It is the first Sunday of April this weekend which means daylight savings is over, and it is time to turn our clocks back an hour at 3am to 2am.
Today, most smartphones and computers will automatically do this for us, but if you have an analog clock you should set yourself a reminder to do this before you go to bed Saturday night.
As the days shorten, by turning our clocks back, it means we are exposed to more bright light in the mornings.
As quoted in a 7 news article, Sleep and Circadian Researcher at Central Queensland University Amy Reynolds says
“Exposure to bright light in the morning, which happens when we are not on daylight saving time, is more ideal for our systems, as it synchronizes our body clocks to the day, and to the social requirements we have in the world, things like starting work and school in the morning.”
Changing our clocks in either direction changes the principle time cue (which is light) for setting and resetting our 24 hour natural cycle, or circadian rhythm. Therefore, our internal clocks become out of sync.
Turn back your clocks this Sunday and remember that with a good night sleep you will feel and function better.
In order to protect our health, and the health of our families, friends, co-workers and neighbours the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is making many of us review our current hygiene and sleep habits.
The best way to keep your immune system strong is by living a healthy lifestyle. Having a diet high in fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly and getting adequate sleep, as all of these things contribute to keeping your immune system in check.
Some key things to help protect yourself from illness as suggested by healthcare experts include:
Minimise direct contact with potentially germy surfaces. Follow the government’s advice on how to help protect your well-being and the well-being of others. Abide by social distancing recommendations and wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. More information can be found at healthdirect.gov.au
Exercise is a proven way of reducing stress, all it takes is as little as 5-10 minutes a day to reduce stress, boost mood, keep the body strong, improve alertness during the day and sleep quality.
Sleep is incredibly important for your immune system. Research shows that people who do not get enough sleep can have a suppressed immunity, meaning that there is a higher risk of them getting sick.
“Sleep is now well understood to benefit immunity,” says Dr Moira Junge, spokesperson for Australia’s leading sleep advocate Sleep Health Foundation. “An early night may be just what you need to boost your mood and immunity and help protect yourself from illness.” - Sleep Health Foundation, Australia -
When you sleep, your immune system releases a compound called cytokines. Cytokines are proteins produced by cells, some cytokines interact with cells of the immune system in order to regulate the body’s response to infection.
In times like these where there is concerning news and a lot of uncertainty it can be quite stressful for everyone. Stress can have a big impact on your sleep, it can make falling asleep a real struggle and once you finally get to sleep it can often be troubled with a lot of restlessness.
If you are having trouble sleeping , ensure you are getting some exercise during the day and try setting aside some time each night to write down or talk about what is concerning you and what you need to do the next day so you don’t lie awake “worrying”.
Importantly make sure, as an adult, you are getting the recommended 8 hours per night sleep. This is of high significance as it allows your body to rest and repair itself.
Ensure a healthy sleep environment
We spend approximately one third of our lives in bed and although we don’t like to think about it when we are sleeping we are sweating, losing skin flakes, drooling, and coughing. Things that in an unprotected bed can seep into our mattresses and pillows, providing food for dust mites and resulting in the growth of mould and bacteria.
Protect-A-Bed® Mattress, Pillow and Quilt Protectors, which can easily be removed for regular machine washing and drying, have a Miracle Layer™ that while breathable for a comfortable night's sleep also creates a barrier to stop our sweat, skin flakes and germs entering our pillows, mattresses and quilts.
Protect-A-Bed®’s Cumulus Mattress and Pillow Protectors are also treated with a naturally derived antimicrobial called Fresche®, that kills 99.99% of bacteria. Effective for up to 100 washes, it is environmentally friendly and contains no poisons or toxic chemicals.
All Protect-A-Bed® Mattress and Pillow Protectors are recognised by the National Asthma Council of Australia’s Sensitive Choice Program meaning that they provide protection against dust mites a common cause of trigger of asthma, eczema and allergies. As the new coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads, it’s important for people with asthma to maintain good asthma control and follow the advice from health authorities. For more information Sensitive Choice.
Moving forward in these times of uncertainty and a major health risk to us all it is important that you look after yourself. Minimise your contact with potential germs where possible, exercise daily and sleep well.
Sleep is vital to our everyday well being. Getting the right amount of regular sleep will make you feel more energised and motivated, helping you to achieve other goals that you might have for this year, such as doing more exercise,
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time. It will help create a natural rhythm, and sleep-wake cycle for your body.
Also ensure you are getting the recommended amount of sleep for someone your age. For an adult this is 7-9 hours a night. For a guide on the recommended sleep time for different ages check out https://www.sleephealthfoundation.org.au/how-much-sleep-do-you-really-need.html
Look at what can influence the quality of your sleep, and work on making changes where needed.
“Another reason people get lower-quality sleep following alcohol is that it blocks REM sleep, which is often considered the most restorative type of sleep. With less REM sleep, you’re likely to wake up feeling groggy and unfocused.” - sleepfoundation.org
Ensure your bedroom offers the best possible sleep environment
“A cool 16-18°C (60-65°F) is thought to be an ideal temperature in a bedroom. Temperatures over 24°C (71°F) are likely to cause restlessness, while a cold room of about 12°C (53°F) will make it difficult to drop off.” - Sleep Council UK
It may take a little adjustment for you to get into a new routine, but just remember that if you are getting the right amount of sleep regularly you should feel better and have more energy for the things you want to achieve.
Sleep well, live well
Every year billions of people are travelling and each trip they take the risk of bringing home a bed bug infestation.
Bed bugs love to hitchhike on luggage.
Found worldwide and an increasing problem in Australia and New Zealand, be sure to know what to look for these holidays or whenever travelling to ensure you and your family are protected from their nasty bites.
Small in size, they are attracted to warmth, and are most active at night biting areas of exposed skin while sleeping. Their bite causing an allergic reaction which is displayed on the skin as itchy red welts usually not felt until some minutes or hours after the bite.
Bed bugs have small, flat oval bodies. Adults are brown in colour, reddening after feeding. Despite common misconceptions that they are too small to see, fully grown they are about 4-5mm in length, small but visible to the naked eye.
Hiding in nooks and crannies they are primarily nocturnal, emerging in the middle of the night to feed on those sleeping. It is therefore, often not the bed bugs, but tell-tale signs of their infestation that may be seen first. Little brown or black dots found on linens or the mattress itself.
When booking a hotel room, you can:
If you have discovered bed bugs or evidence that would lead you to suspect their presence, alert the hotel staff immediately, do not stay in that room, and strongly consider finding a new hotel all together.
There have been reported cases of Bed Bugs in transit. After all they love to hitchhike on luggage and clothing. Having a hard shell suitcase can assist in eliminating the areas in which a bed bug can hide and it can easily be cleaned with an alcohol wipe after your flight. If you do see any signs of bed bugs while travelling let the flight attendant on your plane or tour guide know as soon as possible.
When you get home wash all clothes you took on the trip in hot water including the ones that might be clean or you have worn on the way home. Vacuum and check your luggage for any signs of bed bugs and then store them safely away from your bed.
Use Protect-A-Bed® Allerzip Mattress Encasement's on your beds for Fit ‘n’ Forget protection.
Not only providing peace of mind against bed bugs and dust mite allergens they help protect your mattress investment from everyday spills and stains.
The Protect-A-Bed® BugLock® system has a dust-proof flap and tamper-proof SecureSeal® making the mattress or pillow bed bug entry and escape proof, whilst also ensuring allergens can’t become airborne. Simply Fit'n'Forget® by laying a Protect-A-Bed® fitted mattress protector on the top for easy removal and regular washing with other bedding.
Sleep Well, Live Well
Whether it is watching TV, playing video games, scrolling through social media or checking emails, electronic devices are a big part of our lifestyle and hard to put down when bedtime approaches.
Although the effects vary between people ‘screen time’ before bed has been shown to impact both our ability to fall asleep and the quality of our sleep.
"Studies have tested the effects of bright tablets (e.g. ipads) and laptop screens for up to 5 hours before bed. It seems that the natural evening rise in melatonin (a hormone that makes us ready for sleep) is not affected by 1 hour of bright screen light, but it is after 1.5 hours. Thus after 1.5 hours of technology use in the evening people report feeling less sleepy. They also do better on mental performance tests and their brainwaves suggest increased alertness. Repeated use of a bright screen over 5 days can delay the body clock by 1.5 hours. This means you consistently want to go to bed later and sleep in longer. This can be a real problem when you need to get up at a set time in the morning for school or work." - sleephealthfoundation.org.au
It may be difficult at first, but once you have made a conscious change it will become habit and part of your everyday routine.
Sleep Well, Live Well
If you are finding yourself feeling tired and sleepy during the day a nap may be beneficial. Reducing fatigue, increasing alertness, improving your mood, performance and reaction time.
A nap may also help you prepare for and be able to better cope with a late night out, shift work or a long drive.
As recognised by the Sleep Health Foundation of Australia
"Naps can also be good at times when you feel sleepy and you are worried about how well you can do things if you continue without rest. If you feel drowsy during a long drive in the car, a short nap can be taken in a rest area. This will make you more alert during the next phase of the drive.
Some studies have found that if you start to feel sleepy while driving, it helps to have a cup of coffee, immediately followed by a nap of about 15 minutes. The caffeine takes about 30 minutes to start working so when you wake up both the nap and the caffeine will start to make you feel more alert."
The secret to waking up refreshed from a nap is setting an alarm and making sure you don’t nap for too long.
Ideally a nap should only be 15-30 minutes long. This will ensure that when you wake you are still in the lightest stage of non-REM sleep. Any longer, where you enter the deeper stages of sleep you risk waking up with what is known as sleep inertia. Feeling groggy and perhaps more tired and with less energy than before your nap.
However “If you’re lucky enough to be able to lie down for 90 minutes, your body should have time to make it through one complete sleep cycle where you go from the lightest stage through the deepest stage of sleep and back again, so you’ll wake feeling refreshed.”- sleep.org
“A cool 16-18°C (60-65°F) is thought to be an ideal temperature in a bedroom. Temperatures over 24°C (71°F) are likely to cause restlessness, while a cold room of about 12°C (53°F) will make it difficult to drop off.” - Sleep Council UK
Be mindful to remember that a nap does not replace a good night’s sleep. A nap too late in the day may make it harder to fall asleep at night. And if you find that you are relying on naps during the day or you are not able to sleep at night due to naps talk to your doctor.
Are you or your partner finding yourself uncomfortably hot at night? Sweating, tossing and turning, resulting in a broken night’s sleep and leaving you feeling lethargic the next day?
Your core body temperature works with your circadian rhythm, to help determine when you are ready to go to sleep and when you are ready to wake up. Your body temperature drops when you begin to feel sleepy and is at its lowest at around 4am, before increasing.
So if you are having difficulty falling asleep or waking up at time you need to consider what maybe affecting your temperature leading up to your bedtime and during the night.
As identified in Time’s article You Asked: Why Do I Sweat When I Sleep by (Markham Heid March 21, 2018)
“Intense exercise too close to bed can also “throw off” the body’s thermoregulation processes, says Michael Grandner, an associate professor and director of the Sleep & Health Research Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He explains that a person’s body temperature naturally dips just before bed, which promotes sleep. Eating or exercising too close to bed can fire up your metabolism, which increases heat production and so may interfere with the body’s natural powering down.”
In order to fall asleep quickly and too help get a good night’s sleep you firstly need to ensure your room is at the ideal temperature.
“A cool 16-18°C (60-65°F) is thought to be an ideal temperature in a bedroom. Temperatures over 24°C (71°F) are likely to cause restlessness, while a cold room of about 12°C (53°F) will make it difficult to drop off.” - sleepcouncil.org.uk/perfect-sleep environment
But remember it is not just the air conditioner or heater that affects the temperature you are feeling when you are sleeping. Your Pyjama’s and bedding can also play a part. You might get into bed feeling cool and comfortable but if you may become hotter during the night due to the materials your Pyjama’s and bedding are made off.
Consider Natural Fibres such as TENCEL™. TENCEL™ is a botanic fibre, derived from sustainable wood sources which are super soft. The Smooth Fiber structure of TENCEL™ absorbs moisture more efficiently than cotton and is breathable helping support the body’s natural thermal regulating mechanism, keeping your skin feeling pleasantly cool and dry.
You may wish to check out our range of Protect-A-Bed TENCEL™ Mattress and Pillow Protectors®
If you have made these changes to help ensure the correct sleeping temperature and you are still waking hot or sweaty consider talking to your doctor. Sometimes the side effects of medication, menopause, hormonal imbalances, anxiety and sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and night terrors may also cause you to sweat when sleep.
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