Sunday, December 13, 2009

By Vladmir Skillet

With technological gains in every industry known to man, there is still a great majority of people who negate the importance of quality mattresses. People will spend tens of thousands of dollars on new cars with all the bells and whistles and yet, do not take into consideration how important having a quality mattress really is.

Everyone is rushing around these days trying to get done all the things they need to do in a day. It seems that health related issues like proper rest and adequate sleep have been put on the back burner on the priority list. Most humans require 8.5 hours of sleep per night for optimal rest and yet, Americans are averaging less than 6.8 hours per night. But there is more to it than just quantity of sleep, but something is to be said on the quality. Most sleep deprived people complain that they have problems falling asleep and when they do finally get to bed, they have a problem with restless nights.

This lack of sleep has flamed the mattress industry to begin campaigns such as Sealy who claim to help "get a better 6 hours". Of course, they are right in the idea that a more restful sleep will lead to additional energy the next day. What is striking however is that more people are not purchasing quality mattresses when the time comes due. No doubt you will upgrade a television to HD, buy the latest from your favorite car manufacturer, but buying a new mattress? New mattresses however seem to be in a constant state of procrastination.

Quality mattresses can be expensive, but there are many different payment options available from most mattress stores. One need not have a roll of bills in their pocket to end up in a bed that meets their sleeping needs. Especially as we continue in an economic low, this is a prime motivator against a new bed.

Sleep is perhaps the greatest stress reducer in our overstressed worlds. But even beyond stress, there are a number of significant sleep related problems such as memory reduction, cognitive skills being inhibited, digestion issues (including reduced metabolism which can lead to weight gain) and other problems like immune deficiencies. Throughout the years, sleep has been a mystery to us. It hasn't been until recently when proper brain scanning technology has really allowed us to figure out what was going on inside our brains during this time. The basics involve flowing through the 5 states of sleep from light to heavy and into REM (rapid eye movement) usually taking about 90 minutes for its first cycle. As the night goes on, the cycles time becomes shorter getting to the REM stage more frequently, thus providing the most benefit to the individual.

Sleep quality is largely proportional to the amount you are able to remain in an REM state. If you have frequent interruptions for instance, due to a sore back, tossing and turning, or simply trying to get comfortable, you throw the cycle off and begin to diminish the REM time you are able to spend in a night.

Do yourself a favor and invest in your health. Buying a new mattress might cost a couple of thousand dollars, but you will never find a better buy to increase the quality of life.

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