Best Bed Alarms for the Elderly

Sometimes it’s unsafe for seniors to get out of bed on their own. A bed alarm alerts an in-home caregiver whenever your loved one gets out of bed, allowing the caregiver to intervene. In that way, bed alarms for seniors help prevent falling or wandering.

Our favorite bed alarms for seniors are sold by Lunderg. They have a unique early-warning system that sounds the alarm when someone sits up—not when they’ve already stood up. This gives caregivers more time to respond before your loved one falls.

The Lunderg bed alarm fits discreetly under the sheets so your loved one doesn’t try to remove it. It can be tricky to ensure the person lays on the center of the pad every single time, so there may be a learning curve.

That said, the Lunderg pad distinguishes between someone rolling over in bed and someone getting out of bed. We read dozens of user reviews praising this feature and commenting on a surprising lack of false alarms.

SafeWander sends alerts to the caregiver’s smartphone rather than a separate pager. This lets you monitor more than one person at a time (mom and dad, for example). Their name pops up in the notification so you know which room to check. You can also see historical bed exit data to spot any trends.

The Secure Safety Solutions Bed Alarm comes with a pager that straps to the bed and flashes a bright light and sounds an 80 dB alarm. The volume can be adjusted from low to high but can’t be turned off.

This bed exit alarm has a very short warranty—the pad is covered for just 45 days.

The bed monitor beeps twice whenever pressure is applied to the pad, which helps caregivers confirm that the pad is working. These loud beeps can’t be disabled. Other than that, the bed monitor can also sound the alarm or stay silent. Hearing an alarm may encourage some people to stop and wait for help, but it could frighten others. We appreciate that there’s an option.

If you think this could work well for you and your loved ones, you can choose a regular 10-by-30-inch bed pad or an extra large 20-by-30-inch pad. Chair pads and floor mats are also available, or you can use the voice box on its own with the included pull cord.

The early warning system in Lunderg’s bed alarms is critical for preventing falls. Other bed alarms seem far too basic in comparison. That said, any bed alarm is better than no bed alarm at all.

For our review of the best bed alarms for seniors, we prioritized bed sensors with early-warning systems. We also looked at whether a portable pager was included and the pager’s range, volume controls, and other settings. We read dozens of user reviews to look for trending feedback. Learn more about how we rank and review products on our methodology page.

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