Bedroom
Best Bed Height for Older Adults
Feet flat, knees at ninety. Measure the person, not the mattress.
- Aim for feet flat on the floor with knees at roughly 90 degrees when seated on the edge.
- For most adults that is 20 to 23 inches to the top of the mattress.
- Measure with the mattress and bedding in place, not the frame alone.
- Wheelchair users should match the bed height to the chair seat height.
How to measure
Have the person sit on the edge of the bed wearing the shoes they usually wear indoors. If their heels lift off the floor, the bed is too high. If their knees rise above their hips, it is too low.
How to adjust without buying a new bed
A thinner mattress, a low-profile box spring, removing the box spring entirely, or bed risers can each change the height by two to six inches. Risers should be the locking kind rated for the full load.
Keep reading
Elena Marsh
Reviews Lead, Aging in Place
Elena leads product reviews and the aging-in-place planning guides. Her background is in occupational therapy, and she focuses on matching equipment to actual transfer ability instead of to diagnosis labels or marketing categories.
Covers: Aging in place planning · Fall prevention · Transfer equipment · Bedroom setups
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