This article was written and fact checked by the team at No Bull Mattress & More.
If you wake up sore in the morning or tired, you probably mention it to your friends or coworkers. Everyone has a little advice or way to help you sleep better at night.
You may have heard someone mention the idea of a zero-gravity bed position. Of course, you’ve never heard of this and wonder if it might help you get a better night’s sleep.
Take it from your favorite astronaut – developing the zero gravity sleep position is one of the best things NASA has done for humanity since, well… at least since the memory foam mattress.
Find out how you can benefit from a zero-gravity adjustable bed and where you can get this spectacular piece of technology in this guide to zero gravity.
Fair warning – this guide will NOT teach you how to walk on the moon (or moonwalk for that matter.)
You’ve known about gravity since you were in elementary school and learned about the guy who got hit in the head with an apple. Gravity is what keeps on the earth. Of course, this constant pull on your bones and joints causes your body to age and become achy in all the wrong places.
A true state of zero gravity means the state of weightlessness experienced during a change in gravitational fields. As a space shuttle travels and changes speed in its orbit of the Earth, its centrifugal force balances the Earth’s gravitational pull – an absolute necessity to remain in orbit instead of getting drawn back towards the Earth. The result? The weightless state astronauts know as zero gravity.
While astronauts experience zero gravity while in space, during the actual liftoff and exit from the Earth’s atmosphere, they’re subjected to ridiculous amounts of gravitational force. In fact, they experience as many as 3 Gs on their way into the great beyond – that’s three times what you and I experience in our beds at home. This pressure can be harmful to the body, and it’s why NASA developed a neutral body posture known as the zero gravity position designed to provide maximum comfort for astronauts during these stressful periods.
We’re getting to that. As with most of NASA’s best technology, other companies began to think of how we everyday humans could benefit. Soon, manufacturers realized that many of us experience the more unfortunate side effects of gravity in the form of painful pressure points throughout the body, and could benefit from the same positioning NASA astronauts used on liftoff.
While most people can’t reach zero gravity, you can sleep in a zero-gravity position. This helps to remove the stress and pressure on your body while you sleep.
The zero gravity position was originally created to help astronauts heading into space. Needless to say, it adds a lot of stress to the body to rocket into space, so NASA created the zero gravity position for astronauts to assume for liftoff. This position helps to minimize the pressure that astronauts feel on their spine during lift off.
To truly assume the zero gravity position you have to make sure your:
Not easy to do in a traditional bed, unless you’re a throw pillow collector – and even then, pillows are bound to shift at night just as you do.
Instead, the geniuses behind the first adjustable bed base realized that the bed itself must support the zero gravity position and right they were. Once the entire body is relaxed and conforms to a high-quality zero gravity mattress… that’s when the magic truly happens.
OK, maybe it’s not really magic – after all, we did just spend time explaining the science behind it all. However, doctors, sleep experts, and customers alike have been bragging on the benefits of zero gravity sleep since NASA first came up with the idea – and at least some of them might just be magicians. Regardless, as it turns out, the health benefits truly do seem a bit magical.
Here are a few things to consider:
According to NPR, around 60 million Americans are affected by insomnia each year. While sleeping in a zero-gravity position isn’t guaranteed to solve insomnia, it can help you relax more effectively. You remove pressure on your joints and muscles in this position and places your spine in a comfortable position. With the stress taken off your body, you’ll find that you sleep more deeply than you did lying flat.
When you lie on a traditional mattress, there are gaps between your body and the mattress in places. The places that do touch the mattress absorb the stress of the places that aren’t touching. This can leave you with a crick in your neck and unexplained back pain in the morning.
When you sleep in the zero-gravity position, the weight of your body is more evenly spread out. Also, your spine is in a stress-free position. This helps you relax and also keeps you from waking up achy in the morning. Who doesn’t like waking up without aches and pains?
If you snore or you have a partner that snores, you know what a problem it can be even if it isn’t associated with sleep apnea. There are many causes for snoring and not all of them can be helped with a zero-gravity position but some can.
If you snore because of the position of your tongue or unusual pressure on the throat, then the zero-gravity position can help curb your snoring. In the zero-gravity sleep position, your head is at a 30 to 45-degree angle. This helps to relieve pressure on your throat. Your airways are more open, and this means that you breathe easier and snores less.
The angle of your head in this sleep position can also settle your tongue in a more normal position. If you want to breathe easier and snore less, you need to try the zero-gravity position on your adjustable bed.
With your legs slightly raised, the blood flows more easily through your body. This provides a lot of health benefits. With better circulation, you’ll find the following benefits:
Your doctor may recommend the zero-gravity bed position if you have heart disease, diabetes, or challenges with high blood pressure. When you’re sleeping in this position, your blood circulates more easily, and it also helps blood flow more easily through your heart muscle.
When you sleep at night, your bodily functions slow down, which is why you should only eat a light snack late at night. Of course, another reason for slower digestion is because when you lie flat, it can cause problems with digestion. This can cause problems falling and staying asleep.
However, in the zero-gravity position, the upper party of your body is higher than your stomach. This allows your body to digest food normally. It can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. When you’re properly digesting your food, you may find it easier to lose weight, feel more energetic, and help your overall mood.
There is nothing worse than waking up with heartburn and acid reflux. When you sleep in a traditional position, acid can easily come up from your stomach without gravity to keep it in place. The beauty of sleeping in an elevated position is that your head is above your stomach and the acid stays there.
Heard enough about the advantages of zero gravity? Ready to dive into the best night of sleep you’ve had since… ever? Here’s how to capture all the benefits of zero gravity for yourself.
That’s it! You’ve achieved the perfect zero gravity position for all the health benefits and comfort mentioned above.
Do you still have questions about what a zero gravity adjustable bed can do for you? If we’re in your community, stop in and see us at any of our No Bull warehouses and one of our sleep experts will be glad to let you experience the zero gravity bliss for yourself; otherwise, visit a store near you or check out our selection online. No pushy sales gimmicks, no emergency pricing – just you, our best zero gravity beds, and your sleep decision; it’s the No Bull Guarantee.
