18 PROS and CONS of Adjustable Beds
Everything under the sun has a bright side AND a dark side. Adjustable beds are no exception to this rule. While there’s plenty of awesome qualities about them, there are also a couple of noteworthy drawbacks that you need to be aware of before buying one. Let’s discuss all of them below.
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For your convenience, we have categorized our list as 10 PROS and 8 CONS of Adjustable Beds. Hope you find it useful.
Adjustable Beds – PROS (Adjustable Bed Benefits)
Before jumping on to the 10 Pros, here’s an adjustable bed review we received from an adjustable bed user on a particular brand of adjustable bed.
“… this xxx adjustable base has completely transformed how we use our bed. Before this bed came into our lives, I have never slept with my head elevated; but now that I have, I can breathe considerably better and my girlfriend says she has not seen me snoring since. We use it as a bed, as a couch and even as a lounger. It has helped my girlfriend with her heartburn and she too sleeps much better now. This xxx bed frame has given life and interaction to an ancient concept and we’ll never go back to a conventional bed..”
Anthony Hubert, WI
Since the above described benefits can be obtained from any brand of adjustable bed, we have blocked out the brand name.
| Feature | DM9000S | Nectar |
|---|---|---|
| Image |  |  |
| Rating | Overall Best Premium | Highest Quality Budget |
| 1. Approx. Price (Queen - Split-King) | Up to $900 off!! | $200-400 off Sale!! |
| 2. Warranty | Lifetime on metal frame; 10 years everything else | 3-year limited warranty |
| 3. Independent Pillow tilting | Yes | No |
| 4. Wall hugging | Yes | No |
| 5. Lumbar Support | Yes | No |
| 6. Furniture-style Decking | Yes | No |
| 7. Programmable memory positions | 3 | 3 |
| 8. Zero Gravity button | Yes | Yes |
| 9. Head and Foot Massage | Yes | Yes |
| 10. Massage Features | 3 speeds, pulse and wave modes, massage timer, and quiet motors | 3 speeds, massage timer, pulse and wave modes |
| 11. Remote features | 18-buttons, Wireless, Backlit, Built-in flashlight | 16-buttons, Wireless, Backlit |
| 12. USB Ports | 4 | 4 |
| 13. Height-adjustable Legs | Yes | Yes |
| 14. Micro-hooking mattress retention/ Non-skid surface | Yes | No |
| 15. Under-bed Lighting | Yes | No |
| 16. Storage-bed Compatibility (aka zero clearance) | Yes | No |
| 17. Bluetooth Speaker & Sub-woofer | Yes | No |
| 18. Smartphone / iOS or Android App control via Bluetooth | Yes | No |
| 19. Free-fall during power outages | Yes | Yes |
| 20. Weight-lifting capacity (including mattress weight) | 900 lb | 1000 lb |
| 21. White glove service and delivery option | Yes | No |
| 22. Money back | No | Yes, 50 days |
OK, here are the 10 benefits of adjustable beds as promised
1. Relief from pain
Users of adjustable beds consistently report relief from pain resulting from back problems, arthritis, neck problems, frozen shoulder, and cramping. People with spinal stenosis, osteoarthritis, and degenerative spondylolisthesis have found adjustable beds particularly beneficial. In addition, adjustable beds are also known to relieve people from insomnia, breathing/sinus/allergy problems , snoring, swollen legs, asthma, heartburn/acid reflux, heart/circulation problems, and restless leg syndrome (RLS). The beauty of adjustable beds is that you don’t need an expensive or advanced model to reap most of these health benefits. This is the best mid-range adjustable bed we can recommend in 2021 (best value for money adjustable bed frame).
2. More comfortable than conventional beds
Inclines of no more than 30 – 45 degrees (semi-Fowler’s position) are most popular. Best rated models nowadays have programmable memory positions as well. That way you can reach that favorite sweet spot with the touch of a single-button instead of having to long-press up and down buttons.
3. Convenience factor
Lets you sit-up in bed at any incline/angle you want (infinite number of ergonomic rest positions). This makes watching TV, playing video games, reading a newspaper/book, typing on a laptop, having breakfast in bed, nursing/breast feeding, and even jumping in and out of bed a whole lot more convenient compared to a conventional bed
4. High ‘intimacy factor’
We’ll not go into details here and let your imagination run riot
5. Independence
Move without disturbing your sleep partner. Especially with split-queen and split-king types of adjustable beds, one partner can raise/lower his/her bed independently of the other. Your favorite position may be 20 degrees elevated and his/her may be 12 degrees; no problem! You can have your own elevation without annoying your partner
6. Built-in massage
Even some entry-level adjustable beds come with a built-in massage feature nowadays. Higher-end ones come with advanced features like different modes of massaging, timers etc.
7. Low maintenance
No pumping air; no changing water, no greasing… just assemble and hop on…
8. Up to 25 years of limited warranty (full warranty generally <5 years)
The steel frame, upholstered parts, motor, mechanical components etc. etc. have different warranty periods
9. USB chargers for phones, tablets
Don’t make your purchasing decision based on the number of USB chargers, however, if you can get one without having to spend extra, it’s certainly worth it because you’re likely to use them on a daily basis
10. Lumbar Support
Certain models of adjustable beds like this one have something known as Lumbar support. As the name suggests, these beds have a separate bar jotting out to support your lumbar area; can be very helpful to those of you with lower back pain
“This is the best investment I did within the last decade. My wife has lower back problems and I’m told that I snore; I’m pretty sure I don’t 😉 . We ordered two twin XL’s for a split king; her back pains are gone just like my snoring. All this, with the same old steroids online spring-hybrid mattress we bought 6 years ago.”
Bob W
You can read about 15 Health & Lifestyle Benefits of adjustable beds here.
Adjustable Beds – CONS (Drawbacks)
Below we discuss 8 drawbacks of electric adjustable beds.
1. Your current mattresses may not work
This type of adjustable mattress works best with adjustable beds while certain other types don’t
2. More expensive than conventional beds
3. Time consuming
There isn’t a preset miracle position that is the perfect sweet spot for every person on planet earth. You’ll need to play with it a few days (or nights) to find those custom angles that soothe you (and your partner) the best. With these adjustable beds, the angles matter more than the size! In contrast, conventional beds are ‘plug and play’
4. Mechanical failures
Whenever there are motors/electronics involved, there’s always the possibility of them failing. TVs, radios, cars, KitchenAid mixers, air conditioners, you name it… all of above can have mechanical failures at some point. Adjustable beds are no exception. However, the popular consensus is that, if they fail, they fail within a short period of you starting to use it. Because most adjustable bed manufacturers provide at least 1 year of comprehensive warranty, those defective units that are bound to fail, will likely fail within the warranty period. So, even though adjustable beds are not fail-proof like conventional beds, you have little to worry about because of the warranties offered by their manufacturers.
5. A touch of danger
If you poke your hand between the bed foundation and the frame while it’s being lowered, potentially, your hand can get injured. This won’t happen with a conventional platform bed. However, many modern adjustable beds have built-in safety features to prevent your hands getting caught.
6. Heavy weight
Especially the high-end adjustable beds can be pretty heavy (over 100 pounds). This can be a problem during setup. Imagine your bedroom is upstairs and your delivery man leaves the bed on the curbside. You may need help to carry it upstairs and to twist and turn it until you get everything set up the way you want.
7. Aggravate back pain
If you buy the wrong adjustable bed, it can even aggravate your back pain! If you have seen the video above, you know how important wall hugging can be (video: 4:32 to 5:40 minutes). When the head is elevated on the typical ‘non-wall hugging’ adjustable bed, your whole body moves forward away from the headboard and away from the nightstand. So if you have to reach for something on the nightstand, you have to twist back awkwardly which can potentially give you back aches. This is why it’s important to be aware of what wall hugging is and to buy a bed with wall hugging if you use your nightstand often.
8. Making the bed
Most adjustable beds have mattress retainer bars; some have just one at the foot while others have as many as four on the four corners. These do a great job by preventing the mattress from slipping and holding it in place. Unfortunately, these mattress retainer bars can get in the way when you’re tucking the bed sheets under the mattress. This can bug you a tad bit; but I don’t know anyone that didn’t buy an adjustable bed because of these mattress retainer bars 🙂 Newer adjustable beds come with self-sticking microhooks or nano-beads that are supposed to ‘stick’ to the underside of the mattress, a bit like Velcro. But not all of them do a good job at holding the mattress in place. Their ‘stickiness’ also depends on the material on the mattress cover!
Rather surprised that this hasn’t been mentioned…but the mattress I use for the adjustable bed (when is in the flat position) has a large wrinkle across the bed, as a result of the bending of the mattress. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, how would one combat it?
I agree 100%. I have now bought two $3300 temperpedic beds and they get soft and dip after a year. We have two XL twins. My husband doesn’t adjust his and his is great after two years. I have no idea how to fix it but I am right there with you!
I have a king size adjustable bed. It has a single mattress but two frames. The frames are supposed to adjust together, but no longer do. One side is always higher than the other. Can this issue be fixed?
It’s cool that you mention that sleeping on an adjustable bed can help relieve back pain. I’ve been suffering from back pain for many years, so I’m considering buying an adjustable bed this month. I’m going to look for a reputable business in my area that can sell me an adjustable bed.
I have and adjustable queen bed and it raises head and foot but I wish I bought a split queen because I like to be up high for back support and I need my husband at a different height due to his snoring. I will say we’d probably have to do a split king because often in the queen, the fitted sheet pops off and at 3am I am trying to get the corners back on. With a king I could just buy twin sheetsto fit it I think
Ted, VERY simple fix. BUY 2 TWIN XL MATTRESSES! Why would you buy that combination in the first place? Do either that or buy a true king size (One piece), adjustable base! You are basically wasting a split king adjustable bed by having a non split- king mattress. It all comes down to preference, what’s more important? Sleeping side-by-side with your partner, or addressing the individual sleep needs of each of you. Not rocket science.
Hi James,
I have a solid wood sleigh bed. Aside from making sure the adjustable frame and mattress unit actually fits inside the headboard and foot (I already measured – it fits), is there an issue with the Bedframe (Foot and headboards) being independent from the mattress and adjustable frame?
Thanks
Frank
I am wondering if the Sapira model of Leesa brand mattress, 11 inch thick, Foam and coils will work with an adjustable king bed frame.
@Linda,
Thanks for the question!
Because these are independently wrapped coils, theoretically, the mattress can bend and flex more than a traditional innerspring mattress. But I canNOT recommend it as an adjustable mattress. It is not even recommended for side sleepers; side sleepers need relatively soft mattresses so that the shoulders and hips can sink into the mattress to keep the spinal cord straight. The fact that the Sapira 11″ isn’t recommended for side sleepers indicates how stiff it is and how unsuitable it is as an adjustable mattress.
The best adjustable mattresses are either latex or foam without any type of springs!!
Hope that helps!
Belinda
I have a queen adjustable bed. I can’t sleep toward the middle because I feel the support bar. Can I put something under my memory foam mattress so I don’t feel this
Hi Sheila,
Thank you for stopping by Bedroom Solutions. May I know how ‘thick’ your memory foam mattress is? If it’s like 8″ or less, this can happen. I don’t want to recommend placing ‘something’ under the mattress without seeing the exact mechanics. As long as you’re sure it doesn’t get caught up between the moving parts of the adjustable bed, you may do so. Whatever that is, it will have to be flexible as well, because it will have to flex with the bed, correct?
Instead I would have no reservation on placing a mattress topper on the current memory foam mattress. A 3″ topper should do the trick. But if I didn’t already have one at home, I would first try the option you propose before spending more money on a topper.
Hope that helps and do keep us updated.
Have a great weekend!
Belinda
Thanks for your suggestions. I may have been a bit fuzzy in my needs.
My bed does have an ‘elevation lift’ feature which I do use, but the problem persists, although even moreso when in ‘lounge’ position.
As for https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KXXTDLR/ , unless I’m missing something, that page has only the filler strips and straps to unify dual-mattresses on king and california-king size beds.
Your recommendation of the california-size bed is a very good one, one which would work if I had the space; at the moment my quarters will accommodate only a queen-size bed. And I still wonder what taller people do, the basketball players if you will. I would think the industry would have a solution for them, something longer than the california king.
(A while back I raised my query on – tallpaulstallmall.com – and – peoplelivingtall.com – .)
I’m keep looking and will report back.
Thanks, and Cheers, James Bullock
Hi James, thanks for the link to Tall Paul’s Tall Mall 🙂 I guess you got your idea of the ‘mattress support’ by looking at their ‘extend-a-bed’. At 5’6″, my brain never raised this question!! Thanks for opening my eyes and I too will be on the look out and will let you know should I stumble upon something.
All the best!
Belinda
Con: Bed is not long enough.
I do like my adjustable bed, but… Reflux, so I must sleep with upper body raised, so, sputter, but…
The proportions of my body – neck-head, trunk, hip-to-knee, and knee-down – are not quite those of my bed. Consequently, my feet are off the mattress. It’s not that I’m so tall (6′). It would be wonderful if there were some way to adjust the bed or compensate for proportions, some way to lengthen the bed.
With 4″x6″ L-brackets attached to a piece of 1/2″ plywood 6″ longer than the knee-down segment of my bed serving as a mattress-support, with the retainer-bar attached to the plywood…. “hanging” the Ls in the lowermost “knee-joint” space between the segments space in the bed, I’ve allowed my mattress to slip lower, to the end of the 6″ extension. This extra 6″ keeps my feet on the mattress, and I don’t at all miss the 6″ of mattress which would have been above my head – there’s enough mattress still there to support my head and neck. Not ideal, subject to daily rethinking, but a real improvement.
Which brings me to… I’m surprised there is nothing available to address this – “my” – problem. What do tall people do? There must be a huge market out there for extra-length adjustable beds, if only for basketball players.
Hi James,
Thanks for taking your time to comment on Bedroom Solutions. First let me congratulate you for coming up with a brilliant DIY fix to address your ‘problem’. Would you mind sharing pictures of what you have done? You can email them to us as I don’t think you can attach them here?
James, may I know what size your bed is? Did you know that the California King is 84″ tall/long? That is 7′, a whole foot taller than you. I have the feeling that a California King would solve your problem. Does the ‘proportions’ problem only come up when you’re on the ‘raised’ position? When the head section is raised, naturally, the body ‘slips’ down a bit due to gravity creating an unused 6-12″ above your head. But if you get an adjustable bed with ‘Elevation Lift’ which are the most recommended adjustable beds for acid reflux, you can tilt the whole bed up instead of having to flex it at the hips. With your current adjustable bed, I presume you have to sleep on your back all night long if you raise the head section, correct? Sleeping on your side, with the upper body raised almost cuts you in half, that’s not a comfortable posture, is it? With elevation lift, you can sleep in a raised position on back, side or stomach sleeping as well. Check out the multiple diagrams on the above resource to understand what elevation lift can do for you.
In conclusion, I feel like a California King size adjustable bed with ‘Elevation Lift’ can be your savior!
Just got ours. One side doesn’t work, called the manufacturer’s troubleshooting number who determined it’s defective and now we’re waiting 10 days for a technician to come. Question: there is a 4-5” gap between the two mattresses ( 2 twins to king) which isn’t conducive to cuddling. Any suggestions?
@Jean,
There is something called the bed bridge/mattress bridge which does the job for you. Here’s a link to a sample product: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KXXTDLR/. We haven’t tested these, please do due diligence before purchasing; we would love to hear what you find out.
4-5 inches seems like an awfully big space; I have a feeling that you haven’t assembled it correctly? If you want, we’d be happy to check out some photos if you could email them to us.
Cheers!
Belinda
They are good because they are more comfortable than conventional beds
Aw, this was an incredibly good review of pros and cons of the best adjustable brands out there. I really appreciate you spending the time to produce such a masterpiece!!
Thank you Lucas. That is very nice of you. Hope you were able to purchase a good electric bed of your choice.
Belinda
How do I keep my blankets on NY bed while sleeping with the head inclined?
So the motor on my adjustable bed is a little noisy, is there anything i can do to make it more quiet? like put foam over it?
@J S,
Thanks for the great question, but, no, I would not recommend putting foam over it (what if it gets caught in the moving parts or even catch fire if it heats up too much by any chance; I wouldn’t take a chance). What brand is it? The best option is to call the customer support of the manufacturer. A simple service of the motor may do the trick!
Hope that was helpful!
Belinda
My husband and I have been thinking about getting an adjustable bed and need to find the right one for us. Thank you for pointing out that these adjustable beds can make it more convenient to do things like eating and breastfeeding in bed. This seems like a great reason for us to look into finding the most suitable adjustable bed for us.
@Ellie,
Never had thought of using adjustable beds for breastfeeding! Thanks for the tip and good luck with your hunt for a bed that satisfies all your needs!
Belinda
A splendid description on adjustables. Any black friday deals?
Unfortunately, adjustable beds don’t go on sale on Black Friday as much as we would’ve ideally liked to! There were a few mattress deals, but none of the adjustable beds of the ‘best’ category went on sale 🙁
I find that a traditional night stand/chest is too far back when you are inclined. ie: reaching coffee/water, etc. Probably a chest with a pull out shelf would work. Anyone having this issue/solution?
@Rusty!
Spot on man! That’s why adjustable bed manufacturers have invented ‘wall hugging’. Basically, as the bed inclines, it also slides back towards the wall keeping you close to the nightstand. It ‘hugs’ the wall! Had you bought an adjustable bed with wall hugging, you wouldn’t have had this issue. What you suggested is absolutely correct. If your bed isn’t a wall hugger, you need a pull out shelf as you’ve suggested or if your nightstand doesn’t have that, just place it about a foot in front of the wall, and that too will provide some relief!
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Belinda
I like the fact that adjustable beds can actually ease a person’s comfort to prevent him from suffering from pains and injuries such as neck and back pains, cramps, and the like. My mother wakes up in the middle of the night almost everyday due to the immense pain that she’s experiencing from cramps. I noticed that her bed is too small and sturdy for her to move around. Good thing I came across your post because you gave me an idea of hiring an adjustable bed for her. A queen size will surely make a perfect fit for her so she can move freely while being able to adjust the ergonomics of it.
@ Elsa,
Hey, thank you for your comment. Can you hire an adjustable bed? Isn’t that wonderful? If you know a place to hire an adjustable bed, can you please post it here so that I can share it with the rest of our readers?
Cheers!
Belida
I do like how you mentioned that these adjustable beds have the ability to incline around 30° to 45° angle. That should solve the problem of me feeling that my bed is too low. Additionally, if I can adjust my bed the same way the cartoon guy does in his it would be even better as my wife isn’t a fan when I incline our pillows. Hopefully, I can get an adjustable bed that will ease this problem of mine. Thanks!
I liked that you explained the features to these different mattresses. The one that I’m sleeping on is really old, so I need to replace it. It seems like a memory foam mattress would be nice to have since it’s supposed to conform to my body. I hope that will help with my back problems.
I am interested in a double king size adjustable bed. I live in Villa Sol Subd, Angeles City. Do you deliver? Also need price range on such beds.
I was so glad to read that adjustable mattress are great for pain. This really attracted me because my husband has an extreme case of heartburn and acid reflux. I think this would be a great option to consider for him. Maybe this would help him at night to sleep a little bit better without having discomfort. Thank you for sharing this! I will be sure to bring this option to his attention!
@ Sarah,
Great to hear that you found it useful. In case of acid reflux, how adjustable beds work is really simple. In simple terms, you get heartburn when the acid (hydrochloric acid) from the stomach flows up to the esophagus. When you raise your upper body, the acid can’t no longer enter the esophagus against gravity –> no more heartburn!! The logic is really simple. Hope it really does help your husband. Keep us posted! You’ll find the same tip on webMD too
Cheers!
Belinda