Sleep Shorts: Sleep Deprivation = Being Drunk on the Job

According to researchers in he Sleep Medicine Division of Harvard Medical School, the average American has lost an hour and half of sleep per night over the past few decades.

The sleep-deprivation epidemic is costing companies $63 billion a year from insomnia and other health and productivity-related problems. According to Russell Sanna, the division’s executive director, clinical trials ave shown that sleep deprivation is the “equal cognitive impairment as alcohol consumption.”

“Nobody’s particularly interested in having their employees show up intoxicated. But unless they’re paying attention to sleep deprivation that’s what in fact happening.”

[Article Source: Sleep Savvy Magazine January/February 2014]

No Sleep until the Seahawks Come Home 16-3!

If you are a Seahawk fan then I am sure you haven’t been getting a lot of sleep this week with the heavy anticipation of the “Big Game.” It’s been 8 long years since our return to the Super Bowl and you can tell that we are proud of our team. 

Stepping outside my door and driving around to various errands in the greater Seattle area, I see car flags flapping in the wind, 12th Man Flags hanging from buildings, posters and window art in store front windows. Everywhere I go, the 12th Man is alive. “I’m In” on Facebook pages and social media sites, but one question remains, “Will this be our year?”

Thousands of people lined the streets to send our boys off to New York and it is and experience that these players will never forget. The 12th Man stands behind them on their journey to the Big Apple as we all wish we could be there to cheer them on. Sunday’s game is going to be a big day. 

I heard on the news that the Seahawks going to the Super Bowl this year has united the community of Seattle, brought us closer together and I couldn’t agree more. In the supermarkets, the clerks are donning their Hawk apparel and instead of saying “have a nice day,” they say proudly, “Go Hawks!” The city as a whole seems to be in a better mood really. After the big win against the 49ner’s, I was wearing my jersey in a 7/11 store on my way home and a stranger just started chatting it up with me about the big win. 

Whether the Seahawks win or not on Sunday, one thing remains the same, we love our Seahawks. They have made us and the state proud. So will this be our year? Of course I say “Yes! Go Hawks!” 

Today is the last Blue Friday of the season and you know the 12th Man will be out in full force today. Everywhere I go, people will be sporting their Seahawk pride. Only 8 more hours left in our work day and another 40 hours until Sunday. There is much preparation to be done for Super Bowl parties big and small. 

So as you are getting ready this week after the long anticipation of the game looming in the air, just remember to try and get some sleep and Sunday be prepared to cheer your tail off. LET’S GO HAWKS! 

Written By Kayla Schafer, Marketing Director, Mattress Depot USA

Snooze News: 4 Easy Ways to Settle Your Soul

With today’s demanding work schedule, personal obligations and more, Americans rarely seem to appreciate a few moments of serenity. 

In a recent article, the Huffington Post noted, “In an attempt to conquer it all, we’re always on the go, always occupied and always a step ahead.” But what if being idle were just as productive – and necessary – as being super busy?

The article outlined the following stress busters that can invite calmness into heart and mind – and lower your heart rate and improve outlook.

1) Meditation: These can be customized to whatever you find soothing and empowering. All you need is to find a quiet place, close your eyes and breath.

2) Exercise: Being active releases feel-good chemicals in your brain. “Move in any way you love, ” the Huffington Post advised. Just remember to move.

3) Memories: Recalling fond experiences from “back in the day” is an effective way to “escape current circumstances and temporarily travel to a happier place,” the article added.

4) Writing: Take out a piece of paper (not a laptop) and jot down whatever’s on your mind. The concerns on your mind will flow out of your fingertips.

 

[Article source: Sleep Savvy Magazine January/February 2014]

 

 

The Benefits of Taking A Nap

As Americans, we are constantly on the go, places to be, things to do and work to be done. We rarely slow down leaving us feeling tired and exhausted. I am sure we have all had the feeling where we wish we could be a kid again and just take a nap in the middle of the day.

More than 85% of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers, meaning that they sleep for short periods throughout the day. Humans are part of the minority of monophasic sleepers, meaning that our days are divided into two distinct periods, one for sleep and one for wakefulnss. It is not clear that this is the natural sleep pattern of humans. Young children and elderly persons nap, for example, and napping is a very important aspect of many cultures.

As a nation, the United States appears to be becoming more and more sleep deprived. And it may be our busy lifestyle that keeps us from napping. While naps do not necessarily make up for inadequate or poor quality nighttime sleep, a short nap of 20-30 minutes can help to improve mood, alertness and performance. Nappers are in good company: Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George W. Bush are known to have valued an afternoon nap.

TYPES:

Naps can be typed in three different ways:

• Planned napping (also called preparatory napping) involves taking a nap before you actually get sleepy. You may use this technique when you know that you will be up later than your normal bed time or as a mechanism to ward off getting tired earlier.
• Emergency napping occurs when you are suddenly very tired and cannot continue with the activity you were originally engaged in. This type of nap can be used to combat drowsy driving or fatigue while using heavy and dangerous machinery.
• Habitual napping is practiced when a person takes a nap at the same time each day. Young children may fall asleep at about the same time each afternoon or an adult might take a short nap after lunch each day.

TIPS:

• A short nap is usually recommended (20-30 minutes) for short-term alertness. This type of nap provides significant benefit for improved alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy or interfering with nighttime sleep.
• Your surroundings can greatly impact your ability to fall asleep. Make sure that you have a restful place to lie down and that the temperature in the room is comfortable. Try to limit the amount of noise heard and the extent of the light filtering in. While some studies have shown that just spending time in bed can be beneficial, it is better to try to catch some zzz’s.
• If you take a nap too late in the day, it might affect your nighttime sleep patterns and make it difficult to fall asleep at your regular bedtime. If you try to take it too early in the day, your body may not be ready for more sleep.

BENEFITS:

• Naps can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%.
• Naps can increase alertness in the period directly following the nap and may extend alertness a few hours later in the day.
• Scheduled napping has also been prescribed for those who are affected by narcolepsy.
• Napping has psychological benefits. A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation.

Most people are aware that driving while sleepy is extremely dangerous. Still, many drivers press on when they feel drowsy in spite of the risks, putting themselves and others in harm’s way. While getting a full night’s sleep before driving is the ideal, taking a short nap before driving can reduce a person’s risk of having a drowsy driving crash. Sleep experts also recommend that if you feel drowsy when driving, you should immediately pull over to a rest area, drink a caffeinated beverage and take a 20-minute nap.

Shift work, which means working a schedule that deviates from the typical “9 to 5” hours, may cause fatigue and performance impairments, especially for night shift workers. In a 2006 study, researchers at the Sleep Medicine and Research Center affiliated with St. John’s Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke’s Hospital in suburban St. Louis, MO, looked at the effectiveness of taking naps and consuming caffeine to cope with sleepiness during the night shift. They found that both naps and caffeine improved alertness and performance among night shift workers and that the combination of naps and caffeine had the most beneficial effect.

James K. Walsh, PhD, one of the researchers who conducted the study, explains, “Because of the body’s propensity for sleep at night, being alert and productive on the night shift can be challenging, even if you’ve had enough daytime sleep.” “Napping before work combined with consuming caffeine while on the job is an effective strategy for remaining alert on the night shift.”

NEGATIVE EFFECTS:

In spite of these benefits, napping isn’t always the best option for everyone. For example, some people have trouble sleeping any place other than their own bed, making a nap at the office or anywhere else unlikely. Other people simply have trouble sleeping in the daytime; it could be that certain individuals are more sensitive to the midday dip than others – those who are may feel sleepier and have an easier time napping. Here are some other negative effects:

• Naps can leave people with sleep inertia, especially when they last more than 10-20 minutes. Sleep inertia is defined as the feeling of grogginess and disorientation that can come with awakening from a deep sleep. While this state usually only lasts for a few minutes to a half-hour, it can be detrimental to those who must perform immediately after waking from a napping period. Post-nap impairment and disorientation is more severe, and can last longer, in people who are sleep deprived or nap for longer periods.
• Napping can also have a negative effect on other sleeping periods. A long nap or a nap taken too late in the day may adversely affect the length and quality of nighttime sleep. If you have trouble sleeping at night, a nap will only amplify problems.
• One study has indicated that napping is associated with increased risk of heart failure in people already at risk.

STIGMAS:

While research has shown that napping is a beneficial way to relieve tiredness, it still has stigmas associated with it.

• Napping indicates laziness, a lack of ambition, and low standards.
• Napping is only for children, the sick and the elderly.

Though the above statements are false, many segments of the public may still need to be educated on the benefits of napping.

A recent study in the research journal Sleep examined the benefits of naps of various lengths and no naps. The results showed that a 10-minute nap produced the most benefit in terms of reduced sleepiness and improved cognitive performance. A nap lasting 30 minutes or longer is more likely to be accompanied by sleep inertia, which is the period of grogginess that sometimes follows sleep.

By now you’re probably thinking about ways to incorporate naps into your daily routine. Keep in mind that getting enough sleep on regular basis is the best way to stay alert and feel your best. But when fatigue sets in, a quick nap can do wonders for your mental and physical stamina.

[Article Source: http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/napping]

Why We Go For Doughnuts.

Are you eyeing those delicious doughnuts? Maybe you mouth is even starting to water? A study shows that how much sleep we get enough can directly effect the types of food choices we make in our day.

A bad night’s sleep makes people less resistant to unhealthy foods, and even results in more pleasure from indulging, according to two new studies.

In one study, researchers scanned people’s brains while the people looked at pictures of food. The “reward center” in sleep-deprived participants lit up more when they looked at unhealthy foods than at healthy foods, and also lit up more than the reward center of  well-rested people looking at unhealthy foods.

“Our data strongly suggests that if you’re trying to control your weight, being sleep-deprived is not good for you,” said study researcher Marie-Pierre St-Onge of the New York Obesity Researcher Center.

In St-Onge’s study, 25 participants of normal weight spent five nights in a lab, alternating between getting nine hours of sleep, and four hours. 

Participants were shown photos of foods generally perceived to be healthy (such as fruits, vegetables and oatmeal) and unhealthy (such as candy, pepperoni pizza and doughnuts).

The researchers found that when allowed to choose their own food, people ate 300 more calories per day, on average, after a night of four hours’ sleep.

In the other study, 16 participants were observed after getting either a full night’s sleep or staying awake for 24 hours. Participants were shown pictures of food and asked to rate their desire for that food.

Sleep-deprived people said they were more interested in the unhealthy foods, and brain scans also showed impaired activity in the frontal lobe and other brain regions associated with complex decision-making.

“When you’re sleep-deprived, you might not make appropriate food choices,” said study researcher Stephanie Greer, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. The brain can no longer convince itself that a healthy food is the right choice due to the health benefits, and instead it focuses on taste, the researchers said.

This study did not look at actual decisions people make about what to eat. However, the idea that people would act on their desires for unhealthy food is a “realistic possibility,” said Michael Walker, a sleep psychologist at UC Berkeley.

The results of the new studies are in line with previous work but go beyond what’s known to show howthe brain reacts to sleep deprivation, said sleep epidemiologist James Gangwisch of Columbia University, who was not involved in the research.

Gangwisch suggested the link between getting little sleep and eating more has its root in evolutionary biology: Human ancestors slept less during summer months, when they had to eat more to fatten up for the winter.

Now “we’re fattening up, year round, for a wintertime that never does come,” he said.

Research has shown many times that sleep is critical to helping the brain make healthy choices, Wall said.

“I think people are always surprised that sleep isn’t just a dormant state, but performs a lot of functions,” he said.

Both studies were presented June 9 at a sleep researchers conference in Boston.

 

<article source:http://www.today.com/health/why-we-go-doughnuts-when-were-sleep-deprived-825160?franchiseSlug=todayhealthmain> 

Happy New Year!

Still recovering from New Year’s Eve? I can’t believe where this last year has gone and I am sure you are feeling the same way. 2013 was a good year for us at Mattress Depot USA as I take a moment to reflect to myself. Sadly, we did lose one member of the Mattress Depot family and we continue to honor his memory forever as a loyal employee and dear friend. We celebrated our 10 Year Anniversary which is a proud milestone for a local company. We have continued to grow to 21 stores and open up one franchise store and we hope to continue that successful momentum in to 2014. 

With a new year comes new resolutions and change. Maybe you want to work out more, eat better, lose weight, get more sleep, do better in school, get a promotion, use better self-judgment, whatever your aspirations for the year may be, Mattress Depot can help support you and your goals. 

How you may wonder? – by getting better quality sleep! You can achieve anything when you are well rested and refreshed for the dawning day. Getting good quality sleep is just as important as going to the gym and eating better. You need all three elements to be the person you want to be. 

According to WebMD.com, “Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. According to a 2004 study, people who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.” 

Maybe your resolution is to perform better at work; sleep can help with that especially if your job depends on making sound decisions. Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially prone to poor judgment when it comes to assessing what lack of sleep is doing to them. In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has become a kind of badge of honor. But sleep specialists say if you think you’re doing fine on less sleep, you’re probably wrong. And if you work in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of functioning, this can be a big problem. 

If you are allowing yourself to get 8 or more hours of uninterrupted sleep a night and are still feeling tired or sluggish, then other factors may need to be examined. Make a new years resolution to see a sleep specialist in your area to help diagnose any unseen sleep issue or sleep patterns. You may find that you have a type of sleep apnea, which is quite common. 

Your mattress is also going to play a major role in the quality of sleep you are getting. If your mattress is more than 5 years old think back over the last five years. Are you the same person five years ago as you are tired? Most likely things have changed and your mattress then may not be the mattress for your today. Our bodies are different every day and we are constantly changing with age. 

Evaluate your mattress and make the decision if a new bed may be a good option to research. At Mattress Depot USA, our Sleep Consultants are experts at helping you evaluate the options to find the best one for your needs. No matter where you shop, don’t let the sales consultant tell you what you need. Be honest and up front. 

Uninterrupted sleep is crucial to helping us perform not only at our job or in school, but in our everyday lives and health. And while most New Year’s resolutions are hard to keep, try making one that will help get you more rest. 

 

 

R.I.P Old Mattress: How to Recycle Your Old Mattress

Mattress Box Spring in the Garbage. If only your previous owner knew how to recycle you…

During the excitement of having your new mattress delivered, you might not care what happens to that old, back-pain-inducing one once that’s hauled away.

However, each year in the U.S., 40 million mattresses are disposed of, and a mattress can take up as much as 40 cubic feet in a landfill – making it that much more important to recycle your old one.

Not only that, they also create a dangerous environment for workers in landfills, because their bulky shapes can create flammable air pockets and damage equipment. Additionally, most recycling centers won’t accept mattresses, because they lack the technology to disassemble them.

Recycle your old mattresses.

 

So what is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of your old mattress? Although it’s a bit difficult to do, recycling is the best option since at least 85 percent of a mattress can be recycled.

Mattress designs have been perfected over the years, but they all contain several main components. Although the intricate assembly of a mattress makes it more difficult to recycle, once disassembled, mattresses are made up of materials that are very easy and lucrative to recycle.

Steel springs, a wood frame, stuffing and fabric with buttons — all of these things can be recycled or reused. Steel in particular is a great material for recycling. The cost of recycling steel has decreased so much you could actually make money from melting down the steel springs and selling the resulting steel supply. Mattresses have anywhere from 300 to 600 steel coils depending on the size of mattress you have. The higher quality the mattress, the more coils it will have. If you own a high-quality king-size mattress, it would be a shame not to recycle it.

Additionally, the stuffing of a mattress, which is made up of cotton and foam, can be recycled or reused for stuffing pillows, reupholstering furniture, or even recycled and used in carpet padding. The wood frame can either be shredded and used as lawn mulch or disassembled and used for firewood or in carpentry word. Even the fabric and buttons can be reused, as long as the fabric has been cleaned. Specialty mattresses like the Tempur-pedic and memory foam can be recycled because they’re made up of the same basic materials.

The components of a mattress can be broken down and recycled. Helping to limit waste going into our landfills each year.

Box springs can also be recycled at recycling facilities where these bulky items are accepted. They are fed into a special machine where a specifically designed saw rips away the soft materials on the top and bottom, separating the mattress and box springs into its components. The springs are pulled away with magnets and the foam and cotton stuffing are grouped together and shredded for another use. With the right technology, a mattress can be recycled in just four minutes.

Although recycling mattresses is a necessary and worthwhile task, it is not the easiest one to accomplish. While sustainability and green thinking have spread like wildfire, and recycling centers have popped up across the globe, there is still a shortage of centers that can recycle mattresses. Most recycling centers do not have the technology to recycle mattresses. Those that do generally charge a fee to accept your mattress and the majority of mattress recycling centers only deal with corporations, and don’t allow the general public to donate their mattresses for recycling because the cost of receiving them one at a time is too high.

So what is a tree hugger with an extra mattress to do?

First, search the Internet to see if there is a recycling center in your area that will allow you to drop off your mattress. Resources like Earth911.com and the International Sleep Products Associate can help you locate one in your area. Just make sure you call them to ensure they accept mattresses from the general public.

If a mattress recycling center in your area is not an option, there’s always do-it-yourself recycling. If you’re crafty, a carpenter, or know someone who is, you could disassemble a mattress and reuse the materials on your own. If you’re looking for some extra cash, you might even try to sell the steel coils from your mattress to a junk yard or as scrap metal. You could also donate the stuffing and foam to a school’s home economics class for a project. Additionally, check for second hand shops in your area that might buy old mattresses.

Finally, if you want to recycle your mattress with the least amount of effort, ask the retailer selling you your new mattress if they have a recycling program. They may already have a relationship with a mattress recycling center that disposes all of the old mattresses they haul away. Since everyone seems to be jumping on the green bandwagon, it’s very likely that a retailer near you already has an established recycling program. Just call around and find out the details before your purchase your new mattress.

Mattress Depot USA recycles all mattresses when we delivery your new mattress and remove your old set.

At Mattress Depot USA, we are the only mattress retailer in the state who has a special partnership with mattress recycling facilities. Therefore, when you buy from us we will remove your old mattress with the delivery of your new one and recycle it for you. So you can rest assured that your old mattress is not clogging up our landfills. Some of our mattress manufacturers even make their mattresses out of those recycled materials, helping to utilize those materials and keeping the mattress life cycle thriving.

 For more information about local mattress recycling programs you can visit your local county website. If you are in King County here is the link:

http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/linkup/mattresses/

http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/takeitback/mattress/index.asp

 

<Article source: http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/construction/green/environmentally-friendly-dispose-old-mattresses2.htm&gt;

40 Facts About Sleep

For this week’s blog topic, I thought we would keep it nice and light with 40 facts that you may or may not have known about sleep. See how many you knew and surprise yourself with some additional knowledge!

-The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses. – It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it. – Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day. – A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year – One of the best predictors of insomnia later in life is the development of bad habits from having sleep disturbed by young children. – The continuous brain recordings that led to the discovery of REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep were not done until 1953, partly because the scientists involved were concerned about wasting paper. – REM sleep occurs in bursts totalling about 2 hours a night, usually beginning about 90 minutes after falling asleep. – Dreams, once thought to occur only during REM sleep, also occur (but to a lesser extent) in non-REM sleep phases. It’s possible there may not be a single moment of our sleep when we are actually dreamless. – REM dreams are characterised by bizarre plots, but non-REM dreams are repetitive and thought-like, with little imagery – obsessively returning to a suspicion you left your mobile phone somewhere, for example. – Certain types of eye movements during REM sleep correspond to specific movements in dreams, suggesting at least part of the dreaming process is analagous to watching a film – No-one knows for sure if other species dream but some do have sleep cycles similar to humans. – Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep. – Some scientists believe we dream to fix experiences in long-term memory, that is, we dream about things worth remembering. Others reckon we dream about things worth forgetting – to eliminate overlapping memories that would otherwise clog up our brains. – Dreams may not serve any purpose at all but be merely a meaningless byproduct of two evolutionary adaptations – sleep and consciousness. – REM sleep may help developing brains mature. Premature babies have 75 per cent REM sleep, 10 per cent more than full-term bubs. Similarly, a newborn kitten puppy rat or hampster experiences only REM sleep, while a newborn guinea pig (which is much more developed at birth) has almost no REM sleep at all. – Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain’s sleep-wake clock. – British Ministry of Defence researchers have been able to reset soldiers’ body clocks so they can go without sleep for up to 36 hrs. Tiny optical fibres embedded in special spectacles project a ring of bright white light (with a spectrum identical to a sunrise) around the edge of soldiers’ retinas, fooling them into thinking they have just woken up. The system was first used on US pilots during the bombing of Kosovo. – Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%. – The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska, the Challenger space shuttle disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident have all been attributed to human errors in which sleep-deprivation played a role. – The NRMA estimates fatigue is involved in one in 6 fatal road accidents. – Exposure to noise at night can suppress immune function even if the sleeper doesn’t wake. Unfamiliar noise, and noise during the first and last two hours of sleep, has the greatest disruptive effect on the sleep cycle. – The “natural alarm clock” which enables some people to wake up more or less when they want to is caused by a burst of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. Researchers say this reflects an unconscious anticipation of the stress of waking up. – Some sleeping tablets, such as barbiturates suppress REM sleep, which can be harmful over a long period. – In insomnia following bereavement, sleeping pills can disrupt grieving. – Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a “neural switch” in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes. – To drop off we must cool off; body temperature and the brain’s sleep-wake cycle are closely linked. That’s why hot summer nights can cause a restless sleep. The blood flow mechanism that transfers core body heat to the skin works best between 18 and 30 degrees. But later in life, the comfort zone shrinks to between 23 and 25 degrees – one reason why older people have more sleep disorders. – A night on the grog will help you get to sleep but it will be a light slumber and you won’t dream much. – After five nights of partial sleep deprivation, three drinks will have the same effect on your body as six would when you’ve slept enough. – Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours. – Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode. – Ten per cent of snorers have sleep apnoea, a disorder which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 300 times a night and significantly increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. – Snoring occurs only in non-REM sleep. – Teenagers need as much sleep as small children (about 10 hrs) while those over 65 need the least of all (about six hours). For the average adult aged 25-55, eight hours is considered optimal – Some studies suggest women need up to an hour’s extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men. – Feeling tired can feel normal after a short time. Those deliberately deprived of sleep for research initially noticed greatly the effects on their alertness, mood and physical performance, but the awareness dropped off after the first few days. – Diaries from the pre-electric-light-globe Victorian era show adults slept nine to 10 hours a night with periods of rest changing with the seasons in line with sunrise and sunsets. – Most of what we know about sleep we’ve learned in the past 25 years. – As a group, 18 to 24 year-olds deprived of sleep suffer more from impaired performance than older adults. – Experts say one of the most alluring sleep distractions is the 24-hour accessibility of the internet. – The extra-hour of sleep received when clocks are put back at the start of daylight in Canada has been found to coincide with a fall in the number of road accidents.

<Article Source:http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm>

Foam and latex are very, very hot – but cooler than ever!

A decade ago, who would’ve guessed that foam and latex suppliers would be using words like “magic” and “sizzle” to describe their offerings? But they are. Mattress manufacturers seeking to add pizazz to their lineups have embraced all types of specialty foams. Today’s foams are available in beautiful colors, cuts, convolutions and coring with myriad technical attributes—and they sleep cooler than ever before, suppliers say.

Layered cake look in foam bedding and hybrid bedding

Indeed, solving consumer complaints about foam and temperature regulation has been job one. The result is that foam and latex are plumping up and filling out mattresses in higher proportions than ever before.

FoamPartner Group, a division of Fritz Nauer AG with headquarters in Wolfhausen, Switzerland, stopped traffic with its concept beds that use six or seven varieties of vividly colored foams that include rod and sphere shapes.

“It’s all about function, zoning and being visually attractive,” says Rita Kollbrunner, FoamPartner Group head of marketing and communications. “We aren’t just pouring foam. Our customers look to us to help them tell a story to their customers with pictures, marketing materials and a brand.”

Back in the United States, BedTimes spoke with Carpenter Co., which says it’s seeing steady growth and potential for its Ergonomic Performance engineered cores.

“Engineered cores got their start in Europe, and we’re seeing strong growth here, especially with ones that work well with articulating (adjustable) bases,” says Bob Steelman, vice president of sales and marketing for the Richmond, Va.-based company. “Engineered cores have lots of eye appeal and offer posturized support through special cuts, contours, layers and coring.”

It’s true, suppliers say. Foams add fascination to beds, giving them a certain glamour on the sales floor.

More, More More! 

Cool close-up. Elite Foam is a more breathable visco-elastic foam that is very open cell infused with microgel particles.

“We are seeing manufacturers invest in more foams and better quality foams,” says Rick Anthony, director of sales for HSM Bedding Solutions headquartered in Hickory, N.C. “In years past, the 1.2-pound foam was the standard comfort layer in a quilted, traditional mattress. Today, we’re seeing 1.4-pound to 1.8-pound better quality foams and, in specialty bedding, better quality foams from the bottom up. When you’re trying to command higher price points, you’ve got to substantiate it with better quality foams.”

It’s now a given that mattress brands offer one or more all-foam collections, suppliers say. What’s new is the amount of foam being used in beds.

“We did consumer research and found that even if they can’t afford a $4,000 specialty bed, everyone wants a little of ‘the magic that goes on top.’ They’ll buy a hybrid mattress with latex or some other foam on top,” says Kurt Ling, chief executive officer of Pure LatexBLISS, the finished mattress division of supplier Latex International in Shelton, Conn.

Totally Tubular.Companies are now pouring latex in vertical cyclinders as well as horizontal tubes for improved airflow.

Major brands such as Sealy and Simmons have created mattresses that are essentially half foam and half innerspring. The beds have a short foam-encased pocket spring topped with multiple layers of foams. Today’s latex hybrids use more latex, and all-latex beds have become more common.

“In the coming months, thanks to interest in hybrid beds, you’re going to see more and more major manufacturers introducing 3 and 4 inches of latex in a hybrid bed.” It’s gotten to the point where we have three types of hybrid beds today—innerspring with visco, innerspring with latex, and innerspring with visco and latex. And, in general, a whole lot more producers are making all-latex models compared with five years ago. You’ll see what I mean at the January market in Las Vegas.

How cool is that?

Across the board, “foamers” are determined to vanquish consumer perceptions that foam beds “sleep hot.”

Foam introductions are chemically formulated to have very open cells. They are reticulated. They are perforated, channeled, cut and contoured for improved airflow.

Animated Airflow. This ergonomic performance core has multiple layers and maximum breath-ability.

At Interzum Cologne, the company introduced Breeze, a line of two polyurethane foams that includes a high-resiliency foam and a visco-elastic foam that are “substantially more breathable.” Breeze visco-elastic foam is highly porous, has a fast response and is nonreactive to temperature changes, according to the company.
Carpenter has the capability to pinhole core any foam or engineered core at all of its plants.

“We’re on the forefront of breathability with our Active Air Technology—it’s one way to mechanically open foam up to allow air circulation,” Steelman says. “Coring also reduces moisture.”

David Wright, vice president of Elite Foam, which pours and fabricates specialty foams and is based in Newnan, Ga., says he sees more interest in surface-modified foams and pinhole coring of all foams to improve ventilation.

“Our main focus in new product development is improving comfort and thermal regulation,” he says. “We’ve created a more open-cell visco that is 10 times more breathable than regular memory foam.”

Gel vs phase change – or both?

In Europe, where all-foam mattresses dominate the marketplace, gel foams haven’t taken off  as they have in other markets. In the United States and Canada, most better foam and hybrid mattresses contain some element of poured gel or gel-infused visco or latex. Some U.S. foamers say that gel has “reached a saturation point”; others say it will continue to be popular at the top of the mattress.

While gel products are good for pressure relief, in Europe you will find they are not as popular as in the United States. For temperature regulation, we prefer foams with phase-change material. “Gel foam is trending in Europe, but we consider the cooling properties unproven,” says Dennes Need, sales manager of Draka Interfoam.

“We do know that gel has orthopedic properties; it’s proven to add comfort and pressure relief and that it is more resilient,” Need says. The use of phase-change material in foams is growing in the United States, too.

New angles on sustainability

Flow-through foam allows heat and moisture to wick away from sleepers.

In foam production, most of the sustainability discussion has shifted to manufacturing practices and product life cycle. Manufacturers and the public, however, continue to be “interested in what’s in the foam and what’s in their bed,” Crowell says.

U.S.-based foamers mentioned the importance of CertiPUR-US, a foam certification process that ensures product quality, durability and safety, as well as sustainable manufacturing practices and indoor emission reduction. (It’s based on a similar certification in Europe.)

“The Earth’s natural systems cannot absorb all this back and a good portion remains in the atmosphere, interfering with our climate,” he says. “Simply put, the rubber tree is among the top natural C02 absorbers and its yield, latex, is predominantly made of carbon—carbon absorbed from the atmosphere. When you make a natural latex mattress, you promote the growth of rubber trees. When you assess the amount of C02 that rubber trees have absorbed to create latex for a mattress and set it against all the greenhouse gas emissions released during the manufacture of that mattress, it’s negative—the whole process of manufacturing, procuring and using this mattress creates a reversal of atmospheric pollution. (This equation is based on the testing of unique formulas we have derived, published data on carbon sequestration of rubber trees, and a comprehensive assessment of greenhouse gas inventory under ISO 14064 standards at our factories.)

More sizzle coming soon

Foamers have a slew of new products in the pipeline and hint at more introductions blending latex, visco-elastic and traditional foams. These foams will be focusing on pressure relief, cushioning and support.

It Pays to Shop Small!

We are on the brink of holiday shopping madness as another year has practically come and gone. Many of Americans will flock by the thousands to the big department stores, Walmart, Best Buy, Sears, Macy’s and shopping malls to get the best deals on just about anything and everything. Sadly for many local businesses in your area, they will get over looked and you could practically hear a pin drop in the showroom.

We have all heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but back in 2010, American Express (AMEX) coined a new shopping day – Small Business Saturday. To help local businesses not be overlooked, Amex offers small-to-medium sized businesses an opportunity to compete with the “big guys” and drive customers back to local retailers.

Last year, Small Business Saturday supporters reported spending over $5.5 billion in independently owned businesses. The goal is to help keep consumer dollars in local communities to keep our economy strong. In the U.S. alone there are 28 million small businesses but why is Small Business Saturday worth it you may ask?

If you went to a locally owned coffee shop and spent $5.00, $3.40 would go back to the community, where as at a national chain, only $2.15 would go back to the community. That $3.40 is reinvested back into the community by going to local schools, jobs, taxes, wages and other communal needs.

Mattress Depot USA was founded in 2002 but started as a small operation out of a warehouse in Issaquah, Washington. Without the help of our customer’s and employees over the past 10 years, we would not be where we are today. In the spirit of the holidays and Thanksgiving, we would like to give thanks to all the customers, past, present and future, who are choosing to shop local whether it be with us or any other local store. 

So while you are out shopping for the special people in your life, remember to stop by your favorite local spot, whether it be a coffee shop, doughnut or cupcake shop, hair salon, taco truck, pet store – you get the idea – give them some love.

Need some help finding a local business to support? Amex created a special map to help consumers reach local retailers across the U.S. Some of these business even offer special deal on November 30th as well. Check out the map to see if your favorite local spot is on the map! You can even find one of our locations on there too by searching for our name, Mattress Depot or Mattress Depot USA. http://shopsmallnow.americanexpress.com/

Happy Thanksgiving and shopping Washington State!

Written by Kayla Schafer, Marketing Director, Mattress Depot USA. November 25, 2013.

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