The Benefits of Comfort

Sleeping habits have a big impact on your physical and mental health and well-being. The purpose of sleep is to restore and energize your body and mind. While you sleep, your liver, kidneys and lymph nodes work to remove toxins from the body. Your immune and cellular systems repair damage caused by stress and harmful exposure. If you have healthy sleeping habits, you will be less likely to get sick, more likely to stay at a healthy weight and at a lower risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems and colon cancer.

Sleep also boosts brainpower and mood. Memory consolidation occurs while you sleep. Your brain processes your day and makes connections between events, senses, feelings and memories. The first signs of sleep deprivation typically include irritability, flattened emotional responses, impaired memory and inability to multitask. Lack of sleep and the resulting lack of concentration are responsible for at least 100,000 automobile collisions and 1,550 deaths each year.

Sleeplessness in children is also of concern. Sleep loss interferes with the ability of a child to learn, and recent studies have found a connection between sleep problems in children and later drug and alcohol use.

To maintain optimal health, most adults need seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Teenagers need at least nine hours of sleep, and young children need ten to twelve hours of sleep. Unfortunately, millions of Americans suffer from lack of sleep. Between 60 and 74 percent of adults and 69 percent of children report having trouble sleeping at least a few nights each week.

You can help ensure that you and your family get a good night's sleep by creating the best sleep environment possible. Comfortable bedding and bedroom accessories can significantly enhance your ability to sleep soundly for eight hours.

The two most important keys to finding comfort are support and temperature. An uncomfortable mattress or pillows may cause you to put pressure on your spine and joints. When your room is too hot or too cold, your body has to work to self-regulate your body temperature. Buying a new mattress is not always necessary to enhance your comfort. For a supportive and temperature-controlled bed, simply add layers.

Investing in new sheets and pillow covers can also enhance your sleeping experience. There is also a variety of cooling and moisture wicking bedding, including sheets and pillow cases made of synthetic fibers, wool and bamboo bedding. Synthetic fibers are specifically engineered to wick moisture away during the night. Bamboo grass is silky, cool and naturally resistant to bacteria. Wool is naturally thermo-regulating. It insulates in the cold and is cool and breathable when your room becomes too hot. All three materials are good options for enhancing the comfort of your bed.

You spend approximately one-third of your life in your bed. You don't want to spend eight hours each night tossing and turning. A small investment in quality and comfortable bedding can make a significant difference in your ability to sleep soundly and to wake up energized and restored.