How to Raise or Lower Your Bed Height to Improve Safety and Accessibility
Today we are continuing our aging-in-place and home accessibility series with a discussion on bed height. This is one of the #1 modifications that I look at when working with clients in their homes. A recent study found that 56% of falls in seniors in an inpatient setting occurred while falling or sliding off the edge of the bed. Getting in and out of bed can become increasingly challenging for seniors, especially if the bed is too high or too low. If a bed is too high, there is an increased risk of falls off the side of the bed while getting in and out. If the bed height is too low, it can be hard to stand up from. There are some simple ways that you can adjust the height of your bed without needing to purchase a replacement. If you have questions about changing or modifying your bed, this is a great time to request a referral to an occupational therapist to complete a home assessment to give recommendations that are specific to your needs. The tips below are general guidelines:
*Disclaimer: This blog contains links to affiliate websites. When you click on and/or purchase any items using these links, we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Our use of affiliate links does not influence the products, services and information we share with you. My goal is to provide you with education to help you make informed decisions. These links allow me to reference the specific products that I have clinical experience using in the field.
Ideal Bed Height
Ideally, you should be able to sit on the edge of the bed with your feet FLAT on the floor. You don’t need to be sitting all the way back on the mattress, but you should be perched back far enough where you can pick your feet up without feeling that you would slide off the edge.
How to Change the Height of Your Bed
If You Need to Lower Your Bed: As we mentioned above, having a tall bed can make it easier to get of in the morning, but it does increase the risk of sliding off the edge while getting in and out. Lowering the height of the bed can make this task much easier and safer. You need to determine the ideal height of your bed before you start (this is where an occupational therapy evaluation can be very helpful!). This can be accomplished a few different ways.
Remove the box spring and replace it with a lower model. This is the simplest intervention in most cases. If your box spring is 12 inches, you can lower then bed height by reducing the height of the box spring. Here are some options:
Replace the box spring with a low-profile box spring. These box spring are only 4 inches high, which can lower your bed by a solid 8 inches.
Replace the box spring with slats. Slats are a series of boards that remove the need for the box spring altogether. The slats create a platform for the mattress to sit directly on. This will lower the bed by the entire height of the box spring. If you are not a huge fan of slats, you can also use something called a bunkie board, which is a flat, metal platform that will sit on your bed frame, as opposed to pieces of wood.
Replace the bed frame and/or box spring with a shorter platform bed frame. This is a pop-up, stand-alone platform that can be used with or without a box spring. Sometimes, these can even sit inside of your existing bed frame, if you like the look of the bed frame you own. Platform bed frames come at various heights (standard is 14 inches, but can vary between 10-18 inches), so you will need to look closely at the measurements.
If You Need to Make Your Bed Higher: As mentioned before, a bed that is too low can be hard to get up from. There are a few ways to increase your bed height:
Use bed risers. Figure out how much higher you want your bed to be, and choose a bed riser of the appropriate height.
Purchase a taller box spring. If bed risers are not compatible with your set-up you can replace your box spring with a taller model to increase the height.
Replace the bed frame with a taller model. Platform bed frames come in all heights (usually 10-18 inches) and can be used with or without a box spring.
If You Have an Adjustable Bed: If you own a bed that can raise or lower the head and feet, it can be more difficult to adjust the height of the bed. Some models have built-in risers that can be added or removed, but this should be handled by the company that delivered and set-up the bed. Changing out the box spring, using bed risers, or using a platform frame is not an option with these adjustable beds.
Should I Buy A Hospital Bed?
I get asked this question a lot. Just because you are having trouble getting in or out of bed, does not necessarily mean that you need to go buy a hospital bed. You can often improve your ability to get in and out of bed by using the modifications above. If you are in the market to purchase a new bed and feel that having an adjustable bed will be beneficial in the future, sometimes it can be a good idea to go ahead and purchase a hospital-style bed so that you don’t have to make changes in the future. When you purchase an adjustable bed, it is almost always helpful to purchase a model that allows you to adjust the head and feet AS WELL AS the bed height. Many models of standard adjustable beds (do not have controls for raising and lowering the bed height) are too high to start with and there are not many options for lowering the height, if that is needed. The market for hospital beds has improved dramatically over the years, and there are many models of hospital beds that function like hospital beds (head, foot and height adjustable) without looking like hospital beds. Here is a link to one of my most-used models for reference, but I always recommend purchasing larger items from a local vendor so that you have a local person to contact in the event that there needs to be a repair or an adjustment.
https://flexabed.com/
Does Medicare Pay for Hospital Beds?
Great question! The short answer to that is, yes, but there are specific qualifications that must be met in order for insurance to pay for the hospital bed. Please see our blog on “Does Medicare Pay for Hospital Beds?” for more detailed information (BLOG COMING SOON!). If you qualify, Medicare will pay for 80% of the cost of the hospital bed (a secondary insurance policy may cover the remaining 20%), but you do not get to choose the style or model of the bed. Medicare only covers semi-electric beds, which means that the head and feet can be controlled with a remote, but the bed height must be adjusted using a manual crank, which can be difficult for some to manage if you frequently need to adjust the height of your bed. Medicare will not pay for more modern models of hospital-style beds that you may see at a medical supply store or online. Again, check out our other blog post for more information.
I know we have mentioned this several times already, but if you have questions about improving the safety of your home or modifying your bed, this is a great time to ask your doctor for a referral to an occupational therapist who specializes in home safety to help guide you through the process and give you recommendations that are specific to your home and your needs. For more information, feel free to check out our other posts:
Does Medicare Pay for Hospital Beds? BLOG COMING SOON!
How to Improve the Safety and Accessibility of Your Living Room
If you are a caregiver who provides assistance for getting in and out of bed as well as other self-care tasks, also feel free to check out out caregiver resources below including our publication, “A Therapist’s Guide to Caregiving”, and our caregiver training video courses.
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3639136/#:~:text=Height%20of%20patient%20beds%20is,or%20back%20to%20the%20bed.
*This blog was created in collaboration with Masters of Occupational Therapy student Jamie Hunt with Pfeiffer University.
A Therapist’s Guide to Caregiving
The book includes 170 pages of full-color, step-by step instructions, to provide you with all the skills you need to provide safe, thorough, and compassionate care at home.
This is your comprehensive guide to giving you with the skills you need to provide safe, effective, and compassionate care to family members, friends or clients in the home. This course includes 6 hours of instructional video covering client basic adaptive equipment, functional mobility, lifting techniques, transfers, self-care skills, bed level care, use of client lifts and transfer devices, and managing falls. Click "Preview Caregiver Course" below to preview the lessons and descriptions.
