The Beds.com Community Powered by the Sleep Number Bed from Select Comfort : Mattress

I first heard of the Sleep Number bed in May of 2002 when my parents bought one to replace their old waterbed that had been giving my mother back problems. My parents, and younger brother and I packed into their bedroom to see their new bed. “Dad, how do you know that your sleep number setting is 40? How do I figure out what my Sleep Number is?” asked my brother, who was eleven years old at the time. “Oh, that’s easy, Alex,” my dad responded. “It’s the number of sheep you count to before you fall asleep.”

I should really mention that my brother is gullible and my dad thinks he is hysterical. I, at the age of seventeen, was not so gullible, or at the very least understood to never believe a thing my father said.

The “Sleep Number” is actually a pressure reading, which is based off the weight on the air chamber. This is why it’s possible for two sleepers to have the same Sleep Number, but think the other person’s side feels completely different. Any weight difference is going make the pressure feel different, and perhaps even read a different Sleep Number. I learned this in training, but got my first true understanding of it while I was house-sitting for my parents while they went to England without me. I hopped in my mom’s side of the Sleep Number bed, and grabbed the control to set my number. The remote control read “30.” Perfect. That’s my Sleep Number. (Well, it was at the time, now it goes between 25 and 30, depending on my mood.) I fell asleep and slept so soundly, I didn’t wake up to the alarm to wake up my brother for school. Oops. This happened more than once, and my brother learned how to set his own alarm. Anyway, my parents come home from their trip and I told my mother, “We have the same Sleep Number!” She responded, “Oh, your Sleep Number is 40, too?” What!??!?! I explained to her that I didn’t change her number, and it was 30. I dragged her up the stairs, demanded she lay on the bed and show me the number. “40.”

I talk to several customers a day who don’t understand that the number is a pressure reading. If there is no weight on the bed, and you check the number, it will read anything from 5 to 100, and won’t be accurate. If I check my number when not on the bed, no matter what, it reads “5.” A lot of customers misinterpret this as air loss. I compare it to the bathroom scale. You stand on it, and it reads your weight. When you step off the scale, the number says 0. If you put your foot on the scale, it reads 10. In order to get an accurate pressure reading on your Sleep Number bed, you need to be lying on the bed in your sleep position.

Sometimes, the Sleep Number may change, even if you are lying on the bed in your normal sleeping position. Fluctuations are possible, and are generally caused by temperature, air pressure (storm fronts, etc.), adding extra weight onto the bed (kids, pets, etc.) and even body heat. As the air in your air chamber heats up, the air molecules move around faster, making the pressure reading go up. As the air cools down, the molecules slow down, making the pressure reading go down. A good example of this is to think of a balloon. (Keep in mind I am in Minnesota, where our summers are hot, and our winters are sub-zero temps.) In the winter time, if I go buy a balloon from a party store, the balloon will shrink slightly when I take it outside. When I get back into the warm house, the balloon expands again. It’s the same idea with the air chamber. End physics lesson for the day.

If you are planning on travelling in an RV with your Sleep Number bed, keep in mind different altitudes will change the pressure as well. When on the road, I would advise not keeping the bed filled at its maximum capacity. The pump is designed not to over-inflate the chamber, but changes in altitude (if the bed is fully inflated) could potentially damage the chamber. We don’t need anyone sleeping on the RV floor. Floors do not contour to the body, cradling you for the perfect night’s sleep (and if it does, it may be time for a new floor).

So there you have it! Hopefully you have a little more insight into what the Sleep Number setting is. I am off to go see if my dad’s sheep method actually matches my sleep number — although I doubt it.

Until next time!
Leanne