Inclined Bed Therapy - Sleeping With The Head End Of The Bed Elevated

Iceman2016

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sorry i misunderstood the concept ^^ i thought it was only ment to raise your head. now it makes sense. but what is the theory behind it? sometimes when i dont feel very well i want to lay down flat on the floor and after a while it gets better. so i find my circulation improves when i lie down. when you incline the bed i think it would be harder for your heart to pump against the gravity?

I believe the advocates of IBT that OP has mentioned are suggesting that sleeping facilitates more ideal blood and lymphatic flow than lying flat due to how our circulation has evolved. I haven't read the science in a while and don't remember the details . Nonetheless, most of the people that I know who tried it used it to help acid reflux issues and breathing difficulties and they have felt benefits in those areas.
 
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x-ray peat

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4 day update: One downside I am finding is that my once resolved sciatica is starting to come back. This is surprising as I would think that the slight traction of the bed would open up the disks and relieve any pressure, not add to them. On the positive side I am breathing much better and don't have as much congestion as Burt mentioned above. Seems my sleep is deeper and I definitely feel better rested.
 

vulture

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4 day update: One downside I am finding is that my once resolved sciatica is starting to come back. This is surprising as I would think that the slight traction of the bed would open up the disks and relieve any pressure, not add to them. On the positive side I am breathing much better and don't have as much congestion as Burt mentioned above. Seems my sleep is deeper and I definitely feel better rested.
Nice. Keep logging please. I hope to start trying this soon, also. I have a few varicose vains along with varicocele
 

TripleOG

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Propped my bed up with old books and magazines. Head is about 5.5" higher than feet. Been three nights and I can't deny the positivies. Will be making a trip to home depot to make a more aesthetic fixture.

Few notes (for context, I'm hypothyroid):

-My intermittent reflux seems to have subsided greatly, regardless if I just ate or if I'm bloated. My voice always loses bass when reflux symptoms kick up, so this is very welcomed.

-I haven't had a pounding heart upon waking. I have random bouts of insomnia. If I go to bed early without being dog-tired it's almost certain I'm waking up at 3am with high adrenaline symptoms and would need a cup of salty OJ to have a chance to get back to sleep. While Peating has lessened these occurrences, it was still an issue. I haven't had a pounding heart since inclining the bed, regardless of how/when I wake up.

-I'm waking up warmer. IR ear temperature past three days has read 97.4-97.8F instead of the usual 96.9-97.1F.

- Jury is still out whether I have to give up stomach sleeping. On the other hand, back sleeping is much much more comfortable.
 

belcanto

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I got my husband to try this along with me for about a year; the blankets kept sliding down and we had to keep moving the top mattress up again, but it didn't do anything for some spider veins I was hoping to have disappear. :( I eventually go tired of it and we sleep level now.
 

Birdie

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I’ve been using an inclined bed for a couple of years. I sleep on my stomach and tape my mouth. I use small pillows to avoid back pain. Did a lot of reading before deciding to try it. First, I used books to get an inch or two of elevation. I’m using about 3 inches now.
 

Pompadour

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The idea to incline bed is interesting for GERD, but i don't understand its using for varicose veins. If someone has varicose veins/water retention/fatigue in legs, it is always better to elevate legs and not the upper body.
 

Dave Clark

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This is the guy that brought out more awareness of IBT, his name is Andrew Fletcher, he is from England:
 
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The idea to incline bed is interesting for GERD, but i don't understand its using for varicose veins. If someone has varicose veins/water retention/fatigue in legs, it is always better to elevate legs and not the upper body.
Its a bit counter-intuitive, but gravity actually helps circulation due to differences in blood density at the lungs vs the rest of the body. This is from Andrew Fletcher's web site Home - Inclined Bed Therapy IBT - Restore & Support Your Health

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appotis

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Inclined bed seems to move food more quickly. I guess this is something every peaterian wants to reduce endotoxin.

Bildschirmfoto 2018-04-23 um 20.28.52.png
 

Pompadour

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Its a bit counter-intuitive, but gravity actually helps circulation due to differences in blood density at the lungs vs the rest of the body
But experience shows that when legs are tired and swollen and if veins are swollen the inclined position (standing, sitting etc,) makes it worse and if we elevate legs - it helps. So i can't imagine why it could be different with inclined bed o_O
Maybe someone with circulation problems have already tried inclined bed and could share experience with it....
 
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But experience shows that when legs are tired and swollen and if veins are swollen the inclined position (standing, sitting etc,) makes it worse and if we elevate legs - it helps. So i can't imagine why it could be different with inclined bed o_O
Maybe someone with circulation problems have already tried inclined bed and could share experience with it....
I agree that lifting the legs drains the blood away but maybe that isnt the same as improving circulation. Could be you just end up with blood pooling at the abdomen and the heart still has to work as hard, if not more, to pump the blood around as if the person where lying flat.

According to IBT the heavier blood exiting the lungs will have an extra assist in flowing down the body because of gravity and the siphon effect will pull the lighter blood from the legs back up to the heart.

Fletcher claims that heart rates are decreased for people (or dogs) lying on an incline implying that the heart is being assisted with IBT and doesnt have to pump as much.
 
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had to lower my bed last night. Been having a dull ache in my balls for the last couple of days. Not sure what is going on. I dont have a varicocele and hope this doesnt create them. According to others online IBT cleared up their varicocele issues.

Saw that someone else had pain in the abdomen that was attribute to stretching of the ligaments. Not sure if this is related.

Plan is to try again in a couple of days but at maybe 3 inches for a while instead of jumping straight to 6.
 
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Sheila

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Good day,
What synchronicity. I have just bought one of those beds which inclines the head and the feet etc as required and so certainly will be adding my findings in the months ahead. Thank you for sharing the data you have found and even for asking RP! I have suggested to people with gerd to raise their bedhead for years and it has often worked well if raised slowly over time.
Given that we are all a bit set in our postures, changing our bed attitude too quickly has, i think, to be a way of finding where the weak points are, just as suddenly getting into some new kind of exercise or other, perhaps unintentionally, stressful activity will also. After all we sleep for 7+ hrs a night so that is a long time for the body to accommodate something new.
Well done x-ray peat for starting this thread off!
Best regards
Sheila
 
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vulture

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I agree that lifting the legs drains the blood away but maybe that isnt the same as improving circulation. Could be you just end up with blood pooling at the abdomen and the heart still has to work as hard, if not more, to pump the blood around as if the person where lying flat.

According to IBT the heavier blood exiting the lungs will have an extra assist in flowing down the body because of gravity and the siphon effect will pull the lighter blood from the legs back up to the heart.

Fletcher claims that heart rates are decreased for people (or dogs) lying on an incline implying that the heart is being assisted with IBT and doesnt have to pump as much.
Is there anything that suggets that animals tend to choose cushios or surface with certain inclination to rest?
If it's optimal to sleep that way, it should be seen across animals...
had to lower my bed last night. Been having a dull ache in my balls for the last couple of days. Not sure what is going on. I dont have a varicocele and hope this doesnt create them. According to others online IBT cleared up their varicocele issues.

Saw that someone else had pain in the abdomen that was attribute to stretching of the ligaments. Not sure if this is related.

Plan is to try again in a couple of days but at maybe 3 inches for a while instead of jumping straight to 6.
lol, can't wait to try it...I DO have varicocele
 
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x-ray peat

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Is there anything that suggets that animals tend to choose cushios or surface with certain inclination to rest?
If it's optimal to sleep that way, it should be seen across animals...
Fletcher has a bunch of pics of animals sleeping head up on hills. But it could be argued that it is safer to sleep that way, head higher to spot for predators.
 

Dolomite

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I bought a bed size foam wedge to put under my mattress and used it for a while but like @belcanto I have gone back to a flat surface. At the time I also got a wedge for my parents bed. We noticed my mother started to have swollen ankles that she had never had before. Her ankles were fine after we removed the wedge.

When I was young, about 21 yrs old, I was a counselor for a summer. I had read that sleeping with your head slightly lower than your feet was good. Since we were on uneven ground most nights I slept with my feet elevated slightly. I slept well and felt great that summer but like I said I was young, outside, and in the sun.
 
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x-ray peat

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I bought a bed size foam wedge to put under my mattress and used it for a while but like @belcanto I have gone back to a flat surface. At the time I also got a wedge for my parents bed. We noticed my mother started to have swollen ankles that she had never had before. Her ankles were fine after we removed the wedge.
thanks for the feedback. Did the wedge cover the whole length of the bed? or just the upper half?

I think Fletcher said that you have to get the angle to at least 5 degrees (typically a 6 inch raise) for it to work. Maybe the wedge angle wasn't big enough. or maybe IBT doesnt work for everyone.
 

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