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Twenty-six percent of adults complain that the condition of their bedding and mattresses cause them sleep distress. A non-supportive, misshapen, or uncomfortable mattress can cause sleepers to toss and turn all night. Bedding that was not made with our body’s natural muscle structure in mind can be especially irritating. Tossing and turning from poor bedding can overwork the muscles during sleep and can lead to sleep which is far from restful and relaxing. For a better night’s sleep, and to avoid strain on your body, sleep on a spacious, comfortable and supportive mattress and foundation. You should replace an uncomfortable or worn-out mattress. It is also recommended that you test mattresses before you purchase them, and if possible get your doctor or chiropractor to recommend some brands, which may suit your personal sleep needs.
Don't let a disruptive sleep environment keep you from sleeping your best! Do yourself a favor and take control of your sleep environment.
Sleep is not one uninterrupted cycle, nor is it a closing down of brain or body functions. Though we hardly notice, sleep progresses through a number of different stages, repeated in a series of grouped cycles. There are two types of sleep: REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep and NREM (non-REM) sleep. During REM (rapid-eye-movement), the dreaming sleep, the eyes dart around under closed eyelids, almost as if the sleeper is watching a movie or television show. Sleepers in REM sleep also show other characteristics of wakefulness : the heartbeat is erratic, muscles are active, blood flow rises and falls. Each time that the REM period is repeated, it lasts a few minutes longer than the previous one, the first lasting only five to fifteen minutes, and the last being the longest period of dream sleep. If you sleep for eight hours, you go through about an hour and a half of REM sleep. REM sleep fills about 25 percent of our total sleep time. NREM, non-dreaming sleep, accounts for about three quarters of the time we sleep. It has four separate transitional stages, each one a little deeper. NREM starts with a gradual drift from the waking state into a light sleep, from which you can be easily awakened. Breathing, pulse, blood pressure and muscles relax as you enter into this transitional stage of NREM sleep. Two more transitional stages of NREM sleep, each progressively deeper and longer, lead us into what is called delta sleep. When we are in delta sleep we are virtually paralyzed, and are unresponsive to most outside stimuli. We do not remember the events that occur during NREM sleep. Delta sleep is the deepest and most restorative stage of our sleep cycle. During delta sleep, the body is able to repair itself, restoring bone, skin tissue and muscle. The four stages of NREM sleep usually take about one and a half hours per cycle, while REM periods take twenty minutes at longest. Both cycles are repeated, NREM, REM, NREM, REM, etc., about four to six times each night. (cont.)
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