Tag: sleep trends

The benefits of sleeping naked

If you struggle to sleep in hot weather, you might be tempted to strip down to your birthday suit. The good news is research has shown repeatedly that sleeping naked has a positive impact on everything from your reproductive health to your self-esteem.

We’ve done the research, and these are the reported benefits of sleeping naked:

Lose weight

When your body temperature is lower, you start to produce more brown fat. This is the good kind of fat because it burns blood sugar and stored white fat (the bad stuff). Brown fat helps to reduce your risk of obesity and diabetes.

Fall asleep faster

When your body is cooler, you fall asleep faster. A naked body is usually cooler, so this could be the answer if you’re struggling to sleep in the heat.

Vaginal health

Tight-fitting or sweaty underwear can increase your risk of a vaginal yeast infection. Sleeping without underwear helps get some air down there.

Male fertility

Studies have shown a link between lower sperm count and tight-fitting. Sleeping without underwear, or loose boxers, is optimal for sperm health.

Relationship booster

If you’re sleeping with a partner, sleeping naked could be a good bonding strategy. It might lead to greater closeness in your relationship.

Improved self-esteem

Being naked in general, whether it’s in your bed or elsewhere, usually helps you become more at ease with your body. When you love and accept your body the way it is, your self-esteem improves.

Better sleep quality

All of the above ultimately leads to better sleep quality. With better sleep quality, you begin to experience the Sealy Effect in your life:

• Improved brain function as your brain forms new neuropathways while you sleep
• Better relationships because you have better problem-solving skills, less irritability and improved stress management
• Enhanced athletic performance with better speed, accuracy and reaction time
• Stronger heart and lower chance of developing heart disease, diabetes, kidney malfunction, and stroke
• Stronger immune system because when your body sleeps it produces cytokines, which help your body fight foreign particles or microbes

Sleep naked: Bedding more important than ever

If you sleep naked you will have to be more diligent about washing your sheets and other bedding regularly. We recommend at least every two weeks. Purchasing sheets that are not only durable but also make you feel comfortable is important. By sticking to cotton or cotton blends, you’ll still get an amazing sleep with this breathable, lightweight, soft and popular material. Sealy sheets are made from 100% cotton percale, with a minimum 200 thread count.

Researchers have identified the ‘sleep sweet spot’

Cognitive decline is when a person begins to experience slight but noticeable changes to their mental functions such as memory and thinking skills. A recent study has revealed a ‘sleep sweet spot’ that helps to retain stable cognitive functioning.

Led by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in the United States, the study monitored the sleep of 100 older adults over a number of years. It found that those who slept six to eight ours were able to maintain stable cognitive functioning. This is the sleep sweet spot. (Read more about the study here.)

Those who slept fewer than six hours or longer than eight hours showed declining brain function. This suggests that it’s not necessarily about how much or how little you sleep, but rather the quality of your sleep.

Alzheimer’s contributes to a large percentage of dementia cases, and is the main cause of cognitive decline in adults. Poor sleep is a common symptom of the disease and is also known to speed up the decline.

The sleep sweet spot requires continual, quality sleep

The sweet spot for sleep is six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, where you are able to cycle through the various stages of sleep four to six times each night.

• Stage 1– During the first stage of sleep, your body starts to relax. Bodily functions such as breathing and heartbeat slow down and your muscles relax and your brain waves begin to slow down.
• Stage 2– This stage encompasses half of your sleep cycle. You fall into this stage of sleep more than any of the others. During this stage your body continues to relax, your brain waves are much slower with short periods of activity, your eye movements stop and your body temperature drops.
• Stages 3 and 4– These stages are considered deep sleep stages.  This is where your body is in the deepest state of relaxation and brain waves are at their slowest.  At this stage, it’s hard to wake up, and you might not even wake up with loud noises. Your body stays in deep sleep the longest during the first few cycles.  As the night progresses the deep sleep cycle gets shorter.
• Stage 5– This last stage is REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep.

Sleep stages 3 and 4 facilitate several processes in the body.  During these stages, the brain metabolises glucose which helps with memory and overall learning.  As you sleep, your brain forms new neuropathways, which helps with learning, remembering and problem-solving.  These are the other benefits of deep sleep:

• Promotes growth and repair of tissues and bones
• Cells regenerate
• Strengthens the immune system
• Increases blood supply to the muscles
• Restores energy

Deep sleep is a vital part of your body and your brain healing itself

There are many things that can cause you not to fall into sleep stages 3 and 4.  One of the main contributors is your mattress. When your mattress is not comfortable, it’s difficult to fall into a deep sleep because your body can’t get comfortable enough to relax.  You may toss and turn which keeps your body alert.

If you are waking up tired all the time, even after getting the right amount of sleep, you might need to look at your mattress as the culprit.  A good mattress supports your body and allows it to relax and fall into a deep sleep. Use the Sealy mattress selector tool to help figure out the best mattress for your needs.

Below are some additional tips that will help you hit that sleep sweet spot, to get the sleep your body needs:

• If your sleep is suffering, seek professional help as soon as possible. Please note that this article, and any information provided on the Sealy blog, is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
• Be mindful of the media you consume, especially close to bedtime. Reading bad news might make you feel anxious, which will hinder your sleep.
• Try get outside into the sunlight the first one or two hours after waking up. This helps to set your circadian rhythm.
• Create a calming bedtime routine which you start at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Stick to the same bedtime and waking up time. Your body, and your sleep, responds well to routine.
• Try to clear your mind by journaling and meditating.
• Fit exercise into your day but be careful not to exercise too close to bedtime.

Coronasomnia, and six things you can do about it

We can handle celebrity super couple nicknames like Brangelina and Kimye, but we don’t think ‘coronasomnia’ sounds cute at all. However, like it or not, coronavirus and insomnia seem to go hand in hand and coronasomnia is indeed real.

Coronasomnia is the marked increase in sleep problems because of COVID-19. It’s caused by the actual virus of course, but it’s also caused by financial and emotional stress, loneliness, professional worries and the sense of being out of control of one’s life. This is particularly concerning when you consider that lack of sleep was already considered a public health epidemic before the virus.

A recent Sleep Foundation article quotes Dr. Abinav Singh of the Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center in the US, who coronasomnia one of several “tandemics”. He explains it as “an epidemic caused by, made worse by, and runs in tandem with the pandemic.” Another example of a tandemic is the increase in mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

The difference between insomnia and coronasomnia is that insomnia would have been identified before the pandemic started, and coronasomnia is directly related to experiences around COVID. For many people, the stress and anxiety, ongoing social distancing, minimal work-life boundaries and ongoing uncertainty has made sleep worse than ever before.

Six things you can do about insomnia caused by coronavirus

• If your sleep begins to suffer, seek professional help as soon as possible. We’re now solidly in our second year of the pandemic which means there has been ample time for sleep problems to become sleep habits, which could in turn become sleep disorders. Please note that this article, and any information provided on the Sealy blog, is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
• If you’re working from home, create a separate work and sleep area if possible. Try not to work in your bedroom, and definitely don’t work on your laptop in bed! Let your brain associate your bed with sleep and relaxation, rather than work.
• Be mindful of the media you consume, especially close to bedtime. Reading pandemic-related news might make you feel anxious, which will hinder your sleep.
• Try get outside into the sunlight the first one or two hours after waking up. This helps to set your circadian rhythm.
• Create a calming bedtime routine which you start at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Stick to the same bedtime and waking up time. Your body, and your sleep, responds well to routine.
• Try to clear your mind by journaling and meditating.
• Fit exercise into your day but be careful not to exercise too close to bedtime.

Reasons to get excited about Sealy’s new natural latex pillow

Gone are the days when you simply grab the first pillow you see. Nowadays there is so much choice – and we’re proud to tell you we’re giving you even more choice with our brand new natural latex pillow: My Ultra Luxury Natural Latex pillows.

What is a natural latex pillow?

Natural latex pillows are gaining in popularity around the world because they’re known to be durable, supportive and soft. You can consider them a ‘gift from the Earth’ because they’re made from all-natural latex from the extracted sap of the rubber tree, sourced from selected and controlled plantations. This means they’re environmentally friendly… and that’s one of the reasons we love these pillows so much.

Reasons to fall in love with these pillows

• Latex pillows are proven to work well for a variety of sleep positions because they’re soft and flexible while at the same time providing excellent support for the neck and spine. Whether you sleep on your back or on your sides, Sealy natural latex pillows offer great support because the material adjusts to your movement, providing a firm but soft support.
• They’re hypoallergenic with antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. We use an intense hot air process to dry the latex, and this helps prevent mold, fungi, bacteria and mildew formation. It also makes the pillows more resistant to dust mites.
• Not too hot, not too cold. Latex naturally has lots of air cells between its fibers and is excellently ventilated, allowing natural latex pillows to breathe, offering temperature control on a softer sleep surface.
• Latex is a dense and elastic material, so pillows made with this material maintain their shape and softness much longer than most other pillow fillings.
• They’re easy to look after. Latex pillows don’t have to be cleaned as often as other pillows. Sealy Natural Latex Pillows come with a cotton pillow zip cover or a luxurious “teddy bear” zip off cover, which can be easily removed and washed, and the pillow itself should only ever be spot cleaned.

Click here to find out more about the Sealy My Ultra Luxury Natural Latex pillow.

The difference between a natural latex pillow and a synthetic latex pillow

While out shopping for your next pillow, you might come across a synthetic latex pillow. So what’s the difference between the two? A natural latex pillow us made using only latex from the rubber tree, with no other filling materials. A synthetic latex pillow combines natural latex with various fillers and is made using petrochemicals.

New study: The full moon can impact sleep patterns

It looks like there is some truth behind those old myths about the moon and how they impact human behaviour. A new study published in Science Advances found that people tend to sleep for shorter periods during the days leading up to a full moon.

Published in late January 2021, the Moonstruck Sleep Study shows how sleep cycles seem to change with the lunar cycle. Researchers at the University of Washington, led by biology professor Horacio de la Iglesia, measured the sleep cycle of 562 people as the moon progressed through one whole cycle (29.5 days). Some participants were studies for two moon cycles.

Sleep cycles and the full moon

The team studied city-dwelling college students in Seattle and Washington, as well as people living in indigenous communities in northern Argentina. The different environments would help to assess whether a person’s access to artificial light might impact sleep patterns. The team found that while the connection between sleep cycles and the full moon are more obvious in areas without electricity access, the connection was still present in areas with electricity.

The study showed that, irrespective of ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds, people had the latest bedtimes (on average 30 minutes later than usual) and least amount of sleep (52 minutes less) during the three to five days before a full moon.

During the three to five days before a full moon, there is more light in the sky as the moon gets bigger. The researchers believe that the changes to our sleep could be an evolutionary adaptation, from a time when our ancestors would take advantage of this natural source of evening light.

THE UNSURPASSED LUXURY OF la différence

If you’re passionate about sleep, regardless of the stages of the lunar cycle, we would like to introduce you to our stunning la différence beds. To sleep in a luxury la différence bed is an experience both sensuous and essential to achieving truly healthy sleep. la différence takes beauty sleep to a whole new level, and is available in Luxury and Luxury Pillow, each designed to provide indulgent comfort and support for years to come.

Click here to find out more about la différence.

A look at the latest sleep wearables

With the world finally starting to understand the undeniable impact of good quality sleep, there is a variety of sleep wearables available today. From the more familiar smartwatches and fitness trackers to the new tech in sleeping masks and headphones, all sorts of options are out there.

In this blog post, we investigate some of the best options available and how they work.

Smartwatches

Smartwatches, probably, are the most commonly used sleep wearable around. They can track your sleeping patterns effectively and provide you with accurate information on your sleep stages, awake times, snoring habits, and more.

If you’re looking for the best options in smartwatches, Fitbit Versa 2 is one of the best sleep trackers on the market. It’s a lightweight wrist watch that allows you to check out your deep, light, REM sleep stages as well as awake times every day. It even allows you to do a comparison of your nights with other individuals in your age group or how it was last month.

It comes with a tri-wavelength sensor and a relative SpO₂ sensor for unlocking Estimated Oxygen Variation as you sleep. This feature measures your blood oxygen levels along with any large swings that may indicate certain sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.

Depending on your sleep duration, heart rate, sleep restoration, blood oxygen, and the time you spent tossing and turning around, it gives you a certain sleep score. As a result, you can better track how good you are sleeping every night.

Rings

If you don’t feel comfortable wearing fitness trackers and smartwatches, you can opt for rings that can help you track your sleep. The Oura Ring 2 is a small-sized, comfortable sleep wearable. It is equipped with multiple sensors and looks like a novel piece of jewelry.

The Oura Ring 2 features an infrared heart rate monitor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and three temperature sensors. It can effectively track your sleep and can tell you the amount of time you spend in every single sleeping stage. There is plentiful information available on its companion app too.

Sleep Masks

Sleep masks are another increasingly popular type of sleep wearables available today. They are actually meant to promote better sleep through sleep therapy.

The Sound Oasis Glo To Sleep Therapy Mask, for instance, uses Glo Points photoluminesce to allow alpha waves to calm your mind while relaxing the body at the same time. It’s a lightweight product that offers excellent light blockage to allow for more comfortable sleep. Made with a hypoallergenic, soft and breathable material, it comes with an adjustable strap that so it can fit perfectly.

Bands

Wrist bands are also among common sleep wearables used today. The Xiaomi Mi Band 4 is a slim, light, and affordable wrist band that monitors your heart rate and gives you a sleep score depending on the time you spent in each sleep stage. It also offers detailed sleep analysis reports through the companion app too.

Headphones

If you can’t sleep in noisy bedrooms, sleeping headphones are probably your best companion. They can effectively block any disruptive noises from neighbors, traffic, snoring partner, or any other source that may affect your sleep quality.

The Moonbow Bedphones are an impressive introduction to the sleep wearables category. These are  super-thin, soft foam-covered sleeping earphones. With their low-profile patented on-ear design, they are quite comfortable and allow for comfortable side-sleeping.

Sealy Posturematic Adjustable Foundation

While the Sealy Posturematic Adjustable Foundation is not exactly a tech wearable, it is an impressive piece of sleep tech that will help you get the best sleep of your life. And quality sleep is definitely a good wearable! The Sealy S600 Posturematic and Power Foundation bed will change the way you look at beds forever. With these high-tech beds, you can adjust the mattress to suit your needs, whether you want to lie down flat, with your head up or your feet up. The bed also has a built-in LCD clock, indirect lighting, dual massage and it’s very own remote control. Click here to find out more about this ground-breaking Sealy bed.

What’s your animal sleep style?

Most people can relate to the idea that not everyone’s biological clock runs on the same schedule. Just as you are calling it a day, your partner may be entering into their most creative and energetic hours.

We have all been away with those friends who want to wake at 5.30am every morning on holiday! And what about the work colleague who only seems to come to the party at 3pm each day?

In his new book, The Power of When, Clinical Psychologist Dr Michael Breus explains four different ‘sleep styles’ and then cleverly links them to animals with similar preferences.

Let’s start with the rarest sleep style of them all…

The Dolphin

Only 10% of human beings fit into this category that is reserved for highly intelligent, neurotic insomniacs who battle to fall asleep. Real dolphins sleep with half their brain awake to ensure they keep swimming and avoid becoming someone’s lunch.

Sleep drive= light

The Lion

Lions are brave, bold and optimistic leaders. They wake up rearing to go but hit a wall as the day ends. Because of this they do their best work in the mornings but need to sign off after 5pm. Real lions are reported to be able to sleep up to 20/24 hours each day!

Sleep drive= medium
Bed time = 10pm

The Wolf

If you only truly wake up at 3pm in the afternoon, love being part of a pack and do your best creative work at night then you are probably a wolf.

Sleep drive= high

The Bear

The easiest going, most social creature of them all bears are in synch with the movements of the sun- they rise with the sun and go to sleep when the sun does. Bears do their best work between 10am and 12pm. Bears are good sleepers who fall asleep and stay asleep easily. If you are a bear, you may struggle after 3pm to not socialize with your colleagues and get some work done.

Sleep drive= high

For more insight into which animal you are and when you should be exercising, eating and scheduling your best work hours take the full quiz.

Sleep better on a new Sealy today

Take a peek at the sleep forecast for 2018

Last year, we all did our best to buy into the Clean Sleep trend. This was a good trend- it highlighted the importance of good, uninterrupted sleep that lasted 8 hours every night.

Research papers examined the health benefits (there are many!); consumers downloaded apps to track their sleep data (this made us anxious) and social media platforms were used to compare sleep performance.

Frustratingly, life got in the way of all our good intentions and many found that they had family, work, social and exercise commitments that made getting 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep impossible.

And so it is no surprise that the 2018 sleep trends are a reaction to this sleep ideal.

1. Listening to your body is in and sleep trackers are out. Feel tired? You need to sleep more. Wake up before your alarm clock? Sleep less. Your own intuition is seen as more reliable than a sleep tracking app.

2. Sleep binging on weekends is in and setting an alarm to achieve a consistent morning wake time is out. If you wake up on the weekend and you feel exhausted, then go back to sleep. Sleep as much as you need to recover so long as it doesn’t hurt your ability to fall asleep that night.

3. Power naps (the 30 minute kind) are in and 10-minute micro naps are out. Power naps are viewed as a way of boosting productivity, rather than as a way of catching up on missed sleep. Either way, don’t fight the gift of an extra 20 minutes on your nap.

4. Accepting your unique sleep needs is in and sleep comparisons are out. The idea of striving for a certain number (such as 8 hours of sleep) is seen as futile, as is forcing yourself to get to bed at the same time as your partner/work colleagues/Gwenyth Paltrow. The focus is on getting to know your unique sleep/wake profile.

One trend that never goes out of fashion? Sleeping on a Sealy. Get yours today!

Reporting back on a digital detox – What happened when I went offline for one week?

Digital detoxes were the most popular health trend this festive season. What happened when this Sleep Expert went offline for a week? The results may surprise you.

There is nothing harder than taking your own advice. And so with leave booked I decided to give a digital detox a try. The aim was to be mostly offline from 16 December 2017 until 05 January 2018.

Perhaps this time period was a little extensive as it encompassed both my husband’s and daughter’s birthdays as well as Christmas and New Year celebrations which required, I will admit, going online for weather reports, hotel and restaurant bookings as well as some online shopping for price comparisons.

However, despite my frequent relapses there were some solid offline days that did give me much pleasure and contentment.

• There was less worrying over the safety of my smart phone as I left it at home rather than taking it with me to the beach.
• Admittedly, there were also less photos taken – a pity as there were some great memories made – however, I am not sure those memories would have been made if I was in my usual state of continual distraction.
• On the one occasion that I did give in and check work emails, I was both shocked at the amount (145 new emails) as well as the lack of truly urgent responses. Many were important and required a response but not right now. It felt good to say: “no emails, I choose my holiday. You can actually wait”.
• It was also great to save up the good news – when I did go onto social media platforms I had loads of good news to digest in a short space of time. There were babies born, engagement posts, dogs in Christmas hats and some amazing holiday adventures happening. And it took 30 minutes to read it all. It did not matter that I found out 2 weeks or 2 days later…

So if you feel you could do with a little more presence and a little less distraction then give a digital detox a go. I suggest deactivating all notifications, accepting one method of communication (such as SMS or Whatsapp only) and leaving your phone at home as much as possible to avoid the inevitable temptation to google just a little.

It will feel strange at first not holding your phone in your hand and looking not at a screen but at the people and spaces all around you. What I found is that rather than worrying about what I was missing out on online, I started to notice what I was missing out on by not being offline. The other outcome? Better sleep thanks to less bright light which meant a happier and healthier holiday maker.

For all your sleep solutions, visit www.sealy.co.za to see just how far the science of sleep has come.