How to Raise the Head of the Bed

Certain medical conditions, such as chronic congestion, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or frequent heartburn, can make sleeping on a mattress parallel to the floor uncomfortable. If you suffer from GERD, one recommendation from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to help relieve symptoms is raising the head of your bed. Raising the head of your bed elevates your upper digestive tract, and helps keep the acid in your tract flowing downward while you're sleeping instead of creeping up and waking you due to discomfort. Raise the head of your bed to help relieve other discomforts, or to give you more general comfort at night.

Things You'll Need

• Wood blocks
• Wood glue
• Hammer
• Nails
• Wedge bed support

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Instructions

• 1

  Glue together wood blocks using wood glue until the blocks are 4 to 6 inches tall.

• 2

  Secure the wood blocks to the legs at the head of the bed using a hammer and nails. This will keep the bed from slipping off its risers.

• 3

  Place a wedge support under the top half of your body, or under the top portion of your mattress, if your bed design makes it impractical to tilt the entire bed.