Living With Parkinson's Disease How should I change my bed if I have Parkinson's disease? Here are some tips on making your bed more accessible if you have Parkinson's disease: If you have Parkinson's disease, your bed should be low enough for you to get in and out easily. A good guideline is for the bed to be 22 inches high, but take your height into account. In general, if the bed is lower than knee height (like a futon), getting in and out will be difficult. If your bed is too low, set its legs on recessed wooden risers (blocks with holes cut into them to accommodate the bed legs). If your bed is too high, consult a carpenter to get the legs of the bed shortened. Consider repositioning your bed against the wall to make it more accessible. Install a grab bar on the wall alongside the bed, about 10 inches higher than the mattress. Be sure to anchor the railing to studs in the wall so that it will be secure. Another option is half bed rails that can be installed under the mattress.
Installing such rails might eliminate the need for an expensive hospital bed with bed railings. Attach a bed pull to the grab bar or to the frame at the foot of your bed to assist in turning over and getting out of bed. Use a nylon rope, or braid three pieces of tightly woven fabric together, in a length that will reach from the base of the bed to your hand when lying down. It should be long enough for you to reach, but still at arm’s length for good leverage when you want to pull yourself out of bed. Tie a large wooden ring to the end to serve as a handhold. Then sew a binder clip (butterfly clip) near the ring, so that the bed pull can be clamped to the bedding and remain within your reach. You may want to attach another bed pull to the side of the bed to assist you in turning. Use satin bed sheets. Their slippery surface makes it easier to turn over in bed. Flannel sheets make it more difficult to turn over than standard cotton or percale sheets. Consider installing a trapeze or harness that hangs over the bed, so that you can grab hold of it to lift and turn yourself.
Place a long, sturdy cardboard box under the covers at the foot of the bed. Elevating the covers will keep pressure off your feet and legs and allow you to turn without getting tangled up in the bedding. Find out more about this book: Parkinson's Disease (300 Tips for Making Life Easier) How can I use the toilet safely if I have Parkinson's disease?Having a good mattress is essential, but you may want to keep in mind that PD patients often have difficulty sleeping that is not related to mattresses. See the web site of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association at: American Parkinson Disease Association. My mattress is extremely comfortable, and I have no problem falling asleep. But no matter what time I go to bed I still can’t sleep past about 4:30 or 5:00 a.m.And 60 isn’t all that “elderly” :)I recently have replaced mattresses for two people suffering from Parkinson's - I'm sorry you're going through the same situation with this disease. The trouble these people were having was that their bed was too soft and they didn't have anything solid against which to push to help turn at night.
They also needed deep down solidity of the product for support, yet plushness to help with pressure point issues brought on by the disease. Both had been sold memory foam beds by ill-informed salespeople at furniture stores. The product that worked well for both of these people was the Medallion Exceptional Life Collection Monet Plush. This bed has incredible support and a very firm edge support system so there is something for them to push against when they roll over at night. It's also easy to get in and out of. It's plush on top through the use of ultra high-density foams and some latex. You certainly can find other products out there to meet your needs, but you'd want to be sure to combine strong support with good foam or adequate softness and quality. Everyone has different experiences with Parkinson's, so I know these guidelines might not be completely appropriate for you. But hopefully they've been helpful. and contact me if you need further information or have more specific questions.
Thanks for the A2A. I am also a 60 year old man living with Parkinson's disease!I have a fairly hard mattress, on top of which I have a thin memory foam layer.I sleep on my back because I salivate, if I go on my side the drool collects on the pillow (how gross!), hence for me the memory foam increases comfort while lying on my back so I don’t need to turn on my side.I hope my anecdote helps, I can’t answer authoritatively.Through our research, we found that new bedding improved sleep quality by 62.0% and sleep comfort by 70.8%, and reduced back pain by 55.3% and back stiffness by 50.7% over a four-week period. We also found that lower back pain was much more prominent for those sleeping on the cheaper beds and the older beds. But regardless of their personal bedding systems, participants experienced immediate reduction in pain and stiffness and improvement of sleep comfort and quality when sleeping on new mattresses. The reduction in pain and improvement in sleep became more prominent over time, and participants improved regardless of age, weight, height or body-mass index.
Moreover, when participants were assigned to high and low pain groups based on initial evaluation, both groups experienced significant reduction in pain when sleeping on new bedding. Even those who reported minor problems sleeping showed significant improvements in sleep quality and comfort – at levels similar to those who were poor sleepers.@http://www.fizl.us/272cWe have had thousands of Parkinsons folks call us because of bed mobility issues- can’t get in/out of bed and in most cases cannot roll over by themselves. Often the spouse is getting up from a dead sleep 5–10 times a night to help their partner- and they are absolutely ready to crash. Softness of a mattress is only one part of the story as it makes the repositioning problem worse. High quality firm mattresses are good but what many Parkinsons people need are sturdy things to grab to move themselves around and stand up. Please check out Bill-Ray Home Mobility for our “Friendly Beds”- a perfect bed mobility solution for many people with Parkinsons (and even more important for the health of the spouse/caregiver).