Latest news with #sleepScience
WIRED
21 hours ago
- General
- WIRED
I'm a Certified Sleep Expert. Let Me Crack the Code on Mattress Terms
Shopping for a mattress online means expanding your vocabulary. Here are the key terms to look for. Shopping for a mattress online is a lot of work—enough to make you need some rest. Picking the right bed, like the right bet itself, is better if you have enough support. To help you with the arduous process of selection, we've come up with guides that explain the need-to-know about mattress shopping. This includes the varying mattress types, how to select a mattress, and our thoroughly tested guide to the best mattresses you can buy online. Today, it's time to break down some of the terminology you'll inevitably come across during your research. These words are signposts that point to how a mattress was made, tested, and, subsequently, how it performs. You don't have to be a Spencer Institute sleep science coach to understand these terms—but, lucky for you, I am a Spencer Institute sleep science coach. A Handy Mattress Dictionary Pressure relief is a crucial aspect for certain sleeping positions, like side sleepers, and those who need to show their joints some love. The term refers to a mattress reacting to a person's weight as it contacts the bed, and how well it's able to counteract the pressure from putting your weight on more tender areas of the body. For side sleepers, a bed that is too firm means your hips and shoulders will be crying out for help because of the tension. Materials like latex and memory foam are known for their pressure-relieving capabilities. Memory foam, in particular, is very adaptive and 'hugs' the body, which many side sleepers like. Motion isolation is a term used to describe how well a mattress manages to not transfer movement or shaking across the bed, usually from one person to another. When movement does end up disrupting the stability of the bed, this is known as motion transfer. If you wake up easily or share your sleep space with a partner, pet, or child, motion isolation is typically unwelcome. Memory foam's density is usually right on par with absorbing this feeling, and coils have evolved to include fabric pockets (this is what the term 'pocketed coils' means). The idea is that when each coil is contained in its own zone, motion has a harder time moving across the bed as opposed to traditional coils, where everything was woven together. Pro tip: Make sure you have a stable frame, as that's half the battle here, too, and is often overlooked. Spine alignment, otherwise known as lumbar support, is an evaluation of how well the spine is kept in alignment. When you're standing up straight, you'll notice that your lower back slightly curves. This is aptly called the 'S' curve, because healthy alignment of the upper and lower spinal cord does somewhat resemble this letter. But your posture isn't just a concern while upright, as a lack of spine alignment support while sleeping isn't healthy in the long term. Each sleeping position brings about its own set of concerns, as even the smallest degree of sinking in this area can cause misalignment. Stomach sleepers need a firmer surface to keep this area uplifted, as something too soft causes the lower back to sink in. Side sleepers have to keep the hips and shoulders on the same level, and the lower back can't be sinking into too much of a 'U' shape. The alignment of your neck is key, as anybody with back pain will tell you. This is where many mattress makers have stepped up with their designs, putting firmer support in the center of the bed by way of extra memory foam layers or reinforced coils. Edge support is important for a couple of reasons. If you're someone who gets banished to the edge of the bed while sleeping due to a pet or partner making themselves comfy, you need edge support. Sit on the bottom while getting dressed? You need edge support. Engaged in adult extracurricular activities and don't want to feel like you're falling off the mattress? Edge support. Mattress models, especially hybrids, will usually strategically put reinforced coils around the outer edges to make sure weight is supported. This also helps with durability as time goes on, preventing the edges from sagging. Materials like memory foam can be hit-or-miss for edge support, especially depending on the firmness level involved. Too soft, and you may be encroaching on feeling some sagging in any one of the aforementioned situations. Cooling is going to be something to keep in mind for sleepers who overheat easily. There are many cooling mattresses out there, and measuring how well a mattress can regulate surface temperature is valuable information. Some beds involve natural and organic materials that may not feel cool to the touch, but are able to dispel heat relatively quickly. Others will involve a lot of proprietary cooling tech, which gives off a visceral feeling of coolness. Keep in mind that factors such as the surrounding bedroom temperature, what you wear to bed, what sheets and accessories you use, and ultimately the mattress materials involved will all play a part in the overall mattress's temperature control. Responsiveness is how well a bed 'responds' to the sleeper moving around on top of it. If the bed is softer and sleepers sink in more, they may have a harder time getting in and out of bed or switching between sleeping positions. On the other hand, a highly responsive bed is snappy, feeling as if it is moving alongside you so that you're always receiving support. Off-gassing is the mattress equivalent of a new car smell, but mattress edition. If you notice a chemical smell radiating from your mattress once unboxed or unpackaged, the materials within the bed are airing out as they inflate. Certifications like CertiPUR-US are crucial here, because it's third-party assurance that the air you're breathing in isn't tainted by anything potentially hazardous. A mattress should be good to go within a day or two of unboxing it. Don't be daunted by official terms and names in the mattress world—they're actually pretty straightforward. Use this list to decipher what each mattress is being described as, and you'll be good to go.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Risk of Sleep Breathing Disorder Set to Rise 45% by End of Century
Rising temperatures could increase the chances of experiencing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by nearly 50 percent by the end of the century, placing a greater burden on society through loss of health, wellbeing, and productivity. This is the result of a recent investigation into the effects of local temperature increases on OSA, a condition where a person's airways become blocked while sleeping for more than 10 seconds at least five times an hour throughout the night. "This study helps us to understand how environmental factors like climate might affect health by investigating whether ambient temperatures influence the severity of OSA," says sleep scientist Bastien Lechat from Flinders University in Australia, who led the study. "Overall, we were surprised by the magnitude of the association between ambient temperature and OSA severity." Many of the nearly 1 billion people globally with this sleep disorder don't even know they have it, yet it can take a serious toll on their health. Aside from affecting sleep quality, OSA alters the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. In the long term, this imbalance can affect insulin and glucose metabolism, mental function and mood, and can even lead to cardiovascular problems like heart failure and stroke. Previous research has also linked untreated or severe OSA with increased risk of dementia, Parkinson's disease, traffic accidents, and all-cause mortality. Lechat and his colleagues drew on data from an under-mattress sleep sensor used by 116,620 people across 29 countries between January 2020 and September 2023. The sensor detects movement and sound which can be analyzed to create estimates of sleep timing, quality, and breathing. The researchers matched this data – around 500 separate nights per person – with detailed, 24 hour temperature data for participant's nearest cities. In 2023, this coincided with the highest mean temperature recordings on record in over 2000 years, 2.07 °C above pre-industrial levels. "Higher temperatures were associated with a 45 percent increased likelihood of a sleeper experiencing OSA on a given night," Lechat says. "The increase in OSA prevalence in 2023 due to global warming was associated with a loss of approximately 800,000 healthy life years across the 29 countries studied. This number is similar to other medical conditions, such as bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease or chronic kidney diseases." They estimate that the resulting wellbeing burden and workplace productivity loss cost economies a total of around $98 billion USD, with an estimated 105 million days of workplace productivity lost. All up, this would double the condition's estimated burden on society compared with today. "Importantly, these findings varied by region, with people in European countries seeing higher rates of OSA when temperatures rise than those in Australia and the United States, perhaps due to different rates of air conditioning usage," Lechat adds. Because the sleep sensors from which the data were collected are more readily available to people in higher socioeconomic countries and individuals, this study may actually underestimate the true health and economic cost of OSA exacerbated by climate change. These people may have access to better sleep environments and air conditioning, the researchers point out, mitigating the effect of temperature on their sleep. Modeling based on government climate change policies from 2020 suggests global warming will raise temperatures by around 2.1–3.4 °C by 2100, unless greenhouse gas emissions are further reduced. "The health and economic impact of these estimates would be consequential, and the increase in OSA prevalence due to rising temperatures in such scenario may double the overall OSA burden," the authors report. The research was published in Nature Communications. Breakthrough: FDA Approves Injection to Prevent HIV Is It Gastro or Food Poisoning? Here's A Guide to Your Upset Stomach Axolotl Discovery Brings Us Closer Than Ever to Regrowing Human Limbs
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
The real reason your baby is waking up at 4am despite you following the ‘correct' bedtimes – there's sleep science to it
A GENTLE sleep consultant has revealed the reason why your baby might be waking up at 4am, even if you're following what you believe to be the 'correct' bedtime routine. Hannah Hiles took to her TikTok account ' ittakesavillagebabysleep ' to explain the sleep science behind it and how to overcome the problem. 1 Speaking to her followers, she said: 'If you're putting your baby to bed at 7pm and expecting them to sleep until 7am, you might be in for a surprise when they wake up as early as 4 or 5am.' She continued: 'I've helped hundreds of families get sleep with no sleep training. I've never used Ferber method, cry it out or any extinction method, only sleep science." The Ferber method, for those unfamiliar, is a sleep training technique where parents gradually increase the time they wait before comforting a crying baby or child. The aim is to help the baby learn to self-soothe and fall asleep independently by allowing them to cry for short, increasing periods before receiving external comfort. Hannah explained: 'So babies under six months old, their average night-time sleep is nine to 10 hours. 'So if you are putting your baby to bed at 7pm it is very reasonable that they wake up at 4am. 'Now over six months the average night-time sleep is 10 to 11 hours. Same thing if you put your baby to bed at 7pm it's reasonable that they wake up at 5am. 'Or what can happen is they can be super super restless and wakeful throughout the night and then sleep a little bit later in the morning. 'But either way you are either going to get a very busy night or start the day before the birds. What you want to do is push out that bedtime." Hannah explained that one of the reasons parents struggle to do this is because their babies either have too few naps for their age or their naps are too close together and often too short. Molly-Mae swears by £22 Dunelm buy she 'can't go anywhere without' for great sleep & says it's the 'best thing' she owns She said: 'So what you want to do is stretch out your wake windows. 'In the morning it is fine to stretch out your wake window, depending on your little one's age but over six months they should be able to go 2.5 to 3 hours at least and then stretch out the second one. 'And then that third nap of the day you are going to have that as a super short even 15 to 30 minutes depending on your little one's age. 'The closer they are to 6 months, [then] 30 minutes, the further from 6 months they are, [then] around 15. 'And that's going to be your bridge nap. 'Now you can have that as late in the day as like 5pm because if your little one is under 6 months old, like this one is four months old, you want to be having that nap at like 6pm so that they are going to bed at like 9pm. 'Don't try to get rid of naps because what can happen is if you get rid of a nap too early then they go to bed too early and then they can have a false start because they think that's a nap or they can just be super restless." Hannah believes it is better for parents and their babies to have a slightly later bedtime to allow for a more restful night. She said: 'Late bedtimes are temporary, that bedtime will become earlier. 'Now my two sons are nearly 4 and nearly 2 and they both fall asleep around 8, 8.15 and they sleep to around 7, 7.30 the next morning. Bedtime 'You will get nights like that whenever they get a little bit older but I have never had a bedtime any earlier than like 8pm really with either of them." She added: 'So that's reasonable for yours as well. 'Some babies will sleep 7 to 7, some babies will sleep 15 hours a night. Those are the unicorn babies, they are not average, trust me." Hannah's video gained 930.9k views and 2,418 comments after just three days, sparking a mix of reactions from viewers. One wrote: 'Well your science is wrong.' A second added: 'This is the opposite of what my night nanny taught me. We did 7-7 and it was amazing.' And a third said: 'This isn't true at all. The earlier I put mine to bed the later they sleep in the mornings!' But speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Hannah responded to the backlash: 'All the negative comments are from people arguing that what I'm saying is not accurate because their baby sleeps 7-7 or 12 hours a night. 'What I'm saying in the video is that the average is 10-11 hours overnight and if your baby does more they are above the average. 'I talk about how sleep training isn't good for babies and show parents a way to get sleep without sleep training, which I've done for hundreds of families. Science sleeping 'These parents whose babies sleep 7-7 either have above average sleeping babies or they've sleep trained their baby and they're triggered by my science stance on this. 'The positive comments are from families who do experience wakefulness and sleep deprivation at night because they're aiming for the 7-7 night sleep which isn't attainable for most babies. 'They feel validated that someone said it so they can figure out their baby's individual sleep needs. 'I take a very factual scientific stance to sleep and sleep pressure and help parents achieve sleep without sleep training and I guess this makes parents who are sleep trained feel exposed and triggered.' The best sleep routine and environment Thomas Høegh Reisenhus, TEMPUR® sleep specialist & sleep counsellor, reveals the key components of a good bedtime routine and environment... A sure-fire way to facilitate a better night's sleep is to practice good sleep hygiene. Establish a sleep routine that works for you and stick to it. This will help your body establish a consistent, natural sleep-wake cycle which can do wonders for your overall sleep quality. As such, try to avoid making up for lost sleep with a lie-in. Instead of sleeping in, spend your morning reading a book in bed or having a leisurely coffee in the kitchen. Ensure that your bedroom, bedding, and sleepwear are fit for purpose too. The ideal sleep environment is dark, quiet, and cool – much like a cave. If you find unwelcome sources of light are keeping you up, consider investing in an eye mask or black-out curtains. Adding soft furnishings can be a great way to reduce noise, with the surfaces having an absorptive quality, but if this doesn't work, consider embracing a soothing soundtrack to block it out. In terms of temperature, try to keep your bedroom at 18°C. You can further reduce the risk of waking up due to overheating by ensuring that all your bedding and sleepwear is made with natural, breathable materials such as cotton and linen. Bear in mind that everyone is different; what might work for most, may not work for you! Whilst knowing how much sleep you should get, how to overcome common barriers, and practicing good sleep hygiene can facilitate a great night's sleep, if you continue to struggle with sleep or fatigue persistently, do not hesitate to visit a doctor or health professional for support.
