Air adjustable beds
Larger, more elaborate air mattresses (“air beds”) have come on the market in recent years that are intended for guest use, or as permanent beds in the bedroom. Sizes range for temporary air beds range from twin to king, however few guest bed manufacturers offer king, as the majority of guest air beds are sold outside of the United States, where king size mattresses are not standard. Most permanent air beds can use conventional (standard) sheets and bedding, which are very easy to find, for purchase. California King or Western King sheets and bedding may be more difficult to find as this size was originally conceived for the waterbed industry.
Raised guest or temporary beds are typically raised off the ground to keep users away from the floor and offer a more traditional mattress experience. Though ‘raised’ air beds are off the ground they are not designed for full time use, as the base of the bed is an air chamber and not a solid foundation.
Air Adjustable Bed
Air mattresses as regular beds
Several companies currently produce adjustable firmness air mattresses. In 1981, Comfortaire began manufacturing and marketing air mattresses that looked conventional, but allowed users to adjust the firmness. Select Comfort patented a variant and began marketing them in 1987. Today, Select Comfort produces the Sleep Number bed which allows couples to independently adjust each side of the bed to their individual preference for comfort and firmness.
Adjustable air mattresses come in a variety of models from basic, no-frills ones that measure about 7″ in height, to high-profile, 15″ tall hybrids that contain several types of foam, pillow tops, and digital pumps with memory, for individual pressure settings.
Air bladder construction varies from a simple polyethylene bag to internally baffled, multiple chambers of latex (vulcanized rubber) with bonded cotton exteriors. Mattresses have a layer of foam above the air chambers for added cushioning. The air chambers, top and sidewall foam all sit inside a removable two piece cover that looks like the outside of a standard innerspring mattress. These high-end luxury Air Beds are also known as soft sided Air Beds.
Air mattresses for medical use
Medical versions of adjustable firmness mattresses have special control mechanisms. In 1990s, the industry began producing self-adjusting air beds that automatically change their pressure periodically, and/or inflate and deflate several air chambers alternately. The intention of these periodic changes is to reduce problems with decubitus ulcers (bed sores), though it is still a subject of research how effective this is.
