- Wear night clothes such as pyjamas or a large T-shirt to keep you warm. Natural fibres such as wool, cotton or silk will keep you warmer than synthetic materials.
- Have a warm bath just before you go to bed. This will gently warm and relax you to help you feel sleepy.
- Have a warming, milky drink.
- Try to take some exercise which will get the circulation going to help keep the body warm – but don’t do vigorous exercise too close to bed time as you may feel too invigorated to sleep.
- Keep the bedroom warm, but not too hot, and free from draughts.
- Look for a mattress which has a thicker side for use during the winter. A soft sleeping surface is a better insulator than a flat one. Use a fleecy underblanket to retain the heat.
- Choose a duvet with a high tog rating or use several layers of bedding rather than one single layer. Layers will trap warm air and are easily removed if you get too hot.
- A hot water bottle is an ideal way to keep warm once in bed. Make sure it has a cover on it to avoid scalding and also so that it won’t feel cold in the middle of the night. Electric blankets are ideal. Underblankets will warm the bed up before you retire for the night, while overblankets maintain a constant temperature throughout the night.
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What is sleep?
Sleep is the mysterious shift in consciousness that our bodies require every day. It’s vital for our health and wellbeing, and not only do we function less well when we don’t get enough quality sleep, but it can lead to long-term health problems. That’s why we need to do all that we can to ensure that we enjoy quality sleep and deal with any sleep problems.
The Sleep Cycle
During sleep our heart rate drops, our body temperature falls and we experience complex changes in brain activity. An EEG (electroencephalogram) gives us an insight into the brains electrical activity when we sleep:
- When we first fall asleep we enter non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. NREM is divided into three stages: – NREM1 – NREM2 and – NREM3, each stage becoming progressively ‘deeper’.
- Stages 1 and 2 are light stages of sleep from which we can be easily roused.
- Stage 3 is a deeper stage of sleep from which we’re more difficult to rouse, and some may feel disorientated if woken from this stage of sleep.
- Generally, after going through the NREM stages, we enter stage 4 which is known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which the EEG shows as being similar to wakefulness or drowsiness. It is during the REM stage of sleep that we dream.
- Each cycle lasts around 1½ hours and we need to experience all four stages in order to wake up rested.
- A good night’s sleep consists of five or six cycles, whereas disturbed sleep consists of far fewer.
Sleep is largely controlled by sleep pressure, and the circadian rhythm, or our body clock, which is a 24 hour cycle that regulates all our biological and physiological processes. It anticipates environmental changes around us so that our bodies can adapt to them.
In ideal situations, the circadian rhythm will naturally rise in the early morning, promoting wakefulness and alertness, and will reach a peak in the evening. After a waking period of around 15 hours the pressure to sleep becomes greater and greater, in other words, we get tired. With the onset of darkness, the circadian rhythm drops to the lowest level and helps to maintain sleep.
To ensure you experience good sleep it’s essential to follow good lifestyle habits and to eliminate the factors that are causing you disturbed sleep. For example making sure that your bedroom is the right environment, looking at the lighting in your home, and avoiding foods and drinks that can hinder sleep.
Start Now To Stop Children’s Sleep Being Affected When Clocks Change
When the clocks change it can be a nightmare for parents. Children’s bedtimes and wake times change and it can take anything from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to get back in sync.
Here are some top tips on how to overcome some of the problems of the clocks going back an hour on Sunday 30th October.
• Delay the start of your child’s bedtime routine, at least a week before the clocks change. Aim for around 10 – 15 minutes earlier every few days until bedtime has moved by an hour. Don’t worry if they still wake at the same time in the morning, it takes a couple of days to establish a new sleep pattern. Hopefully by the time the clocks go back on Sunday 30th, your child will have adjusted to the clock change.
• Toddlers still having a nap in the day should be encouraged to take the nap later or to be slightly longer so that they are able to go to bed that little bit later. Alter babies’ naps in the day.
• During the day before the clocks change, keep young children active – lots of fresh air and exercise – so they sleep well. But don’t totally wear them out as over-tired children are harder to get to sleep.
• If they wake up at their usual time you should encourage them to remain in bed – half an hour is probably your limit! If you don’t already have them, black out blinds or really dense curtains will help to keep morning light out.
• You may be gaining an hour but don’t go to bed an hour later than usual as chances are you won’t get the opportunity to lie-in!
It is worth noting that children with good sleep routines tend to cope better with the changes in time as they know what to expect at the end of the day. A good bedtime routine – teatime, followed by quiet play, bath, story and bed is typical. Ensure the environment is right for sleep – it should be cool, quiet and dark and make sure the bed is comfortable and supportive.
Caring for a new mattress
Proper Installation. Make sure your new mattress and foundation are properly installed in your home. Improper installation can damage your new sleep set. If you choose to transport and install on your own, ask the store personnel to give you some tips to help you avoid problems.
Rotate it. Unless your mattress care instructions indicate otherwise, you may want to periodically rotate your mattress from end-to-end and from top-to-bottom.
Use a protective pad. A good quality, washable mattress pad (and one for the foundation, too, if you like) is a must to keep your set fresh and free from stains.
Let it breathe. If you detect a slight “new product” odor, leave the mattress and foundation uncovered and well ventilated for a few hours. A breath of fresh air should do the trick!
Give it good support. Be sure to use a sturdy, high-quality bed frame. If it’s a queen or king size set, make sure your frame has the strong center support that will prevent the mattress from bowing or breakage.
Don’t dry clean. The chemicals in dry cleaning agents/spot removers may be harmful to the fabric or underlying materials. Vacuuming is the only recommended cleaning method. But if you’re determined to tackle a stain, use mild soap with cold water and apply lightly. Do not ever soak a mattress or foundation.
Don’t remove the tag. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not illegal to remove the law tag, but the information on the label will serve as a means of identification should you have a warranty claim.
It’s not a trampoline. Don’t let the kids jump on your sleep set. Their rough-housing could do damage to the interior construction of your bed, as well as to themselves!
No boards, please. Never put a board between the mattress and foundation. It may enhance the sense of support for a while, but it will only make the problem worse over time. When any bed in your home has reached the “board stage,” get rid of it.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions. Again, be sure to follow any specific guidelines from your manufacturer for the best method of mattress care.
Out with the old. Now that you’ve treated yourself to a new sleep set, arrange to have your old bed removed and disposed of. Don’t give it to the kids, relatives, guests or neighbors. If it wasn’t good enough for you, it isn’t good enough for anyone else. Get it Recycled
Types Of Mattresses
Innerspring mattress:
An innerspring mattress uses a steel coil support system. Manufacturers offer several different types of spring systems, including units with springs connected into a single unit and individually wrapped pocketed coils. Spring shapes, designs, coil gauge, and number of coils in a mattress can vary. The innerspring is covered by padding or upholstery materials, which can include various foams, fiber, and additional layers of smaller steel springs. Coil count can be more arbitrary, but the idea is that the greater the number of coils, the more points of support and greater distribution, thus the better the bed can contour and support the sleeper.
Foam mattress:
Foam mattresses use one or more types of foam as the support system. The foam may be polyurethane foam, memory (or visco elastic) foam, or latex foam, and can contain gel or other materials. The foam used in such mattresses can be manufactured in a variety of shapes and densities to offer consumers a mattress that has different comfort, feel and heat dissipation features.
Memory foam (visco) Mattress:
Memory foam (or visco elastic foam) mattresses use a high density polyurethane foam as the support system, in the upholstery layer, or both. This foam has properties that allow it to contour closely to the shape of the sleeper.
Pillow top mattress:
Pillow top mattresses provide an additional upholstery layer sewn into the top of the mattress. This layer can be made from a variety of fiber and foam materials.
Gel Mattress:
Gel mattresses use a type of foam that contains gel in the product’s support system, upholstery layers, or both. The gel is added to the foam using deferent types of technology. The gel foam can offer consumers different comfort, feel and heat dissipation features.
A Guide To Choose The Right Mattress In Ireland
“Sleep is the best medicine” very true words said by Dalai Lama. We all can relate to it, especially after growing up. During childhood, we didn’t fancy sleep much, only if we knew getting quality sleep might become difficult later in life. In ancient Egypt and China, people used to sleep on stone and porcelain pillows respectively for a long time. Thankfully, in today’s era we have access to much more comforting sleeping material. We can find a wide range of mattresses in Ireland.
But that does not mean that anything which contains fluffy material qualifies as perfect sleeping partner. Some say that going for soft mattress is good for health, while others vote for a hard one. So which one should you choose to buy? The conventional idea states that you need to look for a mattress that offers you the best compliance. On that note, here are few points to consider while buying mattresses in Ireland.
1. Trusted brand
There are ample of mattress shops across Ireland. While each of them claim to be the best, know which brands are genuine and offering the best materials. You can refer to your friends and family for their suggestions and feedback.
2. Type of mattress
Each one of us is different when it comes to shape and size, and thus, each one of us has a different need for bedding material. Know your particular need before buying. If you are light weighted, then going for a soft fluffy bed will be good for you. However, if you are heavier or suffering from back problem, then opting for a hard one or orthopedic bed will be appropriate for you.
3. Trial before buying
No matter how much you like a particular mattress, you MUST try it before you bring it home. Even though it might sound a bit funny to lie down on the mattress in the showroom or shop, remember, you are going to sleep on it for about six to eight hours a day and buying an inappropriate mattress will do no good.
4. Budget
Ideally, you should spend as much as you can. If you are thinking about saving budget, then remind yourself of how many dollars you spend on your sofas, where you spend so little time each day. Even though buying the right mattress might come a bit costly, you don’t need to spend a fortune on it if you are buying mattresses in Ireland. Mattress is not something you are going to buy every year, so buying it becomes your one time investment. Hence, make your investment count and go for the right one!
Ah! Tuesday’s Sleep
You might get to sleep in on the weekends but is it the best sleep? According to new research, the answer is no.
While it’s not the longest sleep of the week (weekends usually mean an extra 30 minutes in bed on Friday and Saturday nights), Tuesday night sleep is the most restorative, with a fall in blood pressure and stress hormones, according to a June 28 article in The Telegraph.
While experts aren’t exactly sure why this is the case, it could be that Tuesday nights are free from the rich food and drinks consumed over the weekend.
“People rest for a lot longer during the weekend, but perhaps they are out partying and letting their hair down and their bodies don’t physiologically recover,” says Simon Shepard, chief executive officer of Optima-Life, the U.K.-based distributor of the heart monitors used in the study. “On Mondays and Tuesdays, your energy levels may still be high after the weekend. And while you may still be sociable, you may be sociable in a different way, going to a book group rather than the pub.”
The study found only 48% of Saturday night and 48.7% of Friday night’s sleep revitalizes the body and brain. This is compared with a high of 55.1% on Tuesday nights, while 54.6% of sleep on Monday was considered to be restorative, the article notes.
What happen’s if your partner snores??
Getting enough sleep has this positive perk on a happy marriage — couples are more satisfied with their partners when they are rested.
Researchers at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, studied 68 newlyweds over a seven-day period. Each couple recorded the number of hours slept and answered two sets of questions on a scale of 1 (not satisfied at all) to 7 (extremely satisfied), according to a news release from FSU.
The first set of questions focused on relationship satisfaction. The second set focused on experiences in nine areas such as chores, conflict resolution and amount of time spent together.
The researchers found that husbands, in particular, were less negatively impacted by bad experiences when they had sufficient rest.
The paper, “The Rested Relationship: Sleep Benefits in Marital Evaluations,” was published in the July issue of the Journal of Family Psychology.
Orthopedic Mattresses – How It Helps You Overcome Spinal Pain?
Several people always complain about back pain regardless of they are sitting, standing or sleeping. Even a minor accident can trigger the endless episodes of back pain. The duration of sleep each night plays an important role as it provides quality time to the spine to recover itself. This is where the role of an orthopedic mattress comes in to the scene. If the mattress is not doing its job right, the chances of repair gets out of the equation, instead, the condition of the spine gets worsened.
Apart from any prior injury or bad posture, sleeping on wrong kind of mattress can also induce back pain. If this condition is not treated in right time, it can become a permanent problem. So, replacing the regular mattress with an orthopedic mattress improves this situation and aids the body to repair itself.
If the reason for constant back pain is not a result of any injury or accident, then the chances are high that the individual is sleeping on the wrong mattress. Every individual is unique in terms of shape, size and body weight, and thus, each individual needs a unique kind of mattress. One mattress which is adequate for one individual might be causing problem for the other one.
It is to be kept in mind that, every mattress does deteriorate with time and a low quality does it even more quickly. The more quickly it wears off, the sooner the back pain starts again.
An orthopedic mattress is designed to provide comfort and right posture to the body for a much longer period. The spine is curved twice to give the shape of ‘S’, if this shape is not maintained, the individual can develop back ache.
The spine is robust and can recover automatically if it gets adequate amount of rest on correct mattress. An orthopedic mattress is designed specifically to support the spine with exerting minimum pressure. It also provides spine the perfect alignment, irrespective of whether the individual is a back sleeper or side sleeper.
The typical weekdays of an individual is spent on doing desk work and weekends on doing recreational activities, thus the condition of the spine does not stay the same and needs different care during the night. An orthopedic mattress is designed to endure these changes. Unlike the spring mattress, the orthopedic mattress exerts ideal pressure on spine and soothing the back while sleeping.