A vibratory, motorized articulated bed including a head motor, a foot motor and a vibratory massage motor, is controlled by a remote control hand-held device. The device has (a) a first user-activated mechanism which controls an operation of at least one of the head and foot motors and (b) a second user-activated mechanism which shifts an on-off cycling rhythm of the massage motor between first and second different rhythms with the massage motor running. According to another aspect of the invention, a control circuit remotely operable by a user of the bed is provided. The control circuit includes (a) a user memory which stores a remotely-communicated user variable to indicate a user-selected preferred position of the bed, (b) a recall control by which the user can remotely command the bed to be returned to the preferred position, and (c) a handler routine which is responsive to the recall control and which returns the bed to the preferred position.