Archive for June, 2009

5 Top Tips For a Peaceful Night’s Sleep

sleeping wellCan’t sleep? Insomnia and sleep disturbances can be caused by a variety of factors including overeating, too much caffeine, depression, stress, and anxiety.

Before troubling your doctor with this problem, try a more natural approach to remedy the situation.

· Increasing your intake of potassium, biotin, calcium and B vitamins can have a soothing effect on your system, so make sure you include the following foods throughout the day:

Potassium: Bananas, leafy green vegetables, sunflower seeds, citrus fruits.
Biotin: Brewers Yeast, nuts, brown rice, liver and kidneys.
Calcium: milk, yoghurt, fresh meat & fish, eggs, fruit & vegetables, beans.
B Vitamins: Brewers Yeast, raisins, figs, dates, cantaloupe melon. Read more »

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Better for Your Back: Firm or Soft Mattresses

mattressesIf you were to ask a group of consumers whether they prefer a soft or firm mattress, most of them will report that they rather the soft mattress. If you were to ask this same group of consumers which is better for their back, a soft or a firm mattress, most of them will incorrectly reply that the soft mattresses are better. Unfortunately, this is because many people wrongly equate the softness in a mattress with its potential for providing adequate support to them while sleeping.

Many people wonder how comfortable mattresses, that enable you to sleep straight through the night, could be bad for your body. While we all want to sleep on mattresses that have some level of comfort to them, it is important to purchase a mattress not only based on how comfortable the top layer is. When perusing the vast mattress options, you should also consider what materials the internal layers of your mattress consists of. Firm support mattresses, such as those offered by memory foam mattresses, are far superior to the unreliable support provided by metal spring mattresses.

When you are considering purchasing a new mattress, it is important to be knowledgeable on the different types of mattresses available, so that you can be content with one that will provide better support for you back and a better sleep. While a “bouncy” mattress may be comfortable for relaxing on while watching television, beds with too much bounce in them often do not offer the resistance of firmness against your body while you sleep. This usually leaves you sleeping on your back or neck incorrectly and, ultimately, waking up stiff and sore. Not having the correct support underneath you to keep your spine, head, and neck in proper alignment while you sleep, can often cause you to awaken with headaches and stiffened joints. Read more »

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Make An Individual Statement With Your Bedroom Furniture

contemporary bedroom furnitureIt’s a place which will help you unwind after a long day and also help you relax. Hence, it’s of paramount importance that you select the right bedroom furniture.

Your bedroom furniture must reflect your interest and must cater to your own personal needs and requirements. There are many different themes of bedroom furniture that are available today including, garden cottage, traditional, contemporary, transitional, or even exotic.

The Contemporary Bedroom Furniture

Platform beds are quite popular, when it comes to contemporary furniture. In such a bed, there are no footboards to speak of; hence the bed displays clean lines of the bedding which are obstructed by any panel or spindle that is usually present on the footboards. It’s solid, comfortable and has a slatted frame underneath, which precludes the need for a spring mattress. Read more »

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Key Major Sleep Disorders

sleeping difficultySleep-related difficulties affect many people. The following is a description of some of the major sleep disorders. If you, or someone you know, is experiencing any of the following, it may be important to receive an evaluation by a healthcare provider or, if necessary, a provider specializing in sleep medicine.

Insomnia

Insomnia is characterized by an inability to initiate or maintain sleep. It may also take the form of early morning awakening in which the individual awakens several hours early and is unable to resume sleeping. Difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep may often manifest itself as excessive daytime sleepiness, which characteristically results in functional impairment throughout the day. Before arriving at a diagnosis of primary insomnia, the healthcare provider will rule out other potential causes, such as other sleep disorders, side effects of medications, substance abuse, depression, or other previously undetected illness. Chronic psychophysiological insomnia (or “learned” or “conditioned” insomnia) may result from a stressor combined with fear of being unable to sleep. Individuals with this condition may sleep better when not in their own beds. Health care providers may treat chronic insomnia with a combination of use of sedative-hypnotic or sedating antidepressant medications, along with behavioral techniques to promote regular sleep.

Narcolepsy

Excessive daytime sleepiness (including episodes of irresistible sleepiness) combined with sudden muscle weakness are the hallmark signs of narcolepsy. The sudden muscle weakness seen in narcolepsy may be elicited by strong emotion or surprise. Episodes of narcolepsy have been described as “sleep attacks” and may occur in unusual circumstances, such as walking and other forms of physical activity. The healthcare provider may treat narcolepsy with stimulant medications combined with behavioral interventions, such as regularly scheduled naps, to minimize the potential disruptiveness of narcolepsy on the individual’s life. Read more »

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Benefits of Memory Foam Mattresses

memory foam mattressMemory foam mattresses have the ability to provide substantial and constant support to people with differing sleeping styles and body types. While a plethora of manufacturers that create uncomfortable spring and coil type mattresses try to get consumers to purchase their products by slapping plush and aesthetically pleasing coverings on them, people often find that their sleep and body suffer from making these purchases.

Although lying down on a pillowtop mattress may sometimes feel like lying on a fluffy cloud, it is not necessarily the best for your neck and back. Metal coil mattresses are insufficient in supporting your weight properly and proportionately, and can often leave you achy and tired during the day when you need to be on top of your game. Many customers who get tricked into purchasing a mattress like this will attempt to place a board under the coils to try to help provide them with firmer sleeping support. This practice may temporarily work, but will also shorten the lifespan of their mattress causing them, in the end, to spend more money. The experts on mattress care recommend that you avoid using hard boards under mattresses to help them last longer.

Memory foam mattresses are a much better at providing your entire body with proper support while you sleep. There are many benefits gained from sleeping on memory foam mattresses including the following:
Read more »

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