Mois : avril 2018

The sun is shining, birds are singing, flowers have started to bloom and your spring clean is just around the corner! However, there is a fly in the ointment. There is this old, used and annoying sentimental value object you can’t live without. Yes, we’re talking about your old mattress! It is time for an upgrade and you don’t know where to start? This article is for you.

Detect the trigger warnings

If you’ve outgrown your current mattress or if your mattress is so old that you don’t even remember when you bought it or worst, you noticed sagging and sides breaking on it? It is obviously time to buy a new one. Moreover, there are other factors that could make you think twice: if you wake up every morning with body aches, if you always feel too hot in bed or if you hear creaks when moving around, it is also time to consider switching.

Know your budget

There are two main related issues with buying a mattress. The first one is to figure out the real value for money and the second, is the price. Mattresses’ brands give themselves generous markups this is why higher prices don’t necessary mean better sleep. Let’s say you get 8 hours of sleep per night: that’s 2920 hours per year. Then considering the 8-year mattress recommended lifespan, it’s a total of 23360 hours! We do think that anything over $1500 doesn’t mean better quality, and anything under $500 may have a poorer quality. It’s worth investing in a mattress that will help you spend the best nights without overpaying.

Prioritize comfort, size, support and durability

Bigger is better: you and your partner should be able to roll over, move and stretch your bodies without disturbing each other’s sleep. In terms of support, focus on how your mattress is supporting your back and spine. You should never feel uncomfortable in relaxed position in your own bed. Durability is also a key indicator and it is something completely different from warranty: durability is based on comfort and material firmness, while warranty covers visible defects in a mattress.

Wait for the best time of the year for great deals

Unfortunately, April isn’t a great month to buy a new mattress. New models will be coming in soon that’s why manufacturers need to clear older mattresses. We recommend waiting for September since many companies offer offline and online special deals with Labour Day sales. You’ll probably have the chance to find handful of innerspring and memory foam sets on sale. Before buying, make sure to try your mattress, keep in mind that you can haggle in any sales channel, and prioritize sellers with a good return policy.

Choose the right mattress for your back

Everything depends on your sleeping habit. If you’re a back-sleeper, avoid soft mattresses that will not support your back enough and go with a medium-firm mattress that will support your lower back. If you’re sleeping on your stomach, firmer mattress is preferred as well. But if you sleep on the side, you should go with a softer one to cushion hips and shoulders. If you want to prevent back pain, a memory foam mattress is the best: it keeps a good lumbar support and perfect spine alignment. You can even pick a mattress that combines traditional coil springs and foam advantages.

Make your investment last

Mattresses and pillows must be cleaned at least twice a year, sheets and bedding every week. Use the appropriate cleaner to spot treat and remove stains from your mattress (for sure a baking soda recipe can be found anywhere on the web) and finish with a vacuum of the entire surface of the mattress while focusing on cracks. You can also buy a mattress pad to add an additional layer of protection.

April is finally here and you’re probably starting to worry about your unreachable bikini body goal for this summer. Don’t worry! You still have few months ahead of you to take back control over your body, remove unhealthy habits from your routine and review your sleep habits at the same time.

Working out in the morning is better for weight loss.

Kick starting your day with an early workout is the best way to boost your metabolism and burn more calories and fat during the day. After a 45mn workout, a woman is more likely to make healthier food choices and eat less based on a BYU University study. As long as you sleep well and long enough, when you wake up, your body is freshly prepared for a workout. Just make sure to deeper warm up your cold muscles before digging deeper. Another study from Appalachian State University also showed that morning exercise reduce blood pressure, which has been correlated with better sleep.

A good sleep helps you control your diet.

Sleep should be considered as a reward for all your efforts! Diet, fitness, healthy habits, healthy food, detox journeys etc. Can you imagine doing all these efforts for nothing? A research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that the lack of sleep reduce or even undo the benefits of dieting: it can reduce the amount of fat lost in half.

Lack of sleep makes you hungry.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism discovered that lack of sleep increases your need for food and encourage cravings. Hunger, which is controlled by leptin and ghrelin hormones, is not efficiently regulated by the concerned area of the brain when you lack of rest. On top of that, your cortisol levels rise when you don’t sleep enough: it directly affects your ability to regulate fat gain.

Always prioritize sleep.

Our best advice and health tip is to prioritize sleep over everything! At least make sure that a poor night of sleep is not followed with another one, and another one and few more… Sleeping well will be a huge differentiator to be successful with your diets, healthy habits and weight loss journeys. You must keep in mind that sleep goes far beyond just losing weight, looking good and reaching fitness goals: it is one of the key element to help fighting health issues such as heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity.

You probably already heard, at least once in your life, these 5 misconceptions about sleep. Time to know the truth!

We all need 8 hours sleep per night to feel good

FALSE. “It’s like saying that everybody should have size eight shoes”. Everyone has its own unique circadian rhythm. The average sleep duration is between 7 to 8 hours but some people do need more and some others don’t. Professor Jim Horne, confirms that it’s really about what your body is accustomed to, what your genes are but also what your physical activities are. You have to listen to your body and let him adjust automatically with your sleep pattern. Buying a comfortable mattress too will help even if you have less than the required amount of sleep.

Alcohol helps sleep better

FALSE. If you still believe in this, first you should have a look at our special article about the subject: Running out of alcohol? Sleep tight and enjoy your sweetest dreams. Second, you must keep in mind that alcohol may help you temporary forget your daily problems and fall asleep quickly, but you will see the other side of the coin with snoring, insomnia and rough night few hours later.

Don’t nap if you want to sleep at night

FALSE. If you ever feel the need to nap during the day, go for it. Lack of sleep can decrease alertness and this nap will certainly help you with alertness, mood and mental/physical performance. However, you must follow one simple rule: set your alarm clock to 20 minutes! It’s all you need to get the benefit of napping. After 20 minutes, you may suffer from sleep deprivation the night after. PS: If it’s the weekend, or if you really need to make up for sleep loss, you can nap as long as you want!

Waking a sleepwalker could kill him

FALSE. You would probably want to wake him up to take him back to his bed safely but this may be very brutal and not necessary. “Sleepwalking, or somnambulism, is part of a larger category of sleep-related disorders known as parasomnias.” Sleepwalking symptoms are: meaningless talk, disorientation, opened eyes with blank expression and amnesia after the episode. In most cases, we would recommend to help the sleepwalker return to his bed without waking him.

Insomnia means anxiety

FALSE BUT not entirely wrong. Insomnia is very often related to anxiety but there are so many different types of insomnias that we cannot assume that these two exclusively belongs together. So much diverse factors could interfere with people’s sleeping issues. Therefore, insomnia does not mean anxiety in each and every case.

Now that you know the truth, if ever you find yourself stuck talking about sleep clichés with a “know-it-all” discussion partner… you have solid counterarguments!