While many of us already enjoy the intangible health benefits of waterbeds, a recent article about injured jockeys shows that there are others out there that understand the health benefits of waterbeds.

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Injured jockeys can now relax on donated waterbeds as part of their recovery at Oaksey House rehabilitation centre.  The Akva waterbeds, worth £2,000 each, were donated by Essex-based company Lets Go 2 Bed. They are used to “give muscle relief, general relaxation and stimulation”, said managing director Mark Dyson. Oaksey House, in Lambourn, rehabilitates jockeys after illness or injury and is run by the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF). “We donated the waterbeds in recognition of the brave men and women who risk injury on a daily basis,” added Mr Dyson.

A vibrating waterbed is being used in a treatment room, while a second bed is in one of the overnight apartments. “I have used the waterbed and always hope it is available when I visit,” said jockey David Crosse, who added that the bed helps to ease aching joints after treatment. John Francome, president of the IJF, said: “I am sure the benefits will be enjoyed by the many jockeys that attend Oaksey House.” As well as treatment, Oaksey House provides short and long-term accommodation to members of the racing community during rehabilitation.

We found an interesting article on the waterbed market. Boyd is happy to pronounce that as more retailers to continue to cutback on waterbeds, we will always serve our waterbed loyalists with a convenient online waterbed shopping experience.

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Thinking of purchasing a waterbed?

Think again.

Retailers have abandoned the once-popular mode of sleeping. Mozak's Furniture, 2414 Gordon Drive, is one of the few still selling waterbed components -- heaters, safety liners, mattresses and water conditioner.

Mozak's General Manager Jim Hettinger speculated the demise of the waterbed was the industry's own doing.

"They didn't adapt to what the consumer wanted," he said.

In 1968, Charles Hall presented the modern waterbed as his master's thesis project at San Francisco State University.

The vinyl mattress filled with water and equipped with a temperature device was designed to be a piece of furniture that would eliminate pressure points and use heat to relax muscles.

For the next 20 or so years, waterbeds were hot items -- with more than one connotation. Hall created the bed in the year of the "summer of love," before presenting it as a requirement for his master's degree. The beds were associated in advertising with the Sexual Revolution. Hugh Hefner allegedly had one covered in Tasmanian possum hair.

"The growing number of manufacturers and distributors, with such appropriate names as Aquarius Products, the Water Works, Innerspace Environments, Joyapeutic Aqua Beds and the Wet Dream, can hardly meet the demand," Time magazine reported in 1971.

HOM furniture started as a chain of waterbed stores, and one of the chain's first waterbed stores opened in Sioux City in the late 1970s. Mozak's even started out as Waterbed Emporium in 1985 with a Pierce Street location.

Everyone wanted one.

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ST. LOUIS - Bedding pioneer Denny Boyd believes that decorative and functional bed bases are the "foundations of the future." And he's putting that belief into action, rapidly expanding his platform frame offerings.
Following the successful introduction and retail placement of as many as 10 UPS-able platform frames in less than a year, Boyd Specialty Sleep will further broaden its line this year.
The producer of mattresses, sleep accessories and furniture is developing new steel frame designs to round out its collection of bed platforms that retail from $299 to $599 in queen. "Not only is there brisk demand for decorative, shippable bed frames among Internet retailers, but demand is quickly increasing among brick-and-mortar sleep shops and furniture stores," said Boyd, president of Boyd Specialty Sleep. "It's a matter of being able to offer both form and function at affordable price points.

A platform performs the same function as a standard box spring and frame in that it keeps the bed off the floor. But if that can be accomplished in a way that's simpler, equally or more durable, more visually arresting and easily distributed - for at or near the same cost - then it delivers far more than mere function," he said.

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David Perry Executive EditorDenny Boyd studied the numbers in his binder carefully. They provided a roadmap for changes he says his business, Boyd Specialty Sleep, must embrace if it is to remain vital in a dynamic bedding marketplace.

The numbers in front of him that day, which happened to come from Furniture/Today, showed that 61% of mattress consumers will use the Internet to shop or buy bedding. Only 39% of consumers will shop and buy in a store, the research said.

The lessons were clear to Boyd: It is critical that bedding producers and retailers must have a strong online presence, and must find ways to drive traffic to their sites. One of the ways he adapts to change is by being a student of research, thoughtfully studying charts and tables and looking for telltale markers that suggest key trends.  Then he develops strategies, sets goals, as with his website launches, and aims to move forward every day.

High Point — While some in the bedding industry look at specialty sleep as a "new" category, it's actually been around for decades.

Way back in the 1970s, waterbeds entered the national consciousness. That product generated plenty of headlines with its counter-culture roots and appeal, but it gave many consumers a different way to sleep. Waterbed purists touted the benefits of hard-sided waterbeds, whose bag of water gave them a unique way to sleep. Then soft-sided waterbeds (which looked like conventional beds) gained popularity, broadening the appeal of the category.

Today, waterbeds still occupy a niche in the specialty sleep arena, but they have been largely supplanted in consumer awareness by airbeds and visco-elastic foam beds.

Several of today's leading specialty sleep producers trace their history back to the formative years of specialty sleep, and they cite that experience as giving them an edge.

Three well-known companies have at least 30 years of experience in the category. They are Boyd Specialty Sleep, InnoMax and Strobel.

Denny Boyd, president of Boyd Specialty Sleep, said his company has stood the test of time. Asked what makes Boyd different from other companies, he responded: "About 30 specialty sleep patents, 30 years of experience, a full complement of products in every specialty sleep category, 24-hour ship times, proven technology, and experienced and dedicated sales training."

ST. LOUIS - Denny Boyd started his mattress journey with a waterbed store. That led him to begin making his own waterbed sheets, domestically first and then overseas. Then he began making waterbeds. And that led to his entry into the bedroom furniture category. And that led to more stores.

As that summary illustrates, Boyd has a strong entrepreneurial streak, one that makes him a player on both the retail and wholesale sides of the bedding business. He runs The Boyd Group, which consists of four business entities: Boyd Specialty Sleep is the flagship business, one that is well known in its category. Products are manufactured in St. Louis and in Los Angeles, where Boyd has a 320,000- square-foot factory. There waterbeds, airbeds, memory foam mattresses and latex mattresses are produced, as is the Blue Magic line of waterbed accessories, a name that goes back to the glory days of waterbeds. He acquired the Blue Magic line in 2003.

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LAS VEGAS - Boyd Specialty Sleep is expanding its assortment of sleep accessories here with new pillows, a new topper and a redesigned mattress protector.
Denny Boyd, president of Boyd Specialty Sleep, says savvy retailers are emphasizing accessories these days. "I believe better retailers are putting more time and effort into selling accessories," he said, "and they're seeing the results. Our objective is to continue to develop this profitable sleep category."
Boyd said that sleep accessories "can be very meaningful to retailers who recognize their role in growing gross profit dollars and who understand when and how to discuss them in the selling process.
"Accessories like pillows, toppers, protectors and decorative frames greatly enhance the consumer's shopping experience, elevate overall sleep comfort and quality, and offer retail salespeople a golden opportunity: to impress upon customers early on that quality of sleep involves more than just a mattress."

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Marriage is tough. Over 50% of all marriages end in divorce. And those marriages that don't end in divorce, aren't always happy.

Nearly 1 in 4 couples sleep in separate rooms because of sleep disturbances caused by the other partner. Evidence shows that couples suffer 50% more sleep disturbances when they sleep together. In fact, it is estimated that 60% of homes will have dual master bedrooms by 2015 because of this trend.

Sleeping apart can have many benefits since couples often have different tastes. One person may like the bed warm, whereas the other person may want to sleep cool. One couple may snore and the other one may toss and turn at night. It makes sense to be able to sleep in a way more suited to your taste.

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The Internet was once famously described as a "series of tubes." but that phrase is more suited to describe the inside of a shallow fill softside waterbed. A softside waterbed like the Lilac Softside Waterbed Mattress is a far cry from the old style free flow waterbeds, to the point where sometimes the water is barely recognizable. This is because softside waterbeds use sophisticated tubes and bladders that can include fiber and foam to stop water motion. This added material also adds to the contouring affect of the bed, creating a unique sleeping surface.

These tubes and bladders also help to circulate the water and that can help to increase blood flow throughout the body. This helps the body to relax properly  and can prevent back pain.

Waterbed tubes are normally found in shallow fill softside waterbeds like the Juniper Softside Waterbed Mattress

because they give the bed a plushier feel. However, the tubes allow you to adjust the firmness level of the bed and they include fill level marks to easily gauge the desired level of water.

The best part about the waterbed tubes, however, is that you can have different one's on each side of the bed. Meaning that one spouse can have a softer or firmer side of the bed than the other spouse. Just fill the water level to the appropriate fill mark on each side.

There are two types of waterbed tubes. Free Flow Waterbed Tubes and Foam Filled Softside Waterbed Tubes. The Foam Filled Softside Waterbed Tubes add even more motion reduction from side to side and from head to toe. The combination of the foam and the water create another contouring affect to add more support during the night.

The Waterbed had an interesting rise to fame, and with any celebrity, there is a ton of misinformation out there. It is hard to separate the truth from fiction, especially with the accessibility of the Internet. However, there is one rumor in particular that has haunted the Waterbed for years: can a waterbed cause seasickness?

According to Wikipedia, Seasickness is a form of motion sickness characterized by a feeling of nausea and, in extreme cases, vertigo, experienced after spending time on a craft on water. The condition is caused by the rocking motion of the craft because the brain is receiving conflicting signals. Our brain thinks that we are still but our ears sense motion.

Wouldn't the rocking motion on a Boyd Free Flow Waterbed cause sea sicknesses though? In fact, even on these beds, it is impossible to get seasick.

This is because the motion subsides when you stop moving meaning there are no conflicting signals to the brain.

In fact, there are no verifiable stories of anyone suffering from this problem and that's just with a free flow mattress. With a mattress like the Ultra Waveless Boyd Contura Form 6 Waterbed, the motion absorption fiber would immediately prevent the kind of rocking that would simulate motion sickness.

For those who fear any sort of water swaying sensation, a softside waterbed like the Lilac 11" Softside Waterbed Mattress with Memory Foam has all the benefits of water but with added memory foam and fiber that eliminates any water motion while still eradicating uncomfortable pressure points.