Thursday, December 10, 2009
Anything that helps your friends, family members or coworkers get a great night’s sleep is a great gift to give during the holidays! Because everyone on your gift list has one thing in common - they sleep! The team at SleepBook has put together a list that will help you find great gifts for the person who has everything.
Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Sweet Slumber Sleep - Lavender Vanilla
Gift baskets are great, but one that helps you sleep is even better, especially during this hectic time of year. Vanilla essence helps calm feelings of stress, while lavender essential oils soothes and calms. Also included is a luxuriously soft Lambie Sleep Mask that your loved one can plop on to shut out the day and get a good night’s rest.
Where can I get it? At your local Bath & Body Works or at Bathandbodyworks.com
Cost: $30
n•a•p Luxe Blanket
Nothing beats a luxuriously comfortable blanket, especially in the chilly winter months. This blanket is an instant escape that your friend, family member or coworker can enjoy at any moment. It’s made from n•a•p’s ultra-rich, double-thick NapSoft Luxe material, surrounding your favorite sleeper in irresistibly plush comfort. The Luxe Blanket is machine-washable and measures a generous 40” x 60”.
Where can I get it? At your local Bookstone location or at Brookstone.com
Cost: $49.95
Latex Bliss Pillow
This low-profile design provides your loved one with ample neck and head support. Its unique Talalay latex comfort core creates a plush feel and it’s silky smooth sateen-striped cotton cover boasts a 260 thread count. Ideal for stomach and back sleepers, as well as pillow “scrunchers.” Your loved one will toss and turn less and wake up refreshed and energized going into the new year.
Where can I get it? At your local Sit ‘n Sleep superstore or at Sitnsleep.com
Cost: $89.99
The holidays are right around the corner and many of you have already booked your tickets to fly to distant lands to visit relatives or friends this holiday season. These days, airlines have really cut back on the services they offer and lots of their in-flight comforts have gone the way of Pan Am. Remember the complimentary blanket and pillow? You’re lucky if they‘re not charging you for it along with your luggage and the fiesta mix (we miss the honey roasted peanuts). But through all of the stress and lack of leg room, there is one thing you can do on a plane to get through it – SLEEP!
Here are some tips to getting a great night’s (or day’s) sleep on a plane!
Get the Best Seat in the House
If you plan on getting some sleep, snag a window seat. You’ll be able to lean comfortably on one side without worrying about waking up embarrassed, head on your neighbor’s shoulder, a pool of drool slowly gathering. If avoiding shame and embarrassment aren’t incentive enough, you’ll also avoid seat mates scrambling over you on their way to the restroom for the third time. Of course, the best way to avoid all these scenarios would be to make it a practice to scan the plane for no-shows and try to score a row all to yourself.
To Drink or Not to Drink?
That is the question. There is a long-standing tradition for many of having a couple pops before getting on the plane or enjoying a Bloody Mary at 35,000 feet to take the edge off. Although this will help many of you fall asleep, your actual sleep will be less restful. Alcohol inhibits the body from reaching the deeper and more restorative levels of sleep your body craves. Alcohol-induced sleep is like a candy bar - it seems filling, but it’s all empty calories. Now when it comes to caffeine, avoid it at all costs. During the holidays, your busy schedule may mean having to catch a an early morning flight, so you grab a cup of Joe (or two) during you’re a.m.-airport rush. But, the best thing to do is to try and make it to the plane caffeine free; this’ll make it a lot easier for you to sleep on the plane.
Publicly Announce Your Intent to Sleep
No large proclamation need be made, just a casual “Boy, am I tired – sure can’t wait to get some sleep on this flight” will do (a long, drawn out yawn can’t hurt either).
A word to your flight attendant will also keep you from being disturbed – just remember to keep your fastened seatbelt visible during your slumber. Safety first!
Sleep Medications
Be careful about sleep medications. Many times you’ll only want to doze off for an hour or two on a plane, but an over-the-counter sleep aid may be locked and loaded to put you in dreamland for up to eight hours. Plus, it’s always best to avoid sleep aids unless they’re prescribed by a doctor.
Follow these tips and you’ll be sure to reach your destination bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Happy travels!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Let’s be honest: the idea of taking a 15-minute power nap sounds awful. Waking up from naps, in general, is commonly associated with the feeling of grogginess. Therefore, naturally, there is no way a mere 15-minute nap would leave you well rested and ready to tackle more obstacles the day has to offer. Right?…Wrong. Here are 4 points you probably didn’t know about 15-minute power naps.
1) No grogginess: Sleeping for 15 minutes welcomes you back to wakefulness with no symptoms of grogginess. Why is this, you ask? Simply because the longer you nap, the further you drift into deeper stages of sleep. In fact, contrary to popular belief, grogginess is not caused by mid-day naps, but rather waking before the end of a sleep cycle.
2) No pain, more gain: Many argue that a nap puts a void in the middle of the day. This could be true if you plan on sleeping 1+ hour(s). On the other hand, if you sleep for 15 minutes, there is no void… not to mention you wake with more energy!
3) No interference with evening rest: A big complaint when it comes to daytime napping is that it throws off the regular evening sleep schedule. This is usually the case when 1 or more hours of sleep are indulged in, earlier in the day. Luckily, 15-minute naps have little-to-no effect on your nightly sleep!
4) It’s healthy: The School of Public Health at Harvard University recently conducted a study where it was discovered that people who take powernaps are 34% less likely to die of a heart-related problem.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
When it comes to hygiene, no one ever thinks twice about its importance. It’s common knowledge that nobody likes stinky breath or smelly body odor. People go through various daily rituals such as showering, teeth brushing, deodorant application and flossing to ensure that they do not “reek” during their active hours, but what about hygiene during the dormant hours?
Ever wonder about your bed’s hygiene?
How often should you be washing your sheets? Here are 4 big reasons to change your bed sheets once per week:
1. Your Skin: Believe it or not, humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin each hour. If you multiply that by the average recommended eight hour dosage of sleep that equals 4,800,000 particles of skin per-night. Now, consider this: if you, alone, shed 4,800,000 particles of skin in one night, partners that share a bed shed 9,600,000 particles of skin nightly – talk about a combined effort. A single person may shed 33,600,000 particles of skin in one week, whereas a couple may shed 67,200,000 particles of skin in one week.
2. Bed Bugs: Now, consider this: whatever amount of skin you shed last night remains in your bed while you are out being productive. However, rest assured that right this moment, microscopic bugs are busy feeding on your dead skin. Gross!
It’s difficult to decipher which sounds worse: pounds of dead skin in your bed, or millions of microscopic critters feasting on your dead skin right now… where you’ll sleep again, tonight. With that in mind, washing your sheets weekly is a great idea.
3. Salts: Ever watch your dog lick your bed sheets and wonder why? You need not wonder any longer: the answer is that your dog, Rover, likes the salty taste in your sheets, for the same reason he enjoys licking you. Your sweat contains essential salts from the body—a taste and a smell that Rover finds delectable. During sleep, the human body sweats, even without the individual realizing it. The sweat leaves a thin coat of salt upon the sheets, and Rover knows it.
4. Sweat: Now of course there’s the sweat itself; the simple solution for this problem? Washing your sheets regularly will eliminate the salt licking, not to mention whatever odors come with either the layers of sweat and/or dog saliva!
Friday, August 21, 2009
So what kind of bed sheets do you want?
Many people want the luxury of satin sheets, but the high costs of weekly dry-cleaning can be inconvenient. Cotton is the top-selling sheet material, however many people dislike its ability to wrinkle quickly. Flannel bed sheets are popular during winters in cooler climates, however they tend to elicit more sweat out of the average sleeping person, therefore becoming dirty faster and calling for more frequent washings. And then, of course, there is bamboo bedding.
Bamboo bedding is new on the scene and may be just the right alternative for those germ-conscious buyers. Bamboo sheets contain natural antifungal and antibacterial agents that fight away, well, fungus and bacteria that commonly accumulate in bedding. Unlike antibacterial cotton sheets that are sometimes treated by use of pesticides, bamboos antibacterial actions are all natural. The bamboo fibers eliminate moisture, thus limiting a normally lucrative breeding ground for germs.
In 2003, the China Industrial Testing Center conducted an experiment where it was proven that bamboo fabric killed 99.8% of live bacteria-infested fabric in a 24-hour incubation period.
Bamboo sheets are also excellent for those looking to reduce their environmental footprint. Non-organic cotton needs close to a pound of chemicals in order to manufacture one pound of fiber. Close to 25% of the world’s farming chemicals are used to produce cotton, and about 13% of the world’s farming fields are occupied by its growth.
Next time you shop for sheets, be sure to research the pros and cons of all your options in order to make the selection that is best fitting for your bed and your lifestyle. If you’re a nature-loving germo-phobe, then bamboo bedding might be a very attractive option!
