A Waterbedtime Story by Irvin Saathoff

Having had the good fortune of traveling worldwide doing business with waterbed designers, manufacturers, and retailers around the globe, it has been interesting to see how the waterbed industry evolved uniquely in different countries and especially interesting to see how the market has survived and thrived in a number of regions. After reaching out to notables in some of those markets, I am pleased to report we’ll be hearing from successful operations in Europe and Asia that have withstood the test of time in upcoming Waterbedtime Story episodes.

In the meantime, I’ll attempt to set the stage for what promises to be an enlightening and entertaining World of Waterbeds Series. While many theories have been postulated about the rise and fall of the waterbed industry in the USA, there exist a few markets stateside and many others worldwide that defy conventional wisdom. Albeit the general consensus in the US seems to dismiss waterbeds as a fad, enlightened citizenry aware of the health benefits both here and abroad continue to embrace fluid suspension sleep. As such I am uber excited that one of our contributors is based in Denmark, one of the healthiest places on the planet.

Another theory about the decline of the US waterbed business postulates that the race to the pricing bottom was its undoing. In other words, retailers competing to promote the lowest prices for cheap sleep, sometimes for $99 or less, left a significant number of dissatisfied consumers in its wake. Conversely in markets honor bound by the culture or duty bound by regulation to back product they sell, it is not unusual for waterbed sleep systems to sell for thousands of dollars. Being a country where it is common for auto dealerships and other retailers to make house calls selling turnkey product, service and support packages, I am also super thrilled that another of our contributors’ hails from Japan.

While selling mattresses for $1000s is rather passé these days, back in the heyday of waterbeds it was a big deal and not for the faint of heart. Relative to the following, and some lighthearted speculation on my part, I respectfully submit the most expensive waterbed of its day may well have been Toru Watanabe’s Wishsonic. On a more serious note, Toru’s contributions to the waterbed industry over the years in both manufacturing and retail have established a high end flotation sleep culture in Japan that endures today.

Because producing and servicing waterbeds entails a bit more than inserting springs and/or foam into a mattress cover, it has been further postulated that the biggest of the big US manufacturers who jumped on the bandwagon back in the day, bailed out relatively quickly as promoting conventional bedding was clearly the path of least resistance. Being personally involved with certifications and compliance worldwide, I can certainly appreciate this conjecture.

Meanwhile manufacturers such as InnoMax based in Denver, Colorado have persevered by producing complete systems including components unique to fluid suspension sleep like temperature control systems, another documented therapeutic benefit of waterbeds, which enable sleepers to regulate their sleep environment. And by addressing international compliance considerations, including instructions in multiple languages, a number of these surviving manufacturers have continued to thrive by expanding business beyond their borders.

In closing, as this series promises to have little or nothing to do with selling cheap sleep and everything to do with the successful promotion of quality fluid suspension sleep, I look forward to hearing from our international guest contributors in upcoming Waterbedtime Story World of Waterbeds episodes and hope you do as well.

Check back in with the next episode of Waterbedtime Story when we share yet another perspective. Sponsored by InnoMax Corporation (Sleep@InnoMax.com).

The post World of Waterbeds: Series Introduction – July 20, 2023 appeared first on InnoMax.

For some of us who grew up in the pop culture which evolved over the latter half of the 20th century, the mention of sensory attenuation or sensory deprivation might conjure up images of the 1980 horror movie “Altered States”. And while mid-century experiments involved extreme sensory deprivation (i.e. total darkness & sound proofing) which could cause hallucinations and bizarre thoughts, even without the use of drugs, more controlled reductions or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses have evolved into more user friendly perceptual isolation environments often referred to as isolation tanks or float pools.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, around the time “Altered States” was released, US flotation sleep waterbed sales were in their heyday.  A waterbed and a sensory deprivation water chamber are both structures that use water to provide a unique physical experience. Both structures are designed to create a calming and soothing environment for sleeping and relaxation, but the methods and applications differ.

A waterbed is typically a large mattress filled with water, which is surrounded by a soft foam or rigid wood frame. This provides a comfortable and evenly distributed sleeping surface, and the water is heated and circulated to keep the temperature consistent. The feeling of lying on a waterbed is often described as “floating”, due to the buoyancy of the water. The advantage of sleeping in a temperature controlled waterbed is that you can stay dry during the experience.

On the other hand, a sensory deprivation water chamber is a large tank of water that is used for therapeutic purposes. The tank is filled with a high concentration of epsom salts, which increases the buoyancy of the water and creates a weightless environment. The water is kept at a consistent temperature and is often kept in complete darkness. This environment is designed to reduce all external stimuli, allowing the user to experience a calming and relaxing state of deep relaxation…albeit soaking wet.

While a significant number of sports figures have reported their preference for sleeping on waterbeds over the years, “several NFL teams, including the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints reportedly use floating as a way to increase players’ quality of sleep as well as help with recovery.” Wikipedia

In conclusion both a flotation sleep waterbed and a sensory deprivation water chamber are designed to provide a calming experience, but they do so in different ways. The biggest difference is a waterbed provides a comfortable and evenly distributed sleeping surface in a dry environment, while a sensory deprivation water chamber gets you wet.

Contributing author for this edition has been specialty sleep veteran Irvin Saathoff. Check back in with the next issue when Waterbedtime Story, sponsored by InnoMax Corporation, shares yet another perspective. Meanwhile you may connect with InnoMax Corporation anytime at Sleep@InnoMax.com.

The post Sensory Attenuation and Flotation Sleep – May 20, 2023 appeared first on InnoMax.

Back in the 2010’s a longtime friend of mine from the German waterbed industry contacted me with an unusual request. The Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt am Main was needing to replace the waterbed in a Thom Merrick sculpture they had had on display since 1988. So, as the 20+ year old waterbed had gotten damaged beyond repair and the original manufacturer was no longer in business, the President of InnoMax Mark Miller stepped up to save the day by producing a replica for the work of art which was then valued at €250,000 Euros ($306,000 US Dollars).

Coincidentally when I first met my German friend he was working for a waterbed distributor out of Holland. As evidenced by the 1971 photograph above, the Dutch were hot on the heels of the Americans who had just been granted a patent for the modern day waterbed that same year. Meanwhile, by the mid-1970’s I found myself purveying waterbeds in California to support my starving art student lifestyle. Looking back it seems to have been an interesting twist of fate that the then burgeoning waterbed industry was helping finance my art studies.

The twist of fate was I eventually became art director for one of the largest waterbed manufacturers in the US. Boy howdy what an eye opener, traveling around the world meeting all the movers and shakers who had given birth to an industry that in a few short years had grown to dominate 20% of the US bedding market…and more in some countries. And the pièce de résistance, though an uber challenge for those of us who worked year round developing new products and merchandising materials, was always the annual industry WMA (Waterbed Manufacturer’s Association) Trade Show which was attended by waterbed industry elite from around the world.

Albeit things have changed since the days the WMA could fill the Superdome to overflowing, pretty much anywhere you go in today’s home furnishings market you can’t swing a stick without hitting somebody from the waterbed industry. As such I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of great designers who continue to have an impact on home fashion. Having literally learned the nuts & bolts as a commercial artist illustrating assembly instructions for timeless classics like the Coronado Wall Unit above, I’m pleased to currently be involved with a project now off the drawing board and into prototyping which promises to turn heads when it launches.

In the meantime and notwithstanding the contribution of fine art notables like Merrick & Peters, as there are so many people I am aware of around the world who feel there is no better sleep solution than fluid suspension, I do not believe we have seen the last of the Art of Waterbeds.

Contributing author for this edition has been specialty sleep veteran Irvin Saathoff. Check back in with the next issue when Waterbedtime Story shares yet another perspective. Meanwhile you may connect with InnoMax Corporation anytime at Sleep@InnoMax.com.

Footnote Citation:
*MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST
**Wikimedia , the DutchNational Archives

The post The Art of Waterbeds – March 22, 2023 appeared first on InnoMax.

Swept up in the popularity wave of the 1970’s and working for a waterbed shop to supplement my starving design student lifestyle, but being raised with a mid-western show-me state of mind, it took me a minute to buy into the logic of fluid suspension sleep. And though having become fairly well educated about the health benefits very often backed by medical studies, as a skeptical mechanically inclined kind of guy, it wasn’t until Mark Miller (President of InnoMax) wove Archimedes Principle into the dialogue that the logic of waterbed fluid dynamics began to sink in.

Archimedes’ principle, physical law of buoyancy, discovered by the ancient Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes, states that “any body completely or partially submerged in a fluid at rest is acted upon by an upward, or buoyant, force, the magnitude of which is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body”* As Archimedes’ principle is a law of physics fundamental to fluid mechanics, I could finally wrap my head around the logic. Furthermore Mr Miller (aka M) asserts the fluid dynamics of waterbed sleep are interactive and different than active support of mattresses that push up against the body or passive support mattresses which sag as both contribute to pressure points.

Speaking of sinking in and wrapping ones head around things, as Archimedes’ principle further verified fluid contours to uniquely shaped objects, ironically it meant water was wrapping around my head the further I sank into bed. So similar to a uniquely shaped iceberg floating in the ocean, a sleeper immersed in a waterbed will experience contouring buoyant support evenly distributed head to toe. As waterbeds have evolved over the years to include a variety of adjustability features and enclosures emulating conventional mattress looks, for your reference, the most immersive designs feature oversized low tension top surfaces with virtually nothing between the sleeper and water.

Ergo, in keeping with Archimedes’ principle which also addressed the diversities of shape, M/InnoMax to this day produces oversize and low tension top surface waterbed mattresses to immerse bodies into a virtually weightless sleep environment. So would you believe yours truly, who secretly doubted other associates complaining about non-waterbed sleep surfaces on business trips back in the day, finally became a convert. The bottom line is, while I’ve slept on all manner of surfaces over the years and have diversified sleep surfaces in our home to include digital air, my deepest most immersive sleep experiences have always been in waterbeds.

In conclusion, Archimedes’ principle logically presents quantifiable fluid dynamic science identifying the unique properties of Waterbed fluid suspension interactive support and immersive sleep.

Contributing author Mark Miller, President of InnoMax, is a Waterbed veteran of the industry since the 1970s. Check back in with the next issue when Waterbedtime Story shares yet another perspective. Meanwhile you may connect with InnoMax Corporation anytime at Sleep@InnoMax.com.

*https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Archimede_bain.jpg
**https://www.britannica.com

Luxury Support® – LS 8300 Watermattress with Low Tension Top Surface

The post Archimedes’ Principle, Fluid Dynamics and Waterbed Logic – January 18, 2023 appeared first on InnoMax.