My vibrating BED saw off my cellulite By Lucy Cavendish Just imagine a bed that could cure cellulite, where all you had to do was sleep soundly every night while your mattress got rid of the unsightly, dimpled skin that blights your life and ruins your holiday photos. Surely such wondrous magic is the stuff of fairy tales - or is it? As I find myself manoeuvring a six-foot double bed into a small bedroom in my house in Oxfordshire one afternoon, I am hoping it could soon become a reality. I'm up for anything when it comes to trying to rid my bum and thighs of the horrific cottage cheese effect which has marred them since my 20s. Orange peel free: Lucy Cavendish says that her new vibrating bed has banished her cellulite Even losing a few stone recently didn't help my lumpy legs. I've tried every 'miracle cure' on the market, buffing myself with 'anti-cellulite' sponges and rubbing ludicrously expensive lotions and potions into the offending areas. Sadly, none of them has worked. Could it be that all I have needed to do all these years was snuggle under the duvet for eight hours a night? Gary Baker believes that could be so. He is the director of Squirrel Medical, a company specialising in gently vibrating beds widely used in hospitals to help cure patients with sports-related injuries by improving circulation. His specially-designed bed is medically proven to relieve pressure on the skin and help blood flow and lymphatic drainage. The manufacturers say the constantly moving bed brings more blood flow to the skin's tissue, removing toxins. As a welcome spin-off it also - supposedly - tackles cellulite. The bed, called Dream Flow, will soon be on general sale to the public, costing from £400 to £6,000, depending on design and specification, and I have the honour of being the first to test it. My hopes are high: all I'm required to do is use it for seven weeks minimum and, hey presto, my thighs will be smooth. Forget the gym, this is the sort of cellulite treatment I like. First Gary explains the science: a series of air chambers in the mattress inflate and deflate at pre-set intervals throughout the night to increase blood circulation. When you lie on a normal bed, the tiny blood vessels on the skin's surface can become squashed for long periods; the gentle vibrations of a Dream Flow bed relieve the pressure to keep your blood and lymph flowing smoothly. Improvement: The bed might not give you model legs (right) but it will banish bad cellulite like this (left) Sleeping beauty: Although the bed hums all night, you can make it pretty like this non-vibrating bed 85 per cent of women in the UK have cellulite with one study proving that it actually worsened in women who tried to lose weight. 'It's like a spa bed,' Gary explains. Water jets help improve circulation by massaging the skin and my bed does the same - but instead of water it has moving air pockets inside the mattress which move around as you sleep. Dr Elisabeth Dancey, founder of London's Bijox Medi Spa, backs up the theory, explaining how increased circulation is one of the key factors in the fight against cellulite. 'Cellulite is a disorder of the fat cells,' she says. What we see as a lumpy, bumpy silhouette is over-filled fat cells pinched and disfigured by fibrous tissue. This is an ageing process of the subcutaneous fat (the fat beneath the skin); inadequate nourishment, oxygenation and drainage cause the fat cells to malfunction. At the same time, reduced oxygenation leads to the conversion of healthy elastic support tissue into rigid, fibrous tissue. Most cellulite treatments aim to reduce the fatty deposits and fibrous tissue by improving circulation and tissue drainage. The bed is trying for the same effect - but without any effort on your part. I have to admit, I'm feeling sceptical. My cellulite is pretty stubborn, so I'm not convinced that a mattress can get rid of it where everything else has failed. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Getting the bed set up isn't easy, since it features lots of fancy bits and pieces, including a set of wooden springs shaped like inverted mushrooms which slot into the frame. There's also a large, complicated-looking electronic machine which sits under the bed and is connected to the mattress and moves the air pockets around. To complicate things even further, one side of the bed is Dream Flow but the other side has a standard mattress for those with a partner who doesn't want to be gently squeezed and pummelled all night. I've been divorced for a year, so I don't have a man to worry about - but I can imagine this would be a little peculiar for anyone who does share a bed. And indeed, when I lie down, the whole bed seems to gently shift underneath me as the mattress reacts to my body weight. Then the bed does something quite incredible: it sighs. Firming: Nuxe Tonific Minceur Anti-Cellulite Cream-Gel, £21.50, liberty.co.uk Smoothing: Biotherm Celluli Laser D.Code Anti Cellulite Treatment, £37.79, boots.com The goal: Thanks to the Dream Flow vibrating bed, super smooth thighs like these can be yours I rear up, feeling worried. Has the bed just identified a particularly arduous challenge ahead? Is it judging me on the severity of my cellulite? Gary Baker tells me it's nothing to be concerned about, it's just the sound of the bed adjusting itself to my weight. The only problem I anticipate is that the bed is so noisy, I fear it's going to keep me awake all night. There's a constant low humming, then every ten minutes or so there's yet another disappointed-sounding sigh. Next I need to adjust the bed, using a small remote control attached to the mattress which sets the firmness. I set it to medium and the bed sighs again, then moves to adjust to my weight. Finally I'm ready. At 11pm that night I grab my pyjamas and novel and embark on my anti-cellulite work-out. I have never been this eager heading to the gym. My first night isn't good, however, mainly because the bed is so noisy. But the mattress is amazing, moulding itself to my body so that it feels wonderfully comfortable. If it wasn't for the constant sighing, I'd be snoring within seconds. I realise it's going to be a long night and stare for hours at the ceiling as the bed sighs away beneath me. Slowly I start getting used to it, though, eventually finding it quite restful as I adjust to the noise and movements of the bed. At some point I fall into a deep sleep, and actually wake feeling much more refreshed than usual. After a week sleeping in the bed, I notice my painful right hip (injured years ago when I fell off a horse and never fully recovered) has become far less painful. As for the cellulite, I see no difference for the first two weeks: sadly my legs look as dimpled as ever. By week four, however, I scrutinise myself in a mirror and am convinced the backs of my thighs are less dimpled. A week later, I ask a friend with whom I have regularly compared cellulite to check mine out. 'You barely have any!' she says. Where has it gone? She sounds amazed, so I stare at my back view in the mirror. I can still see cellulite, but not nearly as much as before. By week seven, I'm feeling good. I've been sleeping really well, and my cellulite has virtually disappeared. There is still a small amount of dimpling on the backs of my thighs, but it's so much improved that I can barely see it. I feel so much healthier and more vibrant, and realise that I haven't felt this way in a very long time. My sleep is deeper, my body no longer aches, and so improved is my cellulite that I can wear my swimsuit with impunity - and maybe even a little pride - this summer. What's not to like? I'm a convert. Sometimes, when you pray hard enough, dreams do come true. For more details visit dream-flow.co.uk