Understanding Sleep, Sleep Health, Sleep Disorders, Sleep Aids and More

Does it often take you more than 30 minutes to fall asleep at night? Or do you wake up frequently during the night - or too early in the morning - and have a hard time going back to sleep? When you awaken, do you feel groggy and lethargic? Do you feel drowsy during the day particularly during monotonous situations?

If you answered "yes" to any one of these questions, you may have a "sleep debt" that is affecting you in ways you don't even realize. And, you aren't alone. A recent NSF Sleep in America poll found that a majority of American adults experience sleep problems. However, few recognize the importance of adequate rest, or are aware that effective methods of preventing and managing sleep problems now exist.

To Learn More About:

Why Do You Need Sleep?
How Much Sleep Is Enough?
Is All Sleep the Same?
Who's At Risk For Poor Sleep?
What are the biggest "Sleep Stealers?"

Visit, How To Get A Great Nights Sleep!

We have learned so much from The National Sleep Foundation and the The Better Sleep Council over the years, so both resources are great. But I really like the way The National Sleep Foundation laid out their sleep disorders information all in one place!

Learn More about Sleep Disorders

1) Why is sleep important?

Sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. Like eating right and exercising, sleeping well is essential to feeling your best during the day. It affects how you feel, your relationships, your productivity and your quality of life. While you sleep, your brain goes to work, consolidating the day's learning into memory and reenergizing the body.

2) Is it true that napping can be bad for you?

There's nothing wrong with taking a short nap to help refresh you during the day. But if you find you're napping all the time, it could be a sign that you aren't getting as much sleep as you should. Or that you're not getting the deep, restful sleep you need at night.

3) Does the mattress affect how a person sleeps?

Yes. The mattress has the potential either to encourage sleep or rob you of sleep. Whether your mattress is a sleep friend or a sleep foe can determine how refreshed you feel in the morning. If you're tossing and turning more at night or if you're waking up feeling stiff or sore after a night's sleep, it could be a sign that your current mattress is no longer the best for you. Your body appreciates a comfortable, supportive mattress and will let you know if it's not up to the task.

4) How much sleep does the average person need?

The average person needs 7-8 hours a night, but it differs for every person. Some people may need as much as 10 hours a night and others need much less. If you sleep longer on the weekends than during the week, you probably aren't getting the sleep you need every night.

More Sleep Questions & Answers!

If you're one of the "still" surprisingly many that just can't get the sleep thing right, keep reading! How many times a week do you wake up where you can't figure out if you're getting up or going to bed and rolling over is the only option. Or you wake up with a headache, numb leg or that stiff neck that goes right to the shoulder blade and you can't look left or right, what's that about? After struggling through a tough day, no way do you have anything left for family play time in the evening.

There's a time proven, simple method to regain back and enjoy your full days, but most of us definitely take it for granted...

More Great Sleep Tips To Improve Your Sleep!

Over the past 4 years we have researched all types of mattresses to identify the best choices available today. The next 4 modules will outline our choices.

Our goal was to satisfiy the following criteria:

- Mattresses that would eliminate pressure points.
- Maintain skeletal alignment.
- Outlast traditional coil/springs mattress. (8yr ave)
- No flipping required.
- Minimize or eliminate body impressions.
- Affordable for all to consider.
- North American Made. (Higher standards)
- No chemical fillers.
- Well known industry leaders for their products.

First we eliminated the coil/springs mattresses as they have such a descrepency between coil count and price range. If you really want a good mattress with higher coil counts you're in the ballpark of $3500 - $5000. This is beyond our affordability range for the average income earner and you still have a minimal life span. To be fair most will out last the 8 year average but we still found it too expensive for the qulaity we were hoping to find. (No need to dig any further)

We narrowed our search down to 4 distinct types of mattresses or beds, each for their own special characteristics and excellent health benefits.

1) AIR BEDS. Extremely unique in that, rarely do two people have the exact same comfort preferences and with air beds, each can adjust their comfort settings for their side of the bed.

Air beds (high-end Queen) range from $700 for lower end models - $3600 for the most popular name brands. We tried most of them and the lower end models lacked quality materials, construction and warranty.

Popular name brands have good materials, construction and warranty but seemed to stop improving their product and in our view, seemed to price their products high to cover their heavy advertising budgets.

The hands down winner for us is the SP Air Line by SleepPros. It has everything you can want in an air bed and much more and is very affordable for the quality.

Click image to see the numerous benefits:

2) ADJUSTABLE BEDS. We included this type of adjustable bed frame due to the health benefits it provides for acid reflux, heartburn, lower back pain and the overall natural position it keeps your body in.

Adjustable beds (Queen) range from $1000 for lower end models - $3400 for the most popular name brands. The lower end models lacked a solid frame construction and used only one motor to lift both the head and foot sections. This would potentially burn out the motor sooner. The name brand adjustable beds again used quality material and had more stylish frame options but the prices were out of reach for the average income earner.

Our choice was Leggett & Platt S-Cape which has high quality materials and excellent heavy duty construction. It uses two motors one at the head and one at the feet to share the load and has several other benefits as well.

Click the image to see more:

3) TALALAY LATEX. We chose Latex for it's natural health qualities. Latex is inherently hypo-allergenic, anti-microbial and dust-mite resistant. Because it breathes to remove body moisture, it keeps you warmer in the winter, and cooler in the summer. Latex is not a plastic foam, like polyurethane or furniture foam. It is a denser product made of rubber to last a lifetime.

Talalay Latex is a process that produces the finest latex available.
Learn About the Talalay Process Here!

Like any foam products, we stick to North American products made with high industry standards as a lot of imported foams, although cheaper in price, use chemical fillers in their products, lowering the price but increasing the posibility of health issues like alergic reactions in cluding rashes and in some cases open wounds. Not to mention that the foam smell doesn't seem to go away!

Our choice was easy Latex International, they just produce the best quality latex product period. Although latex is used more in Europe, it is starting to get extremely popular in North America.

Click the image to see more:

4) MEMORY FOAM. Over the past 4-5 years memory foam has gone crazy. The space age material has really taken off (OK that was cheesy) but for good reason. Visco Elastic Memory Foam is temperature sensitive. It actually reacts to the heat produced by your body, conforming to your body in a way no other material can. Where your body is making the most contact with the memory foam, the foam reacts and becomes softer. Where your body is making less contact, the foam stays cooler and remains more firm. The result is pressure being evenly distributed throughout the sleeper's body, leading to fewer pressure points and a more restorative sleep.

I know I sound like a recording, but we are sticking with North American made products for our choice. You can find (Queen) memory foam beds from $300 for low end and $3000 for name brands.

Our choice was Us Made Foamex. They have a great product and the price is extremely reasonable but what really got us was that they provide a layered construction. Each layer has a different ILD (firmness) rating that allow the consumer to adjust their comfort level by changing the layers within the mattress casing. No more one mattress fits all!

Click the image to see more:

A 1999 National Sleep Foundation survey on Sleep in America reported 60% of children under 18 reported being tired and 15% said they had fallen asleep in class. These are the results of millions of children experiencing problems sleeping.

Children need 9 to 10 hours of sleep every night. Insufficient sleep can result in seriously impaired performance and behavior - in school, sports and other activities. Kids need more sleep than adults so they need to sleep on a bed that provides a comfortable and healthy sleeping environment. Dr. James Maas, sleep expert and professor at Cornell University, says that kids 14 years and younger need at least 9 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. Older teenagers, despite their protestations to the contrary, should still be getting a healthy night's rest of about 9 hours because of the emotional and physical changes they are experiencing11.

Today's teens are a sleep-deprived generation that drinks more caffeine, gets up earlier for school and goes to bed later than ever.

Some tips for kids/teens:

-- Don't rely on caffeine to keep you awake - it'll make it more difficult when you try to fall asleep.

-- Keep regular bedtime hours.

-- Try to limit late-night computer usage. Being on the computer stimulates adrenalin and, like caffeine, makes it difficult to fall asleep.

-- Get homework done early in the evening whenever possible.

Some tips for parents:

-- Make sure kids understand it's important to get a good night's sleep. Don't sacrifice good health for good grades; it's likely their grades will suffer without adequate sleep.

-- Encourage your kids to go to bed at the same time every night and that they get an adequate number of hours of sleep, depending on their age.

-- Let your children sleep in if they're tired on the weekends - it's probably not just laziness. Make sure, however, that their oversleeping isn't because of depression or other medical problems.

-- Make sure your child has a good quality mattress set that provides proper support and is comfortable to him or her. A hand-me-down mattress isn't appropriate - you should invest in a mattress set for your child just as you should for yourself.

-- Children need a dark, quiet, cool bedroom setting just as adults do.

-- Develop a nightly ritual of bedtime activities for younger children such as reading to them or singing and don't divert from it.

According to the Better Sleep Council, it is a widely accepted myth that people need less sleep with age. "Actually, as adults age, they need just as much sleep as they did when they were younger - they simply have a more difficult time getting the sleep they need," says Andrea Herman, director of the Better Sleep Council.

As adults get older, their bodies experience a number of physical changes that can lead to nighttime discomfort - making it difficult to sleep peacefully without disruptions. Some of these factors include: more brittle bones, decreased circulation, arthritis and lower back pain.

More Sleep Help!

Many sleep related articles, including my own, have tried to hammer home the important health related implications of poor sleep habits. We're finding out more issues every day, but our articles are starting to look beyond everyday issues that more and more of us face, like, losing pounds!

Dieters are dedicated to their goal, they have to be, to get the required exercise, eat right, drink right and sleep right%u2026.heh%u2026what? Yes, sleep does affect your diet, not enough sleep can actually add unwanted pounds.

A complex study in Norfolk Virginia by a group of researchers from the Eastern Virginia Medical School came to very simple conclusion: If you don't get enough sleep regularly, you will gain weight.

Their findings showed that as sleep time diminished, the body mass index increased, and even more so for obese individuals. (Body mass index or BMI is a measure of weight in relation to height. Those of normal weight have a BMI less than 25.)

It's important to realize that very little sleep can make a huge difference. Researchers have found that only 20 minutes a night might solve the added weight issue. It seems people with normal weight slept an average of 16 minutes more a day than the heavier participants. Generally, the larger participants slept about 1.8 hours a week less. I'm sure all your hard work is worth the extra 20 minutes of sleep to maintain your healthy diet.

How Sleep Affects Your Diet..cont!

If you think lack of sleep only gets you uncontrollable yawns and bags under your eyes, take note, it may be more costly to your health than you think!

A study done by Sleep Heart Health has found more evidence of increased diabetic conditions related to lack of sleep. But it doesn't stop there; it also shows evidence of the same conditions with too much sleep.

These findings come from a study where 722 men and 764 women, aged 53 to 93 years enrolled in the study. Working with a controlled sleep time of 7 - 8 hours a night and ruling out other potential issues such as sleep apnea, insomnia, obesity, sex, age and race. The study shows a strong link between Type 2 Diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance and amount of sleep.

- In those who slept 5 hours or less a night, Diabetes was 2.5 times more common.
- In those who slept 6 hours a night, Diabetes was 66% more common.
- In those who slept 9 or more hours a night, Diabetes was 79% more common.

More on Sleep and Diabetes!

1 - Did you know that you spend more time on your bed than any other piece of furniture? You spend a third of your life in bed, and you rely on it more for your health and well-being. That's why it's so important to invest in the best mattress you can afford.

2 - Your mattress needs to be the perfect fit for you. It's just like buying the right pair of shoes. You may have very different needs than your neighbor, so take the time to choose a mattress that meets your individual needs for com-fort and support.

3 - Do you have trouble sleeping because of stress? A third of Americans do. It's not always possible to reduce our stress, but we can pay attention to our sleep environment. A comfortable mattress can dramatically improve the quality of our sleep.

4 - How you sleep at night determines how you feel during the day. Sleep not only determines how rested you feel, but how productive you are at work, your mood, your energy level, your memory and your overall health. Sleeping on the right mattress is important to the quality of your life.

5 - Have you read about the most recent study of mattresses and back pain? A study at medical clinics shows that sleeping on a new mattress can help to alleviate lower back pain. If you wake up with pain or stiffness, it's a good sign that it's time to replace your mattress with one that offers better comfort.

6 - Sleep loss can cause serious health problems. Doctors now know that too little or disrupted sleep is associated with serious medical problems, including heart disease, obesity, hypertension and a weakened immune system. To get the healthy sleep you need, be sure you're sleeping on a quality mattress.

7 - Not sleeping as well as you used to? If you're not sleeping as well as you'd like, if you wake up stiff and sore or maybe you had your best night's sleep in a bed other than your own chances are you're overdue for a new mattress.

8 - Good sleep is rejuvenating for your mind and body. But it's tough on your mattress. Plan on replacing your mattress and its foundation regularly to make sure you're still getting the comfort and support you deserve.

Sleep Center

We have taken the time to compile a useful link page that covers several different sleep issues and other related links that you might find interetsing. This list is continually growing to provide more subjects and more links. We will be importing all the links directly onto this lens shortly, to hopefully make it more convenient for our visitors.

The links cover subjects like:

Insomnia (3 links)
Narcolepsy (4 links)
Sleep Apnea (10 links)
Sleep and Aging (2 links)
Infant and Children Sleep Disorders (7 links)
Restless Legs Syndrome (3 links)
Sleep Disorders Medicine (5 links)
Circadian Rhythm, Shiftwork, Jetlag (2 links)

More Great Sleep Links!