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​My 4 Biggest Health Benefits of a Waterbed ~ Dean Karnazes is CEO (Chief Exercise Officer)

Jun 28th 2022

Water is the foundation of life. I’ve also discovered it’s the foundation of great sleep. The properties that give water its unique characteristics make it ideal as a bed surface. If you’ve ever floated on a raft you know how relaxing and tranquil it can be; sleeping on a waterbed feels the same. We came from the water and it’s almost as though we still belong there. On no other bed have I approached such serenity. The human body is sixty percent water and on a waterbed you become one. This might sound like crazy talk but every waterbed owner is nodding in agreement.

Yet beyond the zenesque qualities of sleeping on water, there are other health benefits worth pointing out. If you’ve always viewed a waterbed as just another bed option, this may have you thinking otherwise.

1) Thermoregulation – Water is a very effective conductor of heat, and that is a good thing when it comes to sleep. Water is able to absorb and dissipate a tremendous amount of heat, like that from the sun, or that given off by my body following an ultramarathon. But you don’t have to be an ultramarthoner to realize this benefit. Many people naturally sleep hot and traditional mattresses can only absorb so much heat. An Afloat Waterbed offers precise temperature control so you can stay cool during the sweltering summer heat and warm and cozy during the cooler winter months. Some mattress companies claim they are temperature regulating, but compared to water they’re all washed up. The Afloat Waterbed has a digital display thermostat; I have yet to see a foam mattress with a thermostat.

And regulating body temperature at night is not just important for comfort, it can play a critical role in healing and recovery, too. Writing in the journal Current Opinion in Physiology, researchers Edward Harding, Nicholas Franks and William Wisden note that keeping body temperatures within a narrow range at night allows the brain to release the chemicals that induce a deeper sleep. They also note that a lack of adequate body cooling at night can interfere with REM sleep, which is needed for the body to complete its nightly repair and restoration work. I think we’ve all felt the ill-effects of a poor night sleep. It’s no fun.

2) Comfort – If you’ve ever been swimming, and who hasn’t, you know how water naturally conforms to your body. It fills in all the gaps and supports your weight comfortably and without resistance. Try wrapping yourself in Tempur-Pedic foam and see how that feels! You get my drift (pun intended). Water is the most comfortable surface to sleep upon, devoid of those niggling pressure points you get when sleeping on a foam mattress or other manmade surfaces. And if you think this is just hyperbole, take a look at the heat map below of a person lying on four different surfaces: a hard floor, a $300 Futon, an expensive memory foam mattress and an Afloat waterbed. You can chart the reduction in pressure points as you switch from one surface to the next, with the Afloat waterbed demonstrating superior reduction of pressure points.

3) Alignment – If you look at the profile of someone sleeping on a traditional mattress, you’ll notice the unnatural curvature of the neck and spine. But on a waterbed this contortion is minimized. The shoulders and tailbone sink while naturally contouring the neck and lumbar area. Again, the unique properties of water work their magic. Water cannot be compressed; it simply contours to the pressure exerted and cradles rather than resists.

4) FUN! – Sleeping on a waterbed is just plain more joyous than sleeping on a traditional mattress. BW (before waterbed) I used to view sleep as a utility, something that had to get done. AW, I look forward to lying in bed! The natural undulations are soothing and I find myself gently rocking back-and-forth and flowing with the undercurrent. The Afloat Waterbed R&D team is hard at work on a waterbed accessory that creates a rhythmic wave motion in the bed. The app sync’s with music and you can play peaceful soundtracks of babbling brooks, or you can crank up the dial to increase the waterbed waves while blaring the Beach Boys, “Everybody’s gone surfing, surfing USA…” Okay, none of this is true, but I like the idea…

In conclusion, because you’ve been such a good sport and put up with me this entire story, I’m giving back. Be sure to follow me for extra savings on your Afloat waterbed. Afloat has a few waterbed options so be sure to review all of them and be sure to reach out to them if you have any questions. You can use the savings for the new Afloat wavemaker when it’s released, and a Beach Boys album ;-)

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Dean Karnazes is CEO (Chief Exercise Officer) of Afloat. He sleeps on a waterbed.

Phone(844) 423-5628 Phoneservice@hallflotation.com