by Air-beds, also known as inflatable air mattresses, use air as a means of support. They are very convenient to use as a regular bed, a temporary guest bed, or taken on backpacking and camping trips. Beyond their portability, we’ll discuss different air bed benefits in this article and help you determine whether an air bed would fit your needs.
Air beds have many benefits including pain relief, better body contouring, ease of maintenance, affordability, portability, durability, and comfort. An air bed with an adjustable inflation level allows the user to customize the firmness of the bed in order to treat pressure sores, improve blood circulation, and alleviate backaches.
Air mattresses are a convenient and flexible way to provide a comfortable space to sleep for surprise guests. Image Source: TheSpruce.com.Traditionally, What Are Air Mattresses Used For?
Air mattresses are inflatable mattresses that are typically made from vinyl, plastic, or rubber fabric. Unlike lying in sleeping bags and pads, you are elevated above the ground and you will not feel the hard surface under you when you sleep on top of an air mattress.
Because air mattresses allow for custom firmness and are easy to pack away and clean, they are an ideal choice for camping trips, and occasional bedding for guests or patients at home or at hospitals.
Camping
You can simply roll the air bed up from end to end, place it inside a bag, and you are ready to go camping. Unlike folding camp beds that need metal supports and hammocks which require ropes, you do not need to assemble anything to set up an air bed. You just have to unroll the bed in your intended space inside or outside the tent and inflate it. Choose a hard-wearing air mattress like this one to help protect the air mattress from damage and keep it from deflating in the middle of the night. Read our step-by-step article on how to inflate an air bed with or without a pump for unique ways to blow up your air mattress.
Camping air mattresses are extremely light and compact so that they can be compressed to fit inside a backpack, but also provide a comfortable cushion against the hard ground. Image Source: Amazon.Guest Bedrooms
An air mattress can provide adequate comfort and support for occasional use. It offers an extra sleeping area when occasional guests have to stay overnight. You can move an airbed wherever you want and easily inflate it for temporary use. After you finish using the air bed, you can deflate the mattress and store it somewhere out of sight to save floor space inside a room. This air mattress from Amazon comes with a handy storage bag to protect the air mattress from dust when not in use.
Hospital Beds
Air mattresses can be used for both hospital beds and home care. They are designed to alleviate pressure points, improve mobility, and facilitate rest and relaxation without causing any damage to the skin or back.
A hospital air mattress can also be used at home for post-operative patients to prevent and treat pressure wounds. Image Source: Amazon.Hotel Rooms
If your hotel room has only one or two beds, and you want to fit all your kids in the same room, use an air mattress that is lightweight to keep your costs at a minimum. An air mattress is easier to use in comparison to other heavy mattresses when the hotel room has enough space to accommodate an extra mattress.
Specially designed toddler safety air mattresses provide a comfortable and convenient place for children to sleep in hotel rooms. Image Source: Amazon.Also, be sure to check out our comprehensive guide to air mattress weight limits to make sure you’re using the right bed for your needs.
Are Air Beds Good For Health?
Air beds help patients suffering from conditions that affect their health and sleep get proper rest without causing back pain or skin abrasions. They are also an ideal option for people with restricted mobility and extensive injuries. Read our article on whether air beds are good for your back and how to choose the best one for your needs.
One major air bed benefit is that they are good for health because they offer the ability to precisely control the firmness or softness of the mattress. This makes air mattresses ideal for preventing and treating pressure sores, for alleviating back pain, and is the reason they are often used on hospital beds.
According to Avacare Medical Blog, air mattresses allow better blood circulation and pressure relief for the patient. Alternating pressure from one air cell to another within the mattress can help improve blood flow and protect patients from pressure sores.
According to MDPI, the ability to adjust the firmness of an air bed allows the patient’s body to move comfortably while promoting better body contouring. Unlike any other type of mattresses, an air bed can be inflated regularly to prevent deflation. The fact that you can adjust the firmness is a huge benefit for people who have back problems and other types of body or joint pains. Changing the amount of air inside the mattress to adjust the feel helps support the spine in all sleeping positions.
Benefits Of Air Mattresses For Pressure Sores
Air mattresses are commonly used to prevent bed sores. You can manually control the pressure of the air mattress using the accompanying air pump. Pressure can be increased or decreased in any section of the mattress to suit a patient’s personal needs, thereby ensuring there isn’t excessive pressure on any particular pressure point. Alternating pressure within the mattress can redistribute the patient’s body weight, making it less likely for the sleeper to develop bedsores. This medical air mattress has alternating pressure placement that assists with patient recovery both in the hospital and at home.
Air Mattress Hospital Bed Benefits
Air Mattresses can be used for both hospital and home care. They are primarily used to reduce the risk of developing pressure ulcers. They allow for better blood circulation, pressure relief, and a refreshing feel for the patient sleeping on it. To avoid skin deterioration in the patients due to low blood flow, medical air mattresses used in hospitals promote alternating pressure and low air loss therapy to stimulate blood circulation in the patient’s body, ensuring there isn’t excessive pressure on any particular pressure point. If you are looking for more information about making a hospital bed more comfortable then read our article on using a mattress topper on a hospital bed.
This hospital air mattress keeps patients comfortable and less susceptible to friction and skin abrasions. Image Source: Amazon.Using An Air Bed For Back Pain
A great air bed benefit is that they offer a flat, firm surface to ensure even weight distribution and a natural spine curvature regardless of your different sleeping positions. The best air mattresses that relieve back pain are designed with large numbers of vertical air chambers, like this King Koil air mattress. When you lie on the bed, the chambers with the most pressure exerted on them will sink more than the chambers with less pressure. This arrangement of air chambers allows your pressure points such as the hips and shoulders to sink in, maintaining the spine’s natural curvature and preventing back pain. Read our article on air beds vs. waterbeds for more information about this vertical coil technology inside the air mattress.
| A Condition You May Have | How An Air Mattress Can Help This Condition | Why A Traditional Mattress May Not Help This Condition |
| Pressure Sores | An air mattress allows for custom firmness, better blood circulation and pressure relief, ensuring there isn’t excessive pressure on any particular pressure point. | A traditional mattress sags and creates uneven weight distribution, which causes excessive pressure on pressure points. |
| Immobilization in a Hospital Bed | An air mattress allows the patient’s body to move by spreading out pressure. This allows patients to stay in bed for longer periods of time without feeling pain. | A traditional mattress causes discomfort and overheating for bed-bound patients. |
| Back Pain | An air mattress allows the pressure points like the hip bone and shoulder to sink into the mattress, limiting the amount of pressure on the back and spine. | A traditional mattress tends to sag quickly at pressure points, resulting in back pain. |
Air Bed Benefits — The Practical Advantages Of Air Beds
Apart from the medical benefits, there are also several other benefits of owning an air mattress as compared to other regular mattresses.
Some of the many practical benefits of air beds are that they are easy to move around, you can customize their firmness, they are durable and easy to clean, they are suitable for outdoor use, and that they are affordable and widely available.
Air beds have many advantages like being quick to set up and easy to deflate and storage. Image Source: Amazon.1. Easy to move around
An air mattress can be easily moved around because it is lightweight and made from smooth vinyl materials. It can be easily rolled and unrolled from end to end, inserted in a bag, and moved to any desired location without any strenuous effort.
2. Easily customize firmness
An air mattress allows for custom firmness based on your preference. This can be done by adjusting the air inside the mattress. Simply add more air in the mattress if it feels too soft and let out air if it is too hard for you. A great air bed should support your spine no matter what firmness you choose and you should not be sinking in the middle. This self-inflating air mattress from Amazon will ensure your mattress stays firm all night so that you enjoy restful sleep.
3. Durable and easy to clean
Air mattresses are made from sturdy vinyl, plastic, or rubber materials, which are durable and easy to clean. Unlike innerspring, latex, and foam, an air mattress remains intact for as long as possible, since it can be inflated regularly to prevent sagging and deflation. Furthermore, due to the PVC material construction, cleaning an air bed is pretty easy. Simply wash it with water and mild soap and store it away.
4. Affordable
Air mattresses are generally affordable. For example, a twin air mattress can be purchased for as little as $30 online, whereas a twin memory foam mattress can easily cost $300 for a decent quality one. Consult our memory foam mattress shopping guide for comparative prices on various types of mattresses.
5. Suitable for Outdoors
Air mattresses can be taken along for camping trips or simply to sleep out in the garden. You don’t need to assemble anything to set up an air bed. Simply unroll it, inflate it with a pump or press the self-inflate button, and wait for it to fill up.
Air mattresses are great for using outdoors to create a backyard movie night. Image Source: Pinterest.6. Widely Available
Air mattresses can be easily purchased from most retailers and can also be bought online without fear of low quality or ineffectiveness.
| Air Mattresses | Traditional Mattresses | |
| Mobility | Easy to move around. | Can be difficult to move. |
| Customizable Firmness | Firmness can be adjusted. | The firmness can not be customized. |
| Durability | Retain their shape because they get inflated regularly. | Tend to sag and wear out over time. |
| Affordability | Average price is around $200. | Average price is above $300. |
| Outdoors | Can be packed and moved outside because of their PVC construction and light weights. | Are heavy and prone to tears. |
| Availability | Widely available. | Can be customized and ordered ahead of time. |
Can You Use An Air Bed Every Day?
The fact that air beds are medically prescribed by doctors well raises the question of whether it is a good idea to use them every day, especially if you have not been prescribed one.
Typically, air beds are designed for temporary use. However, high quality air beds can be used every day. To ensure that the air bed remains durable, keep pets away from the bed, readjust the inflation level regularly, use good quality bedding, clean the mattress regularly, and buy the air mattress from a reputable retailer.
Using an air bed every day means that you will need to regularly readjust the inflation level and check your air mattress for any wear and tear. Image Source: TheTelegraph.co.uk.Pros Of Using An Air Bed Daily
Air beds are inflatable and adjustable to suit different needs and preferences. They offer a flat, firm sleeping surface to ensure an even weight distribution and proper comfort and support. They also provide adjustable firmness, which helps minimize pressure on the back. They allow the pressure points like the hip bone and shoulder to sink into the mattress, limiting the amount of pressure on the back and spine.
Cons Of Using An Air Bed Daily
Air beds can transfer motions across the entire sleeping surface, which can be uncomfortable if you are sharing the bed with someone else. Furthermore, some air beds tend to sag quickly if they aren’t continuously inflated, resulting in back pain. To reduce motion transfer when sharing the air bed with a partner, choose an air mattress like this one because it has multiple individual air coils that provide comfortable support for couples.
You might also find interest in troubleshooting what to do if your air bed keeps losing air or deflates overnight as well as our step-by-step guide on how to fix an air bed leak. Make sure to check out those related articles to find out.
Tips For Using An Air Bed Every Day
Tip 1. Keep Pets Away
If you have pets in your home, then you will need to keep them away from the air mattress so that they won’t puncture it with their claws.
Tip 2. Readjust Air Levels Each Night
In order to prevent any air from accidentally leaking out and changing the firmness level of the mattress, it is always a good idea to check the air level every night and to adjust it accordingly. Air beds gradually lose air over time, but if your air bed is deflating too quickly then it may have a leak that needs to be repaired or it may need to have an air valve replacement. Read our guide to air bed valve replacement so that you don’t have to replace your air bed.
Tip 3. Use Good Bedding
If you are using bedding on top of the mattress, use the kind that is breathable and easy to fit over the mattress. We always recommend using good quality bedding because it encourages a comfortable and restful sleeping experience, and it protects the surface of the bed. This pure cotton full bedding set is soft and breathable.
Tip 4. Clean the Mattress Frequently
Cleaning air mattresses is pretty easy. Simply wash it with water and mild soap once in a while to remove the dirt, especially when you come back from camping trips. Simply use a fabric cleaner like this one with a microfiber cloth to give your air bed a quick wipe.
Tip 5. Buy from Reliable Retailers
Get your mattress from a reliable retailer to ensure good quality products and receive professional advice on how to maintain the mattress.
When an air bed is used a lot, you might find that it doesn’t stay inflated as long as it used to. Make sure to check out our guide to air bed valve replacement to find out how you can replace the valve and keep using your air bed for years to come.
Key Takeaways
Comfort and Customization
Air beds provide a level of comfort by allowing users to adjust the firmness according to their preference, which is particularly beneficial in alleviating back pain and promoting better sleep. The ability to customize firmness can also aid in preventing and treating pressure sores, making air beds a suitable choice for medical settings or for individuals with specific health conditions.
Portability and Convenience
One of the primary advantages of air beds is their portability. They can be easily deflated, folded, and transported, making them an ideal choice for camping trips or temporary bedding solutions for guests. Their lightweight and compact nature once deflated allows for hassle-free storage and mobility.
Affordability and Availability
Air beds are generally more affordable compared to traditional mattresses. Their wide availability both in physical stores and online platforms make them a convenient and cost-effective choice for many individuals. The lower price point does not compromise the functionality and comfort they provide, especially for short-term use.
Health Benefits
Air beds offer significant health benefits, especially for individuals with back problems, joint pains, or those recovering from surgeries. The ability to adjust firmness helps in maintaining a neutral spine alignment, promoting better blood circulation, and reducing pressure on sore spots. These benefits extend to hospital settings where air beds can significantly improve the comfort and well-being of bedridden patients.
Durability and Ease of Maintenance
Made from durable materials like vinyl, plastic, or rubber, air beds are easy to clean and maintain. They retain their shape well over time, provided they are inflated regularly to prevent sagging. The ease of cleaning and maintenance, along with their durability, makes air beds a practical choice for both indoor and outdoor use.
Everyday Usage
While traditionally designed for temporary use, high-quality air beds can be utilized daily with proper care. Regularly adjusting the air levels, using good quality bedding, and following recommended cleaning procedures can extend the lifespan of an air bed, making it a viable everyday sleeping solution.