For generations, air mattresses have been thought of in basically two ways. Either they were something you would take along to survive your camping trip or were something you would drag out when your overnight guests outnumbered the real mattresses in the house. But in recent years, these inflatable platforms have been elevated to the status of air beds.



That one point has probably been the biggest issue over the years with the old fashioned mattresses. Even with a brand new one, it was common to awaken in the morning with one or more body parts languishing on the floor instead of being supported by a nice cushion of air, as intended.

This meant either stiffness and sore spots in the morning or waking up every few hours to infuse more air into the camping air mattress to keep it from sagging. Fortunately, those that are available today have overcome this particular problem.

Air beds are often thought of as an upgraded version of the well-know inflatable air mattress that people use for camping trips. But, the new ones are much more than that and are intended to be used inside of the house. They are designed to deliver a significant improvement over the old air mattresses in terms of increased comfort.

Most basic inflatable air mattress camping-style beds are made of plastic or vinyl, which is not the most comfortable material to sleep on, even with a sheet over it. The new and improved products, however, usually have a nice material on the top which helps to make them more comfortable and means that you are not sweating and sticking to the plastic throughout the night.

These beds of air are made up mostly of a heavy vinyl or plastic, except for the top covering. This allows them to be deflated and stored, just like the air mattress camping versions you remember. This gives them the advantage of being storable until they are needed for company.

And, if you decide you like them enough, they are now of high enough quality that you can use them as your primary bed. Imagine the next time you move. Instead of breaking your back trying to maneuver that heavy and awkward traditional mattress down a flight or two of stairs, you simply deflate your bed, fold it up, slide it in it's case and carry it to the moving truck single-handedly. That scenario alone is enough to make some people make the switch without thinking much more about it.

But portability and ease of storage are only two reasons why they are becoming so very popular. One of the main reasons why people are trading in their traditional bed mattresses is that they are so comfortable. Today's deluxe ones can be adjusted for firmness so that you can make your bed conform to the needs of your body rather than the other way around.

The Select Comfort air bed is one of the more popular air mattress bed manufacturers. They offer their Sleep Number Air Beds which incorporates special air chambers for an additional cushion of gentle support.

Their beds can easily be adjusted at the touch of a button for personal firmness level, thus delivering the best comfort possible. In addition, each side can be controlled separately so that couples no longer have to compromise about mattress firmness, but can adjust their own side independently.