Many adjustable bed frames have a “zero gravity” feature. I tried it for a week

On Earth, zero gravity pose is less about feeling weightless and more about feeling supported using a gentle elevation to push your body and legs into a more relaxed alignment. This distinction is important. “Most claims about the benefits of sleep tend to be exaggerated in the marketing world,” says Erin Flynn Evans, director of the Fatigue Countermeasures Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center. “What really matters is whether such claims can stand up to scientific scrutiny.” NASA research simply documents the situation in space, not the way people should sleep on Earth.

Benefits of sleeping in zero gravity

Semantics aside, the claims about sleeping in zero gravity are compelling. “In the short term, people notice less tossing and turning and deeper relief. In the long term, it supports spinal alignment, reduces inflammation, and helps the nervous system shift to true rest and repair,” he says. Anypada sleep consultant and occupational therapist who also practices craniosacral therapy.

According to Schlicht, gentle elevation can relieve specific issues such as lower back pain, sciatica, hip and joint discomfort, arthritis, and leg swelling. Keeping the upper body slightly elevated can also benefit people with reflux, snoring, or mild breathing problems by keeping the airway more open.

How to sleep in zero gravity

If you want to try sleeping in zero gravity, the easiest way is to use an adjustable bed frame that is able to elevate the head and legs. Press a button, and let the bed do the work. Of course, adjustable frames aren’t cheap or even standard. You can get even closer with pillows: Use a wedge pillow or stacked pillows to elevate your upper body, then place another pillow under your knees to elevate your legs.

Photo: Julia Forbes

“The biggest mistake is to overdo it,” Schlicht says. “Too much height, especially at the head, can strain the neck and disrupt breathing.” She also warns that changing your sleeping position will not make up for poor sleeping space. “Alignment helps, but it can’t overcome too much exposure to light, heat or noise pollution.”

She recommends starting with small adjustments. Give yourself enough knee height to relax your lower back, then gradually raise your head while keeping your airway open. And make sure your neck is supported: “Your spine should feel long and neutral.” “And give your body a few nights to adjust.”

How did you measure?

Almost every night, I dress up Garmin Lilly 2 Smart watch to bed. It generates a night-time sleep score, which I’m not usually crazy about. I tend to adjust my sleep habits based on how I’m feeling, but for this experiment, I wanted some data to back up my findings.

Photo: Adrian So

The Garmin Lily 2 automatically tracks sleep while you wear it. Sleep score calculation Using data from heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, and body movement throughout the night. It estimates the time I spend in each stage of sleep, the number of times I wake up, and how anxious I feel. All of this information is condensed into a Sleep Score, a single number from 0 to 100 that appears in the Garmin Connect app each morning.

For seven consecutive nights, I slept in zero gravity and recorded my sleep score. I didn’t change anything else in my routine: same bedtime, same wake-up times, same pre-bedtime habits. The only variable was the position of my bed, which I adjusted when I was ready to sleep.