Thursday, May 26, 2011
Are you amongst the legions of sleepers that set their alarm clock for an hour before they have to wake up and then hit the snooze button until the absolute last minute? What most people don’t know is that this behavior is actually detrimental to their sleep health. Plus, most people only snooze out of habit and would prefer to wake up when their alarm goes off. Having an extra hour of waking time every morning can make a world of difference in your life and give you time to exercise, have a cup of coffee, meditate or get to work earlier.
Hitting the snooze button every seven minutes for an entire hour each morning interrupts the most beneficial, replenishing sleep cycle, REM. The most restorative phase of sleep occurs more often in the early morning hours. By interrupting this part of the sleep cycle, snoozers inadvertently ruin their sleep by waking up and falling back to sleep repeatedly. A healthier way to approach this would be to set your alarm clock for the exact time you need to be up and then get out of bed at that moment. This gives you all the benefits of that hour of sleep and you will feel better rested than if you snoozed.
Ready to break your snooze addiction? Here’s some tips put together by the crack research team at SleepBook.
1. Place your alarm clock across the room
By placing your alarm at the other side of your room you’ll be forced to get up and turn it off, especially if you share your room with a sleep partner. No one wants to hear their own alarm clock, let alone someone else’s. Once you get up to turn off your alarm, you’re up and ready to start the day.
2. Set your coffee maker timer
The smell of hot, fresh coffee in the morning will give you an extra reason to spring out of bed. Plus, you’ll know that once you grab your cup of coffee, it will break the spell of sleepiness and help to kick-start your day.
3. Give yourself some static
Another way to ensure you get up on time is to make your alarm clock sound as terrible as possible. If you have a clock radio, set it to noisy static and turn it up all the way so you’ll be forced to turn it off ASAP.
4. Establish a good sleep schedule
Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day (even weekends!) will put you on a consistent schedule, making it easier for you to naturally wake up at the right time each day.
5. Enjoy more sleep
Why snooze through the morning when you can sleep though it? If you don’t snooze you get to sleep in every day – and that’s what you wanted in the first place, right?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The dedicated staff at SleepBook had a shocking realization recently after realizing we hadn’t done much research on sleep positions. So, our crack team hit the books to provide you with some information about which sleep positions are healthiest for YOU!
Best Position: On Your Back
Although this position is not good for people who have difficulty with snoring, sleeping on your back makes it easy for your head, neck and spine to maintain a neutral position. It is also good for people with acid reflux problems because it prevents food from coming back up the esophagus.
2nd Best Position: On Your Side
Sleeping on your side is beneficial for keeping your back and neck in alignment and if you suffer from acid reflux it’s almost as advantageous as sleeping on your back. Sleeping on your side is also great for keeping your spine elongated. The bad news is that sleeping on your side can cause wrinkles by smooshing half of your face into your pillow.
Less Ideal: Fetal Position
A recent survey found that 41% of people sleep in the fetal position. Fetal position is favored much more by women than men and is achieved by curving your back and raising your knees towards your chest. This position is not ideal for people who suffer from back or neck pain but it is ideal for women who are pregnant.
The Worst Position: On Your Stomach
Sorry stomach sleepers, you have adopted the unhealthiest sleep position. The one benefit that stomach sleepers can enjoy is less snoring. But, the bad news is that sleeping on your stomach puts more pressure on your joints and muscles which can lead to pain, numbness and tingling. Also, sleeping on your stomach forces your neck to rest in a sideways position that can lead to soreness over time.
It’s late April, things are heating up and America’s growing bed bug population is gearing up for their biggest season in decades. This time of the year is known as bed bug season because they spread in the spring and summer months by latching onto vacationers as they journey from destination to destination. Plus, a bed bug’s metabolism speeds up in the warmer months causing them to be more visible as they seek food and shelter.
The steady rise of bed bug populations in major cities across the U.S. has even alarmed the Environmental Protection Agency, who noted their “alarming resurgence” and referred to them as a “significant public health importance” in a recent press release. A survey on the resurgence of bed bugs conducted by the National Pest Management Association found that 95 percent of U.S.-based pest management companies surveyed indicated that their company has encountered a bed bug infestation in the past year. By sharp contrast, in the year 2000 only 25% of respondents had encountered a bed bug infestation.
The bed-bug resurgence is mostly believed to have come from an increase in international travel. Bed bugs found in a hotel room in one part of the world can easily latch on to their hosts and make it back to stateside. Although bed bugs can cause health problems in people with allergies, the real problem comes from bed bug eradication. Eliminating bed bugs can be costly and may take more than one visit from an exterminator. In some cases the affected furniture and articles of clothing may have to be replaced.
Ten Tips to Survive Bed Bug Season 2011
1. Reduce clutter – Less clutter means fewer places for bed bugs to call home.
2. Check for infestation signs. Bed bugs are known to leave behind:
- Skin castings
- Feces stains that look like dark spots
- Blood spots on mattresses, sheets and pillows
3. Travel tips:
- Don’t leave your clothes in hotel room drawers
- Check your mattress and sheets for the aforementioned infestation signs in Tip # 2
- When you come home unpack your clothes directly into a washing machine and wash your clothes on a hot setting
4. Vacuum frequently – Thorough vacuuming reduces bed bug populations. Pay close attention to rugs, floors, bed legs and all furniture. Be sure to change the vacuum bag after each use.
5. Buy a bed bug protection kit – Bed bug protectors kits can prevent bed bugs from entering your bed and pillows. An ounce of bed bug protection is worth more than a pound of bed bug cure.
Purchase a Bed Bug Protector Kit
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Just a few short weeks ago, we got to “spring up” by setting our clocks forward one hour due to Daylight Savings Time (DST). Usually, this change results in little more than people being a little tired on the Sunday morning of the time change and the occasional unaware family showing up to church an hour late. But, after a few days, most people rejoice over the extra hour of sunlight and enjoy coming home from work and having the sun still high in the sky.
The Origins of Daylight Savings Time
In ancient times, many civilizations including the Romans, Greeks and Hebrews adjusted their schedules to take advantage of spring and summer daylight. In 1784, Ben Franklin once wrote an anonymous letter to the city of Paris asking them to consider rising and going to bed earlier to take advantage of morning sunlight and to reduce the amount of unnecessary candle burning in the evening. Although he did advocate a change in behavior, Franklin didn’t suggest any changes to the clock because 18th-century Europe had yet to adopt the formalized timetables we enjoy today.
By the 19th century with the invention of the train and the modernization of industry, standardized clocks came into wider use and, of course, people were still wasting their productive morning hours by sleeping in. Eventually, in 1908, the idea of setting the clocks forward was formally proposed by Robert Pearce who introduced the first Daylight Savings Time (DST) bill to British Parliament. The bill failed and the first countries to eventually adopt DST would be Germany and its allies during World War 1 who thought the extra daylight would help to conserve coal for the war effort. The United States would eventually adopt DST in 1918.
The Pros and Cons of DST
As with the “save your candles” rationale posed by Ben Franklin to Parisians in 1784, one of the major reasons countries and states began to adapt to DST is for energy savings. The theory is that with more daylight hours being utilized, people would use less artificial light and cities would save money on street lighting and other energy costs. Being that energy consumption en masse is a little hard to pin down to specific causes; studies have been inconclusive as to whether DST has actually saved municipalities a significant amount of money. Some actually believe DST leads to increased gas consumption because the extra hours of daylight give people more reasons to travel.
Although energy reduction has proved inconclusive the positive economic effects are well-proven. With more daylight hours at their disposal, consumers shop more often and enjoy more outdoor leisure activities while prime-time television viewing and movie theater attendance sees a decrease.
When it comes to public safety, the greater visibility during evening commutes results in an approximately 2% decrease in traffic fatalities and in 1995 the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety noted 5% reduction in pedestrian fatalities as well. Although some feared more daylight would increase potential crime activity, additional visibility makes it difficult for criminals to do their dastardly deeds so DST has, in fact, lowered crime rates.
So, next time you get into an argument over DST with a friend or relative from a non-DST-supporting municipality like Arizona, let them know that overall, DST is a good thing. When it all boils down, who can complain about an extra hour of sunshine on a spring or summer day?
Isn’t it odd that simply reading the title of this article made some people yawn? Here, the crack research team at SleepBook attempts to corral some of the research out there to provide our readers with insights into the bizarre behavior known as yawning.
The Physicality of Yawning
Physiologically, when we yawn our bodies deeply inhale air and the eardrums stretch, followed by the exhalation of a deep breath. Many times, the yawn will be accompanied by a broad stretching of the arms, neck and torso. One should be careful not to exhibit one of these overly-dramatic yawns in social situations where they can be construed as rude.
Why Do We Yawn?
The most commonly-held belief is that yawning is performed by the body to rapidly replenish dwindling oxygen levels in the brain. Yawning occurs most frequently when we are exhausted and our breathing is shallower. A large yawn will quickly replenish the oxygen supply throughout the body. Some also believe that people yawn in order to cool down their brains. Others postulate that yawning helps to alert people when they are tired and helps them to remain awake and stay focused on tasks such as driving.
Is Yawning Contagious?
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding yawns is whether they are contagious or not. Well, science has proven that yes, yawning is contagious and not only in humans. Contagious yawning is also prevalent amongst chimpanzees and other distinguished members of the animal kingdom. There are a few theories as to why yawning is contagious. From an evolutionary perspective many believe that yawning acts to awaken the body by elevating oxygen levels and the accompanying stretching keeps the body limber as well. This heightened alertness and loosening of muscle tension may have helped our hunter-and-gatherer ancestors better deal with fatigue and protect themselves against predators. Others believe that yawning communicates sleepiness amongst a human social group and allows them to coordinate their sleep cycles, improving group cohesion.
Now, we bet most of the people who have read this article began to yawn at some point. If so, that’s a good thing. Studies have shown that children with autism are less likely to catch a contagious yawn, because they are less adept at perceiving and mimicking social cues. Also, the authors of this study would like to remind you that any yawning that occurred while reading this article happened due to years of evolution and not because it triggered any feelings of boredom or sleepiness.
