An air mattress is no longer just a cheap blow-up bed for camping, but a luxurious and comfortable bed that can compete with the old box spring or foam mattress beds for quality and comfort. Air mattresses can be adjusted to your ideal firmness or softness, unlike beds of old.

According to the dictionary an air mattress is an inflatable mattress, usually made of some type of plastic material. After reading this definition it doesn’t make you want to rush out and purchase one. After all, who wants to sleep on a cold piece of plastic? But the air mattresses of today are so much more than a large rectangular plastic balloon. They even offers options not available to box spring or foam mattress owners.

A cheap air mattress can be deflated and rolled up and is ideal for camping trips. They can also be very handy to have around the house as a temporary place to sleep for extended family and guests. But when it comes to real luxury and real comfort the newer air mattresses of today have no peers.

Deluxe air bed mattresses are made for the home and are designed with one thing in mind, comfort. Sure, they may be made of plastic, but that cold plastic is covered with soft and luxurious fabrics that can help you realize the most relaxing night’s sleep in a very long time. Plus, they come in all regular sizes including twin, full, queen and king and will typically use the standard size sheets. No need to search high and low for bed sheets in hard-to-find sizes.

The more expensive ones have high quality pumps that come attached, allowing for easy and quick inflation or deflation. Pump them up by pushing a button and then deflate them by pushing another button. Adjust the firmness or softness with one finger. It couldn’t get any easier unless you had someone else push the button for you. And deflating them entirely can be done in a matter of seconds. It should be noted that not all brands and models have pumps. If you are strapped for cash you can certainly find a cheap one that must be inflated manually. These cheap brands can save you some money and give you more exercise than you want, both at the same time.

A top-of-the-line air mattress will contain additional features for comfort, luxury and ease-of-use. Some include separate hand-held firmness controls for each side of the bed. If one person likes it firm and the other prefers soft, both can be satisfied with separate firmness controls.

By simply pushing a button one sleeper can adjust their side of the air mattress to any level of desired firmness, from extra firm to soothingly soft, all without affecting the other sleeper’s comfort.

One of the more popular air bed mattress manufacturers is Select Comfort. They have Sleep Number Beds that use uniquely designed air chambers to provide a gentle cushion of support which can be easily adjusted to the sleeper’s preference for comfort and firmness. In addition, the Sleep Number bed allows couples to individually adjust their own side to the precise comfort level that they prefer.

If you enjoy having a pillow top on your mattress you will be happy to know that you can fit your deluxe air mattress with the same types of pillow tops, sheets, blankets, pillows and comforters that you have grown to love on your spring or foam bed.

The air mattress has all of the positive attributes that make sleeping relaxing and comfortable. But the air mattress has additional comfort features that cannot be found on other types of beds. If you are looking for luxury there is no need to look any further, the air mattress beds of today have everything necessary to ensure a good night’s sleep. Sleeping is something that you will start to enjoy again.

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The Author: Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson has compared all types of air mattress, box spring and foam beds. He loves the comfort of the air bed mattress more than any other. For more information about the air mattress visit http://www.myairmattress.com.

Many are still confused between the difference between an air mattress and an Air Mattress Bed. Air mattresses are great in a pinch but provide minimal comfort and support and are more for portable use rather than a permanent sleep system. Air Mattress Beds not only give you the feeling of sleeping on air, but with the right materials and construction, it can be a very comfortable and supportive, permanent sleep system. Air Mattress Beds also have the unique property of allowing different comfort levels for each partner’s side of the bed. Priceless!

The idea of sleeping on an air mattress bed was first used in hospitals. Patients who were bed-ridden for extended periods of time were able to rest more comfortably, with fewer pressure points and more even support, than on a regular coil spring hospital bed. It didn’t take long before the air mattress beds made their way into the consumer market, allowing the general public an opportunity to benefit from this exciting and revolutionary technology to achieve a better night’s sleep.

With air baffles or chambers in an air mattress bed being the primary method of support, each sleeper can adjust his or her side of the bed to whatever firmness level is most comfortable for them. Why toss and turn with an uncomfortable coils and springs mattress when, with the touch of a button, move into hundreds of relaxing positions. All without creating pressure, stress or strain on your body. Touch a button again and experience a new concept in comfort, while your own personal massage system helps to relieve tired, sore muscles, and reduce everyday tension and fatigue and encourage restful sleep through relaxation.

And with air mattress beds, flipping your mattress is a chore of the past. Over time, with coil and spring mattresses a body impression in the coils will appear if you do not flip your mattress regularly, leading to shorter mattress life. Although some of the comfort materials, like foam rails, ticking and any layered foam in an airbed can take an impression just like any soft material, the air chambers will not. All this leads to years of hassle-free operation and the comfort and convenience to boot.

What to Look For:

Most air mattress beds are constructed in a similar way, using the same basic components. The difference from one manufacturer’s product to another’s is in the design and sophistication of each of these components. The reliability, durability, and quality of these components, and how these components are designed to work together are what make the difference in a top quality product. In all cases, always be sure to check the warranty, good products are usually backed up with a 15-25 year warranty. If you see 3-10 year warranties, keep shopping!

- All air mattress beds use foam rails to surround the air chambers inside the mattress cover. These rails provide the exterior support of the air mattress, giving it its shape and providing the user with the ability to sit on the edge of the bed to put shoes on, etc. The foam rails are absolutely crucial in keeping the air mattress bed corners square and the sides straight and true. Most air mattress bed manufacturers use a straight piece of foam on the side rails, with the ends butting up against each other, this is less desirable as it relies heavily on the mattress cover to provide lateral support for the internal components. — Look for contoured foam rails with concave sides that form a connection and hold the air chambers in place, and actually work in conjunction with the air chambers to keep the mattress square and true. You won’t find any instability or bulging with this type of construction.

- Air mattress beds have air chambers or baffles filled with air to provide the main source of support. Most air mattress bed manufacturers use a one piece baffled air chamber system where the air is distributed throughout the air chamber. The problem with this system is that if you like your mattress soft, you can get a “hammock” effect where your hips are below your head and feet. If you like your mattress firm, you can get a “tenting” effect, where your hips are too high. Either scenario puts too much pressure on the back, doesn’t provide the spinal alignment you need for a restorative sleep and can cause those nagging aches and pains. — Look for dual air chambers, preferably horizontal. Vertical chambers running the length of the bed can still have a “hammock” affect. The preferred horizontally constructed chambers form more naturally to your body providing even and comfortable support while helping to keep your head, neck, and spine in alignment. High quality chambers use tough materials and have a lap seam construction and dialectically sealed for stress resistance.

- All air mattress beds come equipped with a pump to get air in and out of the air chambers. This pump and the handheld control allows you to adjust the firmness level on either side of the bed and “should” have the ability to act as a control system to make adjustments. And a few nice features always help. Many air bed pumps are not that well made and have a tendency to fail at the worst times. — Look for well constructed pumps that can do the job and don’t sound like a leaf blower. Commercial grade pumps designed to last for 15,000 hours of “continuous use”, will do the job but watch for the noise factor. A linear pump means firmness levels can be achieved with a touch of a button with virtually no noise. Allowing comfort levels to be adjusted without waking your partner. Also take a good look at the hand controls, make sure there’s two, one for each of you and look to see if there’s a preset memory function. This is a convenient way to always end up where you are most comfortable.

That’s the basics of the air mattress bed, but there are a few other items that the highest quality air mattress beds have. — Look for an extra layer of “quality” base foam to provide better support and shock absorbing capabilities. Also look for a layer of memory foam on top of the air chambers in the casing or as a pillow top. Finally, you want your air mattress bed to look and feel extremely luxurious and comfortable, most high quality air mattress beds are sewn with a premium Belgian Damask ticking and use a pressure relieving jump and tack stitching quilted to one ounce of Angel Hair.

Now that you’re armed with the knowledge to shop for an air mattress bed, don’t forget to put it in the lineup when it’s time to shop for that new mattress. It’s a must try!!

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Author: Neil Teasdale

His site: http://cloud9airmattressbeds.com/air_mattress_beds.html

Cloud 9 Air Mattress Beds offers the consumer the knowledge of how Air Mattress Beds, Adjustable Beds, Talalay Latex Beds, Memory Foam Beds are constructed and in what way these specific mattresses give you comfort and provide you with superior health benefits.

The secret to an air beds high comfort factor is its ability to spread the bodies weight and contact with the mattress in a more even fashion. Traditional mattress designs are more rigid and can force certain points of the body in contact with the mattress to absorb the entire weight of the body, creating concentrated pressure points that are uncomfortable and often out of natural alignment. Air beds have the ability to mold and shape to the contour of a sleeping body and were originally designed for hospitals and medical environments where higher levels of back support and reduced pressure points on the body were needed. Now this technology can be invited into your own bedroom to create a more comfortable sleeping environment.

An air bed is basically a mattress that contains air bladders instead of hard steel springs. Air beds can often also be adjusted to suit the particular support needs of partners that share a bed, as each side usually has individual air bladder controls that can be adjusted. The adjustable dual air support chambers can provide just the right amount of back support and firmness on one side of a bed without disturbing the other side. Sleeping on an air bed can also provide better spinal alignment through the night, giving you a very comfortable and restful sleep.

Several air beds are endorsed by the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations as good for people with back backs and back support problems. In addition, air beds can help people with allergies by reducing the available nesting ground for dust mites. The traditional coil mattress is usually the largest breeding and nesting ground of dust mites in a household and can contain as many as 5 million dust mites feeding on skin particles that have filtered into the inner mattress core. With an air bed mattress system you do not have this problem, which can help improve your breathing while asleep.

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The author S.A. Smith is a freelance writer, contributor, and editor of the Loft Beds Bunk Beds resource site.