Sleep Number Bed

11 Feb 2016                                           -1-

We purchased a split king Sleep Number bed on an articulating frame in Columbia, MO, 21 Feb 2015. I was having acid reflux and back and leg pain problems. Margaret was struggling with the CPAP machine.

The remotes have a partner snore button that elevates the head a bit. That ended snoring and the use of the CPAP. Margaret’s Sleep Number has been set at 45 for several months.

My first Sleep IQ records from the Sleep Number bed indicated that the quality of sleep had nothing to do with a Sleep Number from 100 down to 30. We also had problems getting comparable readings with the BASIS wrist body monitor that our son gave me at our grandson's graduation. I did not take the Sleep IQ readings seriously. I was much more concerned over the new pain in neck, back, and hips.

Six Towel Layers and One Pillow

The final set of comparable readings started after a visit to the Sleep Number bed store (Chart 1). We set the bed frame up a bit at head and foot (one diameter of the spot on the remotes), Sleep Number 40, and a seed hull pillow (trial 1, blue trace).

Changes in the these three factors have an effect on the Sleep IQ value, and more important, on comfort and pain in neck, back, legs, and the little finger on each hand. I also was forced to sleep on my back to reduce pain.

An attempt was made to collect five readings from each trial. Trial 1 was not a good fit but not painful enough to prevent me from going back to sleep during the night. Trials 2 and 3 were better with my head elevated with two and four layers of a folded heavy bath towel under the seed hull pillow.

Trials 4 and 5 increased the Sleep Number from 40 to 45 and to 50 with worse results. (Previous work established that values below 40 were not good for pain and Sleep IQ values.)

Trial 6 was a return to Sleep Number 40 before exploring a higher pillow. It as interrupted by a move to Provision Living at Columbia (MO). Trial 7 continued Trial 6 two weeks after moving. Trials 3, 6, and 7 all have a Sleep Number of 40 and four towel layers under the seed hull pillow (square markers).

Trial 8 increased the number of towel layers to six and increased comfort. Trial 9 increased the number of towel layers to eight with decreased comfort.

Six Towel Layers and Two Pillows

Trial 10 returned to six towel layers with increased comfort in general. In fact, a sense of well being returned (I walked a mile). This trial has the least variation of all ten trials. Three of the five values are identical. Trials 8 and 10 have the same Sleep Numbers and number of towel layers (triangle markers).

(By adding a second seed hull pillow I can now sleep on my side again.)

My Sleep Number is 40, with the proper elevation of head and feet, and comfortable pillows for sleeping on my back and on my side.