Getting in and out of bed

For more information, visit the Parkinson’s UK website (last updated October 2020).

If you find getting in and out of bed difficult, there is a range of equipment available to help you and your carer if you have one.

• Satin sheets: can help you to turn over in bed
• Bedside grab rails: can help you to adjust your position in bed, to help yourself out of bed and to lower yourself into bed independently
• Bed raisers: are used to lift the whole bed a few inches, making it easier to get in and out of it
• Mattress raisers: can help lift you up into a seated position, making it easier for you to get out of bed.
• Electric profiling or hospital beds: can be used to help you sit up from lying down. Some people find it reduces dizziness and ankle swelling.
• Hoists: can be used to lift you between your bed and wheelchair, or your bed and a commode
• Over-bed trapezes and rope ladders: can be hung over the bed above the head. These allow a person to pull themselves up from a lying to a sitting position