sleep hygiene

Enjoy your well-deserved sleep with suitable covers

27. August 2018 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

As the saying goes: “As you made your bed, you must lie on it resp. sleep in it”. This actually is true for healthy sleep, too. Because, our sleeping quality significantly depends on a suitable bedding content. As different the sleep needs are as different are the kinds of covers offered. Thick or thin, filled with down or sheep wool – the purchase decision depends to a large extent on personal requirements.

Care for optimal sleeping quality with the suitable cover

Healthy, restful sleep depends on different factors. A healthy lifestyle as well as an appropriate sleeping hygiene are some of them. It is a huge advantage that each and every one easily can influence sleeping quality in many ways. There are certain basic conditions for maximum physical regeneration during sleep:

regular exercise during day
balanced nutrition
comfortable sleep surrounding a pleasant bedroom temperature and especially
bedding content incl. a cover in suitable size and filling material

Your way to a suitable cover

One cover is not just like the other, quite the contrary. They differ from size to filling material. Important for your purchase decision are individual aspects like body size, personal heat sensitivity and tendency to sweating.

The proper size

One factor influencing size is your body size and girth.
Another one are your sleeping habits like sharing the cover with your partner or using two covers. Although having your partner close to you is reassuring and is enhancing intimacy, sharing one cover might also disturb sleep. Because, if one partner tends to sleeping restless the other one sooner or later ends up without any cover.
Also, the size varies in different countries. Just some examples: the standard size in Austria is 140/200 cm, in Germany 135/200cm and in Switzerland 160/210 cm.

As a rule, you should pay attention that the cover is 20 cm longer than your height. Also, it should be wide enough.

The proper filling

What material is supporting restful and healthy sleep: down, synthetic fibers, natural fibers or natural hair? A comfortable bedding climate is influencing your sleep to a large extent. During night, we release about 1 to 1.5 liters humidity via breathing and via our skin. Therefore, the filling material should above all be breathable and moisture regulating.

Down: covers filled with down are light and warm quickly. A disadvantage of down covers is the insufficient moisture regulation which leads to increased sweating. The humidity sticks to downs, the cover feels damp. The bedding climate is moist and warm – the ideal surrounding for dust mites.
Synthetic fibers: covers with synthetic fibers are often quite cheap but differ in quality. Often, petroleum is used in production.
Natural fibers: the advantage of natural fibers like Lyocell for example is their biological good degradability. Furthermore, they are breathable and have a good moisture regulation.
Natural hair: natural hair like bio-active sheep wool is a renewable raw material. Sheep wool has excellent climate characteristics. It is breathable, has an antibacterial effect and is highly moisture regulating. Also, it is able to neutralize pollutants like formaldehyde for example. Furthermore, natural sheep wool possesses a high self-cleaning power. These characteristics lead to a comfortable dry and warm bedding climate. Dust mites have no chance to thrive. This makes sheep wool to a perfect filling material for people suffering under dust mite allergies.

The proper heat level

Which cover is needed clearly depends on the time of year. During the cold months of winter, a four-seasons-duvet cares for the warmth needed. In the warm and sometimes hot nights of summer a light, airy cover is perfect. For a comfortable transition period the spring resp. autumn duvets are ideal.

Imagesource: @freepik.com

Health pillar sleep

14. May 2018 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Health depends on several factors. But, our lifestyle has the biggest impact. A healthy lifestyle includes a balanced nutrition, regular exercise as well as sufficient restful sleep. Especially healthy sleep is one of the most important health pillars. Healthy sleep significantly contributes to our physical and mental well-being. Good and sufficient sleep might even prevent from diseases and health disturbances. Persons who suffer under sleep disturbances, know the effects of insufficient and non-restful sleep. Bad sleep might cause symptoms like:

Fatigue
Irritability
Concentration disturbances and
Head ache

But, sleeping problems might also trigger serious diseases. The risk for

Depression
Cardio-vascular diseases
High blood pressure and
Diabetes II

might increase due to lack of sleep and sleep disturbances. Healthy, restful sleep can be promoted with some simple measures. Here you find some suggestions on how to achieve restful sleep.

What supports sleeping quality?

Besides a proper sleep surrounding, the proper sleep hygiene positively influences your sleeping quality:

Plan your last meal of the day at least three to four hours before going to bed. But, not only the time influences your sleep. What you eat has an influence as well. Try to care for a balanced nutrition that submits all essential vitamins and minerals.
Care for your fluid balance. Drink at least 1.5 l water, herbal teas or diluted juices.
Avoid consuming cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine-containing beverages in the late afternoon and evening. These substances have an effect for three to five hours – your phase of falling asleep might be disturbed by them.
Regular exercise and sport not only keep your body fit. Your sleeping behavior improves, too. But, don’t train too late in the evening since this is stimulating your circulatory. And, instead of being tired, you might feel wide awake.
A regular sleep-wake-rhythm (regular times to get up and to go to bed) significantly contribute to a good sleeping quality.
Relaxation techniques like yoga or autogenous training might support letting go everyday hectic and sorrows. This in turn supports falling asleep.
Periodic ventilation, a dark bedroom and a room temperature from 16 to 18 °C create a pleasant sleep surrounding.
A synchronized sleeping system supports optimal positioning of your body during sleep. Completed with natural materials like sheep wool you care for a pleasant bedding climate.

Imagesource: @fotolia

Suitable dinner

8. November 2016 von Schlafexperte Prof. Dr. med. h.c. Günther W. Amann-Jennson Leave a Comment

After a sleep-friendly designed day, a good, restful night full of healthy sleep starts with a proper dinner. This also is a symbolic act of dividing the day passed (activity) from the oncoming night (passivity/sleep). Now, it is important to stick to relaxation and sleep rules. We are talking about sleep hygiene. From now on, everything you do or you don’t do counts. There is wide experience from sleep medicine and sleep psychology. Because, naturally your sleep also depends from your behavior and especially from your habits. It is important to get used to a “sleep-friendly behavior”. For example, step by step get accustomed to a regular time to go to bed. The dinner might be an appropriate starting signal.

Here, the rule is simple: prefer easily digestible meals, the mix of food is important, too.

When eating carbs eat wholemeal noodles, rice or bread or potatoes. A combination of movement in the sun and carbohydrates stimulates the production of serotonin (happy hormone). Serotonin is a precursor for the sleeping hormone melatonin.
Mix your carbs with tryptophan-containing foods like chicken, turkey, fish, cashews etc. Tryptophan is an amino-acid that favors the production of melatonin. In any case avoid fatty food.

By the way: the optimal time for your sleep-well-dinner is two to three hours before your actual time to go to bed.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Image: @deathtostockphoto

How to create a healthy sleep surrounding

29. August 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

To achieve a good sleeping quality and especially healthy sleep it is important to care for an appropriate sleep hygiene as well as a suitable sleep surrounding.

Find here how to create a healthy sleep surrounding:

The earth’s magnetic field is influencing the optimal alignment of your bed (head north, foot south).
Remove technical devices (mobile phone, tablet, TV, etc.) from your bedroom.
Use a network activator to interrupt power supply.
Watch out for geopathic stress zones.
Use an open (ventilation), metal free bed frame as well as metal free mattresses (no box spring mattresses).
Use natural materials for bed frame, slat frame, mattresses, pads, covers, pillows and bedlinen.
Use waxed or oiled wood for your flooring.
Use carpets made of natural material like sheep wool or linen.
Appropriate windows and blinds care for noise protection. Curtains and blinds darken your room and prevent light stimuli.
Use colors with a relaxing and calming effect (pastel colors like light blue, yellow, soft pink).
To avoid reflection of high frequent radiations don’t put mirrors in close proximity of your bed.
Ideal room temperature is 61° to 64° F.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Imagesource: @SAMINA

Narcolepsy # 3

8. August 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Causes and treatment

Causes of narcolepsy are still not fully understood. With many patients suffering under narcolepsy smaller amounts of hypocretin (orexin) in their brain- and spine-fluid have been determined. Thus, medics assume that due to an autoimmune disease the cells responsible for hypocretin-production become destroyed. Hypocretin is a sleep-wake-rhythm and eating-behavior influencing hormone.

Diagnosis:

When suspecting having narcolepsy consult a specialist. For diagnosis, neurologists and sleep medics use sleep questionnaires and sleep diaries as well as specific examinations in a sleep laboratory.

Treatment:

Most of the time, the treatment of narcolepsy consists as well of a drug- as a non-drug-therapy. The doctor prescribes drugs that need to be taken long-term. Here, regular control visits at your doctor are important.

Sleep hygiene is important in the non-drug therapy. Sleep hygiene consists of lifestyle and behaviors supporting healthy sleep. These include:

Regular sleep-wake-cycle
Make a schedule to avoid injuries and accidents. For example cook, when the probability to stay awake is highest.
One or two naps during the day when feeling tired.
To avoid misunderstandings or conflicts inform family and friends about your narcolepsy. Often, the disease is misinterpreted and many assume that people concerned or just lazy or suffer under depressions.

Receive further information in our sleep-healthy-guidebook “sleep yourself young, fit and successful”, free of cost.

Image source: @fotolia

Somniloquy –- talking in your sleep

1. April 2016 von Redaktion Leave a Comment

Talking during sleep is called “somniloquy”. Most of the time, only incomprehensible sounds are audible. But some people say words and even sentences. Often, the “conversations” are not understandable since the muscles we need for talking are mostly inactive during sleep.

Somniloquy is no disease, it is a quite often occurring behavioral abnormality during sleep. About 5 % of all grown-ups are concerned and of children up to puberty even 50 %. Since evt. existing partners sleep themselves, the phenomenon often remains undetected.

Actually, somniloquy is harmless and may occur by itself or with other sleep disturbances. The only negative side effect is that the bedpartner might be disturbed by the mumbling.

Causes
Usually, talking during sleep occurs during REM-sleep. Here, it is possible that people concerned are saying out loud dreamed sentences. But, during the change of single sleeping phases in non-REM-sleep somniloquy might occur, too.

The causes are not fully examined, yet. But, it is proven that different influences like mental stress situations, fever, alcohol and the intake of certain medications favor talking during sleep.

Somniloquy often occurs more frequently within of families. This leads to the conclusion that it is hereditary. Still, the phenomenon also might occur, when no one else in the family is concerned.

Treatment
As long as you are only speaking during sleep and are not suffering under other sleeping problems, no treatment is necessary. Only, when somniloquy starts to be a social disturber or is leading to sleeplessness, a therapy might be considered.

There are simple remedies for self-treatment. The exercise of certain relaxation methods like Autogenous Training, Qigong or Yoga may reduce the frequency. People concerned should also pay attention to their sleep hygiene. For example, no alcohol and no heavy meals before going to bed. And of course, a regular sleeping rhythm is very important. Physical exercise during day as well as do without caffeine for a couple of weeks are further supporting.

In case, talking during sleep is triggered by an increased psychological stress or mental disturbances it is advisable to seek professional advice.