investment because of the built-in features. But the good news is that adjustable bases should last two to three times as long as your mattress, and come backed by Bed Techs warranty service guarantee.
Maintenance Costs
Because there is a limited warranty associated with your Bed Tech adjustable base, it is optional to extend the lifetime of the base by maintaining the parts and motors. Unlike most traditional wooden or Hollywood frames with parts irreplaceable, with your limited warranty, you can repair or replace parts as needed. Some costs can be associated with exercising your adjustable base warranty. But, if necessary, this is done through the manufacturer and helps you avoid reinvesting in an entirely new adjustable base.
The good news for consumers is that the maintenance cost should never be more than replacing the entire unit itself. Bed Tech is proud to offer their adjustable base helpline to help you troubleshoot your base, along with their customer-oriented limited warranties of up to 20 years. Bed Tech sets the standard for industry-best adjustable bed coverage.
Disadvantages of Owning an Adjustable Bed
When it comes to an adjustable bed, the perks are seemingly abundant, with most only eager for more technically advanced features across all of our devices. But by now we all know that adjustable bases are heavily advertised as beneficial to our journey to better health and wellness. However many companies fail to take notice of the drawbacks that go hand in hand with using different products, like adjustable beds. Over the years, as adjustable beds have gained so much popularity, a few minor disadvantages have become apparent as well.
Heavy
An adjustable bed base easily weighs anywhere from about 100-200 pounds. So, it can be a hassle when attempting to move the base from one location to another.
Hard to Move
Because adjustable bases are heavy, they are also often more difficult to move, compared to a traditional box spring, foundation, or panel bed that can be broken down into smaller pieces to make it easier to move. An adjustable base cannot be scooted or rolled across the floor. With that being said, if your adjustable base only needs to be moved a short distance, and you prefer to keep the base fully assembled, a team lift of at least two people will be required to reposition it and avoid any damage.
On the flip side of being hard to move, with Bed Tech's new folding design, it is possible to move it by yourself. Though it isn't recommended, if you don’t happen to have extra hands to assist you, you can simply remove the legs by unscrewing them, and then fold the base in half to make it much easier to maneuver on your own.
Potential Noise
Adjustable bed frames, also known as adjustable bases, plug into your wall outlet and use less energy than it does to charge up your cell phone battery. An adjustable base will also make a few more ‘mechanical sounds’ versus a modern flat foundation or box spring. For example, when using the massage vibrations are turned on adjustable beds, there will be a faint vibrating sound that comes from underneath the base, as well as it is moving up or down. Not to worry, the sounds and vibrations are subtle. These operational sounds are nothing too extreme or bothersome for you to enjoy soothing massage vibrations to help relieve stress, pain, or tension.
Hard to clean
Because adjustable beds are heavy and can be difficult to move, they can also be tricky to clean underneath the base itself. Dust bunnies can collect on the floor beneath the adjustable base and on the adjustable base frame itself.
Pro tip:
Elevate your adjustable base with the head and foot to its fully ‘upright position.’ Max elevating your base will provide extended clearance for vacuuming, and easy access to the mattress corners for changing the bed sheets. Totally elevating the adjustable base will also allow easier access to the steel framing for cleaning purposes.
Not Compatible With All Mattresses
Most modern mattresses are designed to be ‘adjustable base friendly,’ however, just because you bought your mattress semi-recently, doesn't mean that it will work with an adjustable base. All Bed Tech mattresses are built to adjust, but that simply doesn’t mean that your current existing mattress is built to withstand the maneuverability that your adjustable base provides. For utmost longevity, you will want to ensure that the mattress you use is adjustable base compatible, free of border wires or old-school technology that will prevent the mattress from laying flat again after being lifted or bent.
Not Aesthetically Customizable Without Furniture
An adjustable bed frame offers personalized positioning and functionality that can be useful to just about anyone who likes being comfortable. Though its versatility is unmatched by any other bed base on the market, the look of the base is not as customizable as some may expect. The look and fabric of the adjustable base are fixed features. Fabrics are not a customizable option without adding a piece of furniture. If you decide to add some personal flair to your adjustable base, a panel bed frame or bed skirt surrounding it will change the look overall.
The good news is that your adjustable bed is compatible with furniture. A headboard can be attached to the framework with the appropriate brackets or can be mounted to the wall for safety. You may also consider a panel bed frame with a headboard and footboard that can surround, or hide, your adjustable base and easily add to your unique style. Adjustable beds are more pleasing to the eye than a metal frame and box spring, but one apparent drawback is that they are not aesthetically customizable without adding a bed skirt or piece of furniture, like a panel bed frame, to cover up the adjustable base if you prefer not to see it.
Adjustable Beds Have Become Customary in Society
So, it’s no wonder why an adjustable bed with seemingly endless functionality, is gaining such popularity amongst every generation. An adjustable bed can help to provide inclined bed therapy, by helping decrease symptoms of conditions like sleep apnea or acid reflux. An adjustable bed can also assist just about anyone with circulation issues, chronic pain, and sleep disorders like insomnia. Adjustable beds can even help those without medical issues to simply lounge more comfortably in bed, promote relaxation, or sit while working at home in a more ergonomic position for the back and body.
Adjustable beds, like the Bed Tech 3000, have been revealed as an excellent addition for people working remotely by helping personalize your position for optimal comfort and spinal alignment. An adjustable base can easily lift your head or feet to a better angle to support the back, neck, and shoulders in an upright position.
The adjustable bed's strong steel framework has incredible durability and is highly recommended for just about anyone, including anyone with sleep issues, like snoring or chronic pain that can disrupt sleep and leave you in sleep debt. The adjustable bed's advantages most certainly outweigh the disadvantages, making it an excellent investment that is designed to help you sleep and live better, and last for many years to come.
Should I Invest In An Adjustable Bed?
So if you're asking yourself whether or not you should buy an adjustable bed, consider that adjustable bases are, simply put, not a fad. If you think back and remember when everyone had-to-have a waterbed. Since then they have slowly lost popularity, and today waterbeds have been phased out of the industry almost entirely. Waterbeds had very few gains to consider, and an even longer list of inconveniences, making them a fleeting trend with too many downsides to remain popular in society. That is just not the case with the adjustable base.
Because of the little downside and copious benefits for people of all ages, adjustable beds are certainly not a ‘one-hit-wonder’ and frankly never will be. During the times pre and post-pandemic, the adjustable bed has become and continues to be a beneficially trendy buy for millennials, Gen Z’ers, Baby Boomers, and all hard workers alike.