All living things rest at some point during the course of each 24 hour cycle – sleeping should be as natural as breathing yet nowadays insomnia has reached epidemic proportions with, for example, one large UK study showing that about three-quarters of patients reported sleep disturbance symptoms lasting a year or more¹.

We all sense instinctively whether a space feels tranquil, nurturing or energising but there are many contributory factors that we do not register consciously, which have a profound impact.

Ensure a sound night’s sleep – avoid artificial light

Light: Daylight sends a signal to the part of the brain that controls our circadian (‘sleep/wake’) cycle, telling it that it is time to be active. Artificial lighting and other things that have subsequently been invented over the last 100 years have forced our bodies away from being in tune with this natural rhythm. As a result, production of melatonin, the hormone secreted by the pineal gland that enables us to sleep, is suppressed.

• Fit blackout blinds to bedroom windows if the curtains do not cut out light sufficiently. These may be needed in an en-suite bathroom, too.
• Use only soft lights in the evening. Natural spectrum lights are best, the KenkoLight™ can help towards reducing eyestrain and headaches, and increasing productivity and focus.
• Night lights should be movement activated, not on permanently (except for young children).
• If necessary, wear an eye mask at night such as the Kenko PowerSleep™ Mask.

Feng shui your bedroom – focus on temperature, colour, texture, clutter and environment

Comfort/temperature: Our body temperature naturally fluctuates during the course of the night and two people sleeping under the same quilt may not be at the same temperature at the same time!

Choose a quilt that incorporates natural fibres and technologies specifically to enable you to maintain a constant temperature. The KenkoDream® Quilt, which provides Far-Infrared temperature regulation, increases the sensation of wellbeing by releasing negative ions.

Mirrors: Contrary to popular belief, a mirror can be placed in your bedroom, as long as you cannot see your reflection from the bed, which in classical feng shui is traditionally said to attract ghosts; my personal view is that this belief may have arisen as a result of people interpreting an unexpected glimpse of their own reflection in the night as being a shadowy person in the room. Nevertheless, best not to have a run of mirrored wardrobes opposite the bed.

Colour: Soft, soothing colours are most conducive to restful sleep and relaxation. These can be neutral or include the warmth of soft pinks or peach colours, which are said to enhance relationships.

Texture: Luxurious textures and softness help us to feel more pampered. Make your bedroom feel like a hotel room if you associate holidays with sleeping well.

Clutter: What we can see around us: If your bedroom is disorganised and you are surrounded by distractions or piles of washing, you won’t be able to relax fully.

• We tend to think that ‘out of sight is out of mind’ but papers etc. stashed under the bed do affect us on an unconscious level. Drawers below the bed should only be used for bed linen and towels.
• Get rid of anything that reminds you of troublesome times, people with whom you’ve had a difficult history.
• Similarly, we probably don’t wish to sleep with the rest of our families, so family photos are best placed elsewhere.
• Banish anything to do with work from the bedroom.
• Place artwork which is inspiring or symbolises something we find nurturing where you can see it when you wake up.
• Do not place heavy items such as mirrors, pictures or cupboards above the bed.

Environment: What we can’t see also affects our quality of sleep, for example electromagnetic pollution (EMF), which is generated by most electrical appliances. At night, don’t take your mobile phone into the bedroom, switch off your Wi-Fi and  use a battery powered clock.

As well as EMF, Geopathic stress, which occurs when the earth’s electromagnetic fields are distorted and has a negative impact on the human body, can affect sleep quality. To help overcome both of these problems consider using a Helios3 – Geopathic Stress & EMF Home and Office Harmoniser. Once plugged in it will start to rebalance your energy and the energy of your home.

How your bed affects your sleep – Feng shui your bed!

Consider the position and suitability of your bed when you’re looking to improve the feng shui of your bedroom –

• Unconsciously, we feel more secure when we sleep with our heads supported by a solid headboard behind us.
• According to feng shui principles, ideally the bed should be positioned so that we able to see anyone coming into the room, though this may not always be possible. Seek the advice of a feng shui consultant to be sure of the best position for your bed, as there are many factors to be taken into account.
• Metal springs in mattresses or bed frames and headboards act as conductors for electro-magnetic fields, which are around us whether we are aware of them or not.
• Invest in the largest and most comfortable mattress you can afford – you’ll be spending a third of your life lying on it! Replace a sprung base with a slatted wood one with a solid wood or upholstered headboard.
• Bedside tables and side lights should be matching; this symmetry is more conducive to good relationships.

It’s incredibly important for your health and well-being to maximise your quality of sleep. Follow the advice above to help make sure you get a good night’s sleep, remember your bedroom should be exactly that, a bedroom!

¹(Morphy et al, 2007),The Times, Saturday January 10, 2015.

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Lack of sleep is not a badge to be worn with pride, it’s something to be very worried about, particularly for women and a solution is at hand.

For many women nowadays sleep often takes a back seat and is at the end of the list of priorities; this isn’t a good way to be – we need to start thinking differently about sleep and its importance in maintaining health and well-being.  This is a point championed by the highly successful entrepreneur, Arianne Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post.

In a Telegraph article¹, she explains “If you’re not feeling well, you aren’t going to be as effective, or as creative, or as productive.”  Arianne also said “New data shows that women in stressful, successful jobs have a 40 percent greater chance of heart attacks and heart disease and 60 percent greater incidence of diabetes”.

She goes on to explain how exhaustion led to her fainting at work and injuring herself, this prompted her to work on sleeping for 7-8 hours per night and the results were positive “I have never been more creative, more productive, less reactive” she said.

Arianne devised the Huffington Sleep Challenge in which she challenged women to get a good night’s sleep every night for a month.

Arianne’s friend, Cindi Leive, editor of US Glamour, took part in the challenge, she was interviewed by Ruby Warrington in the Times and said “women tend to carry more of a load than men and that when something has to give, it’s sleep. Doing a good job in the office and being a good mum are not seen as optional. Sleep is.”

She reported positive results from taking part in the sleep challenge “improved performance at work, a better sense of wellbeing, more enthusiasm for almost everything” and some weight loss.

Why is sleep more important for women?

But why is it more important for women, than it is for men, to get a good night’s sleep? The American National Sleep Foundation² explain that hormones have a significant impact on a female’s quality of sleep, so we can blame horomes but add to this the other more commonly known factors that affect sleep such as stress and it’s easier to understand why females have much lesser chance of getting a refreshing sleep.

In an article published in the Daily Mail, Dr. Jim Horne, Britain’s leading expert in sleep science, explained that on average women need twenty more minutes of sleep than men. The researcher pointed out that women tend to multi-task and use more of their actual brain than men, leading to a greater need for sleep. Essentially, the more you use your brain during the day, the more it needs to rest while asleep.

How does lack of sleep affect women?

Edward Suarez, an associate professor at Duke University in North Carolina reported findings of a study carried out by the university, in The Telegraph³.  He explains that they found a link between poor sleep in women and “high levels of psychological distress, and greater feelings of hostility, depression and anger”.

Experiencing these negative emotions on a daily basis is not conducive to living and performing your daily tasks and activities well or maintaining your health and well-being.

However, sleeping pills are not the answer, no matter how tempting they may seem as they interfere with the body’s natural rhythms and do not enable the mind and body to be re-trained into better habits. Worse still, a large study published last week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that common over-the-counter and prescription medications used to treat problems such as sleeping difficulties and allergies could mean that users are 50% more likely to develop dementia. Dr Eric Larsen, vice president at Group Health, the co-operative health provider which led the research, told the Today programme: “We found that the people who took …frequent doses over long periods of time had a rather surprising increase in their risk of subsequently developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”

5 steps for a sound night’s sleep

I recommend these 5 simple steps to help you get a good night’s sleep and remember – better rest equals more zest!

1. Turn off your computer more than 1 hour before you go to sleep, the blue light emitted affects sleep cycles
2. Set a bedtime, anything not finished by this time has to wait, sleep needs to be prioritised
3. Have a set bedtime ritual that you always follow to help prepare your body and mind for sleep
4. Make sure your bedroom is at the correct temperature
5. Turn off all electrical devices including Wi-Fi and leave mobile phones out of the bedroom

Contact us to find out more and discover how we can help you to find the right solution to your sleep issues.

1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/people/10360068/Arianna-Huffington-Sleep-your-way-to-the-top.html
2. http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/women-and-sleep
3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/9924260/Women-wake-up-grumpier-than-men-because-they-need-more-sleep.html

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How can we expect to be able to recharge our batteries by letting go of our normal everyday stresses if we are constantly checking our phones for messages, emails and even world news? When I was young, the thing I liked best about being on holiday was when I’d lost track of what day of the week it was – an indication, I now realise, that I’d really started to unwind. Nowadays, even that small luxury is hardly ever possible or even, it seems, deemed permissible. Our gadgets which were originally intended to save us time have resulted in our being ‘on call’ 24/7, with the result that we are often unable to unwind into the deep levels of relaxation needed for restorative sleep when we need to.

Another potential stumbling block to restful sleep that I have experienced in recent years is the prevalence of Wi-Fi in public areas and hotels. I have often endured a restless, or even sleepless night for no obvious reason and discovered afterwards that there was a Wi-Fi router in operation in the area near to or below my bedroom. When it was subsequently switched off or unplugged at night, the problem was solved.

This may seem illogical to many people because few are aware that, for many years now there has been growing concern about the effect exposure to Wi-Fi can have on those living and working around it. Arising from this concern, there has been considerable research done to assess the effects of electromagnetic radiation which is emitted from wireless internet routers.  Michael Bevington, in his book Electromagnetic Sensitivity and Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, lists over 1,800 studies which have been carried out on this subject. Wi-Fi is so prevalent nowadays it can be difficult to avoid, as stated in the Daily Mail online recently “The number of wifi hotspots is set to rise to 21 million next year, and there are more mobile phone contracts than people.”

Watch this documentary on Schumann Resonance, electromagnetic sensitivity, electromagnetic radiation and health below 

All the reports written following this research have shown that serious health problems can arise from using Wi-Fi such as:

Contributes to the development of Insomnia
• Those exposed to the electromagnetic radiation had a significantly more difficult time falling asleep and changes in brainwave patterns were observed.
• The development of depression and hypertension has also been linked to inadequate sleep.

Damaging to Childhood Development
• Exposure to Wi-Fi can disrupt normal cellular development, especially foetal development, thus increasing the risk of developmental issues.

Derails Brain Function
• Reduces brain activity.
• Tests have shown that radiation from Wi-Fi routers seriously affects concentration.

Reduces Brain Activity in Females
• Tests have shown that just a 45 minute exposure to Wi-Fi can affect memory and energy levels in women.

Neutralises Sperm
• Initially it was thought that only heat generated by laptops killed sperm.  Research has now shown that exposure to Wi-Fi frequencies has a negative effect on sperm, reducing sperm movement and causing  DNA fragmentation.

May Impact Fertility
• Following tests, there is a suggestion also that wireless frequencies may prevent egg implantation.

Provokes Cardiac Stress
• Studies have shown that exposure to wireless networks increase the heart rate – similar to the heart rate of an individual under stress.

Linked to Cancer
• Human studies are rare, but plenty of animal models indicate that exposure to electromagnetic radiation increases the risk of tumour development.

My advice to help protect yourself is -
• Turn off your router at night when at home (and if possible use one that is directly connected through wires or, better still, via the electrical system of the building). If staying in a hotel, ask them to do so if they are willing to or otherwise to place you in a room as far from it as possible. You’d be surprised how amenable some hotel owners are to this – or maybe they were just too polite to tell me that they thought I was completely mad! At any rate, they need to become aware that this is an increasing issue for their guests.

• Turn off all mobile phones every night and do not have any mobiles in the bedroom at night, even if switched off. When on holiday, aim to keep it switched off all the time, only checking it briefly every few days if you are expecting an important message. Things that seem important at home, somehow recede into insignificance when you’re sipping mulled wine by a log fire or paddling your toes at the edge of the Indian ocean – most things can wait until you’re back.

• Keep yourself ‘earthed’ as much as possible, especially while sleeping, by means of magnetic or other similar products – or use a Helios device, which uses a natural frequency technology to create a resonance of 7 – 12 Hz, known as the Schumann resonance. This resonance is compatible with the brain’s alpha brainwaves and therefore conducive to restorative sleep.

Helios3 – Geopathic Stress & EMF Home and Office Harmoniser

Last but not least, have a very happy Christmas and a wonderful, fun yet restful break, in preparation for a healthy and prosperous New Year!

N.B. The offices of Soothing Spaces will be ‘switching off’ after Friday December 13th until Monday January 5th 2015. We’ll be checking emails periodically during this period and can still be contacted by emailing amanda.kenton1@gmail.com

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Shift work has an ageing effect on the brain

Long-term shift work has an ageing effect on the brain that leads to an impaired ability to think and remember, according to a new study carried out on 3,000 workers who have done shift work for more than 10 years. Dr Philip Tucker, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Swansea University, who was part of the team that conducted the study, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that test subjects showed a decline in cognitive performance (the brain’s processing ability) equivalent to an extra six-and-a-half years of ageing. Dr Tucker said that one theory behind the results was that disruption of the body clock has an impact on the “brain structure itself”.

Sleep deprivation and the negative effect on the brain’s ability to process information can be a potential safety issue both for the individual experiencing the conditions and for those they interact with e.g. other road users while they are driving home from work. Similarly, many well-known accidents, such as the one at Chernobyl, have been attributed to human error due to sleep deprivation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/03/sleep-deprivation-accidents-disasters_n_4380349.html.  Therefore, we all need to be aware of the vital role that sleep plays in preparing us for the day ahead.

The report detailed in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine explains that the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain can be reversed when an individual stops working shifts but the reversal takes a long time “The recovery of cognitive functioning after having left shift work took at least 5 years (reversibility)¹”  The Health & Safety Executive² gives advice for shift workers on how to keep themselves and others safe, such as using public transport or sharing driving, developing a good sleep schedule and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Sleep advice for shift workers

It is incredibly important for shift workers to ensure their bedroom is conducive to sleep, which can be difficult if you’re trying to sleep during daylight hours.  My advice to help you get a refreshing sleep, is to ensure that your bedroom is very dark so that it simulates night time and promotes the body’s production of melatonin, one of the hormones that regulate the body’s sleep/wake cycle; this can be achieved through blackout blinds and curtains but, if this isn’t possible, consider using an eye mask.

Kenko PowerSleep™ Mask

It’s also important to reduce the noise that you could be potentially exposed to by using ear plugs. More important still, leave your mobile phone turned off so that you’re not tempted to check for messages, since the light from the phone will disrupt your sleep cycle. (See also https://www.soothingspaces.co.uk/health/light-electronic-gadgets-interferes-sleep)

Additionally, you should adopt a wind down routine before you head off to bed: try a little exercise or some stretches followed by a warm milky drink.  Temperature is important too, so make sure your room is at a temperature that is comfortable. Read my blog Sleep deprived? You May Be Too Hot or Too Cold for more information about this.

Are you a shift worker? How do you cope with the effects that shift working has on your mind and body?

1.       http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2014/10/08/oemed-2013-101993

2.       http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/shift-workers.htm

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I was really interested to read an article in The Daily Mail reporting results of a survey carried out by the hotel chain, Travelodge.  They reported that “Almost 90% of the participants had trouble sleeping due to the temperature of their bedroom”.

Do you experience issues sleeping due to your bedroom temperature? Do you sleep with your window open or closed, with a light duvet or lots of blankets?  We’re all different when it comes to what temperature we find comfortable at night but did you realise just how important a factor temperature is, in helping us to get a good night’s sleep and avoid being sleep deprived?

The process of sleep and solutions to aid sleep initiation

When we sleep, a reduction in core body temperature is a part of the sleep-initiation and sleep maintenance process. A room temperature that is too warm or too cool can prevent your core temperature from lowering to its ideal place for good sleep.

In an article on Mercola.com¹ , Dr Mercola suggests that taking a hot bath 90-120 minutes before going to bed may help you sleep better.  The reason for this is that after a hot bath, your body temperature will naturally begin to fall, which helps your body prepare itself for sleep.  As explained, this drop in temperature is necessary to start the sleep process.  He also notes the importance of the temperature of your extremities, our hands and feet need to be warm to induce sleep.  Simple solutions if you suffer from cold feet at night are to wear warm socks and use a hot water bottle.

The National Sleep Foundation recommend that the temperature in a bedroom should be between 15 and 19 degrees centigrade at night² but, this may not be the ideal temperature for you, so a bit of trial and error may be needed.  Not only that but our body temperature fluctuates during the course of the night and many people share a bed with a partner who has significantly different temperature requirements  at any one time.

If addressing all those issues sounds rather like a Rubik’s cube, take comfort in the knowledge that there are technologies incorporated into bedding to create the ideal sleeping environment for each individual: for example, the KenkoDream quilt incorporates ceramic-coated, reflective fibres to provide a natural way to absorb excess heat from the body or the environment and gently reflect it back as required, thereby maintaining a constant temperature which is neither too cold not too hot for each person using it. As an added bonus, this also provides negative ions, creating a feeling of deeper relaxation.

Share your experiences of the effect temperature has had on your sleep and let us know what you do prior to going to bed, to transform your room into a sleep sanctuary.

1. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/19/Do-Cold-Temperatures-Improve Sleep.aspx.

2. http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-news/six-tips-design-the-ideal-bedroom-sleep

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About 95 percent of Americans use an electronic device within one hour of going to sleep, according to a National Sleep Foundation poll. Furthermore, nearly all adults (89 percent) and the majority of children (75 percent) have at least one electronic device, such as a television, tablet, or smartphone, in their bedrooms.

This has a major implication on the quality of your sleep, in ways you might not even imagine. Certainly, such devices can keep you awake by making noises, but they also interfere with your sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, in far more insidious, and damaging, ways.

The quality of your sleep has a lot to do with light, both outdoor and indoor lighting, because it serves as the major synchronizer of your master clock. This master clock is a group of cells in your brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN).

As a group, these nuclei synchronize to the light-dark cycle of your environment when light enters your eye. You also have other biological clocks throughout your body, and those clocks subsequently synchronize to your master clock.

In the non-artificial light environment of our historical past, people experienced greater light exposure only during the day between when the sun rose and when it set. Now with the advent of the light bulb, artificial light, high-definition televisions, and any number of lighted electronic gadgets, we’re exposed to a lot more light over a 24-hour period, and a lot less darkness.

This creates a very novel situation for your internal time keeping and the biological pace setting mechanisms of your body; in other words, your circadian rhythms. As reported by the National Sleep Foundation:

“There is robust scientific data documenting the role of light in promoting wakefulness. Photoreceptors in the retina sense light and dark, signaling our brain about the status of the outside world and aligning our circadian rhythms (centered in a small region of the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus) to the external day-night cycle.

This signaling of light and dark helps us to be alert in the morning and be able to fall asleep at the appropriate time at night. The power of light as an alerting agent is easily conceptualized when we think of the sun, but may be more difficult to appreciate when considering the light emitted from a tablet or smartphone.”

Even the Small Amount of Light Emitted by Your Smartphone Can Keep You Awake

Normally, your brain starts progressively increasing the hormone melatonin around 9 pm or 10 pm, which makes you sleepy. This helps regulate your sleep cycle as well as provide other important health benefits, including helping to prevent cancer.

Melatonin acts as a marker of your circadian phase or biological timing. In a nutshell, this hormone influences what time of day or night your body thinks it is, regardless of what time the clock on the wall displays.

Somewhere between 50-1,000 lux is the activation range within which light will begin to suppress melatonin production. However, wavelength is important here as red and amber lights will not suppress melatonin while blue, green, and white lights will. So if you use a clock in your bedroom, make sure it has red LEDs.

Melatonin is a regulator of your sleep cycle, and when it is suppressed, there is less stimulation to promote sleepiness at a healthy bedtime. This contributes to people staying up later and missing valuable sleep, as well as missing out on melatonin’s health potential (research indicates it also helps protect your brain health and fights against cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and more).

Whether you have the light on for an hour or for just a second, the effect is the same. It would be nice if your melatonin production resumed when you flip the light back off, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. So remember, when you turn the light on at night, you are seriously short changing your melatonin production. Not to obsess about it, but certainly don’t make it a regular pattern.

One 2011 study compared daily melatonin profiles in individuals living in room light (<200 lux) vs. dim light (<3 lux). Results showed that, compared with dim light, exposure to room light before bedtime suppressed melatonin in 99 percent of individuals, and shortened the time period when the body has an elevated melatonin level by about 90 minutes.

Furthermore, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by more than 50 percent. Even the light from your computer screen or smartphone is enough to interfere with your circadian rhythm and melatonin production. Computer screens and most light bulbs emit blue light, to which your eyes are particularly sensitive simply because it’s the type of light most common outdoors during daytime hours. As a result, they can easily disrupt your melatonin production and keep you awake. Research shows, for instance:

• Children who use electronic media at night go to bed later, get fewer hours of sleep per week, and report more daytime sleepiness
• Adolescents with a television in their bedroom go to bed later, have more difficulty falling asleep, and have a shorter total sleep time
• Sending texts or e-mails after initially going to bed increases daytime sleepiness among teens (even if it’s done only once a week)

Computer and Cell Phone Use Before Bed Linked to Insomnia

The research is quite clear that people who use their computer for playing, surfing, or reading on the Web, or those who use their smartphones for the same purpose, as well as texting, are more likely to report symptoms of insomnia. This is an enemy to your sleep for multiple reasons, in addition to the problems with light exposure explained above. It can be difficult, for instance, to slow your mind down after surfing the Web, leading to racing thoughts when you should be in slumber.

Plus, when you’re connected to the Internet, your phone or computer are communicating with nearby cell towers, which means they’re also emitting low levels of radiation.

One 2008 study revealed that people exposed to radiation from their mobile phones for three hours before bedtime had more trouble falling asleep and staying in a deep sleep.^7,  The following infographic, created by BigBrandBeds.co.uk, illustrates how your electronic gadgets wreak havoc on your sleep when used before bedtime.

People Who Turn Off Their Gadgets Report Excellent Sleep

According to the 2014 Sleep in America Poll, 53 percent of respondents who turn electronics off while sleeping rate their sleep as excellent, compared to just 27 percent of those who leave their devices on. This is why I recommend avoiding watching TV or using a computer or tablet at least an hour or so before going to bed.

An alternative, you can try a free computer program called f.lux (see JustGetFlux.com), which alters the color temperature of your computer screen as the day goes on, pulling out the blue wavelengths as it gets late. You can also wear yellow-tinted glasses, which block the blue wavelengths of light.

Since humans evolved in the glow of firelight, yellow, orange, and red wavelengths don’t suppress melatonin production the way white and blue wavelengths do. In fact, the range of light that inhibits melatonin is fairly narrow — 460 to 480 nm. If you want to protect your melatonin, when the sun goes down you would shift to a low-wattage bulb with yellow, orange or red light. Dr. Russel Reiter suggests using a salt lamp illuminated by a 5-watt bulb in this color range.

Remember, You Can’t Cheat Sleep

…at least, not without consequences. You can have the healthiest diet on the planet, doing vegetable juicing and using fermented veggies, be as fit as an Olympic athlete, be emotionally balanced, but if you aren’t sleeping well, it is just a matter of time before it will adversely, potentially seriously affect your health. Sleep deprivation is such a chronic condition these days that you might not even realize you suffer from it. Science has now established that a sleep deficit can have serious, far-reaching effects on your health, and once you’re deficient, lost sleep can be difficult to “make up.” For example, interrupted or impaired sleep can:

• Dramatically weaken your immune system
• Accelerate tumor growth—tumors grow two to three times faster in laboratory animals with severe sleep dysfunctions, primarily due to disrupted melatonin production. Melatonin inhibits the proliferation of a wide range of cancer cell types, as well as triggering cancer cell apoptosis (self-destruction). The hormone also interferes with the new blood supply tumors require for their rapid growth (angiogenesis)
• Cause a pre-diabetic state, making you feel hungry even if you’ve already eaten, which can wreak havoc on your weight
• Seriously impair your memory; even a single night of poor sleep—meaning sleeping only 4 to 6 hours—can impact your ability to think clearly the next day. It’s also known to decrease your problem solving ability

Earlier this year, I interviewed Dan Pardi on the topic of how to get restorative, health-promoting sleep. Pardi is a researcher who works with the Behavioral Sciences Department at Stanford University and the Departments of Neurology and Endocrinology at Leiden University in the Netherlands. According to Pardi, the following three factors are key to determining how restorative your sleep is:

1. Duration—i.e. the number of hours you sleep. Sleep requirements are highly individual,      and can change from one day to the next, depending on factors like stress, physical exertion, illness, and pregnancy, just to name a few. But, on average, most people need about eight hours of sleep per night.
2. Timing—i.e. the habit of going to bed at approximately the same time each night. Even if the duration of sleep is the same, when the timing of your sleep is shifted, it’s not going to be as restorative.
3. Intensity—This has to do with the different stages that your brain and body goes through      over the course of the night, the sequence of them, and how those stages are linked.

Some medications will suppress certain phases of sleep, and certain conditions like sleep apnea will lead to fragmented sleep. With these scenarios, even if you’re sleeping for an adequate duration and have consistent timing, your sleep will not be as restorative.

One of the easiest ways to gauge whether you’ve slept enough is to assess your level of sleepiness the next day. For example, if you had the opportunity, would you be able to take a nap? Do you need caffeine to keep you going? Answering yes to these two questions would indicate you need more and/or better sleep.

How to Get a Truly Restful Night’s Sleep

Small adjustments to your daily routine and sleeping area can go a long way to ensure uninterrupted, restful sleep. To start, consider implementing the following changes. Number one on my list? Turn off your electronic gadgets and keep them out of your bedroom:

• Avoid watching TV or using your computer/smartphone or tablet in the evening, at least an hour or so before going to bed.
• Make sure you get BRIGHT sun exposure regularly. Your pineal gland produces melatonin roughly in approximation to the contrast of bright sun exposure in the day and complete darkness at night. If you are in darkness all day long, it can’t appreciate the difference and will not optimize your melatonin production.
• Get some sun in the morning. Your circadian system needs bright light to reset itself. Ten to 15 minutes of morning sunlight will send a strong message to your internal clock that day has arrived, making it less likely to be confused by weaker light signals during the night.
• Sleep in complete darkness, or as close to it as possible. Even the tiniest glow from your clock radio could be interfering with your sleep, so cover your clock radio up at night or get rid of it altogether. Move all electrical devices at least three feet away from your bed. You may want to cover your windows with drapes or blackout shades, or wear an eye mask when you sleep.
• Install a low-wattage yellow, orange, or red light bulb if you need a source of light for navigation at night. Light inthese bandwidths does not shut down melatonin production in the way that white and blue bandwidth light does. Salt lamps are handy for this purpose.
• Keep the temperature in your bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes too warm (particularly their upstairs bedrooms). Studies show that the optimal room temperature for sleep is between 60 to 68 degrees F.
• Take a hot bath 90 to 120 minutes before bedtime. This increases your core body temperature, and when you get out of the bath it abruptly drops, signaling your body that you are ready to sleep.
• Avoid using loud alarm clocks. Being jolted awake eachmorning can be very stressful. If you are regularly getting enough sleep,you might not even need an alarm.
• Be mindful of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in your bedroom. EMFs can disrupt your pineal gland and its melatonin production, and may have other negative biological effects as well. A gauss meter is required if you want to measure EMF levels in various areas of your home.

Contact us if you want the EMF levels checked in your home or office on 07970 521 787 or email amanda@soothingspaces.co.uk

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/26/sleep-electronic-gadgets.aspx?e_cid=20140626Z2_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20140626Z2&et_cid=DM47088&et_rid=565288168

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Blue light regulates our secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Put simply, when we are exposed to blue light, we limit the production of melatonin, and we stay alert and awake; in the absence of blue light, melatonin production is increased to enable us to sleep well.

This may be the reason why 19 per cent of the parents interviewed in the poll are woken at least twice in the night by their children. Jonathan Warren, the managing director of Time4Sleep, says: “We would encourage parents to choose activities such as a bedtime story or warm bath before bed to help their little ones wind down.”

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-light-affects-our-sleep/#ixzz34zG9Kmy7

http://babyworld.co.uk/2012/10/sleep-tight-survey-results-of-childrens-sleep-patterns/

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Light in the bedroom at night disrupts our 24-hour body clock (known as our circadian rhythm), decreasing the production of melatonin, which regulates sleep patterns and increasing the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can result in over-eating. Therefore, people who sleep in more brightly-lit rooms have a higher tendency to become obese than those whose bedrooms can be darkened more effectively at night or who wear an eye mask at night.

For more information, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27617615

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A Wall Street Journal article has now detailed recommendations for planning your perfect nap, including how long to nap and when.

For cognitive memory processing, however, a 60-minute nap may do more good, Dr. Mednick said. Including slow-wave sleep helps with remembering facts, places and faces. The downside: some grogginess upon waking.

“If you take it longer than 30 minutes, you end up in deep sleep. Have you ever taken a nap and felt worse when you woke up? That’s what’s happening — you’re sleeping too long and you’re going into a stage of sleep that’s very difficult to get out of.” – Dr. Michael Breus

Finally, the 90-minute nap will likely involve a full cycle of sleep, which aids creativity and emotional and procedural memory, such as learning how to ride a bike. Waking up after REM sleep usually means a minimal amount of sleep inertia, Dr. Mednick said.

In fact, a study published in PubMed in 2002 found that napping even for 5-10 minutes creates a heightened sense of alertness and increased cognitive ability in comparison to no nap.  So really, you want to be taking a 10-20 minute nap for a quick recharge, or a 60-90 minute nap for a deep sleep rejuvenation.”

– See more at: http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/how-long-to-nap-for-the-biggest-brain-benefits/#sthash.qfJNiqQI.dpuf

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“Amanda really supported me in creating the atmosphere I wanted; she suggested colour schemes which worked really well which I would never have thought of. I became aware that my home is a reflection of what is going on inside me, so when my house was cleared, I felt cleared emotionally, too.” Tina Bolyos, Design Consultant

Making a space into your sanctuary
Is there a room you’d like to turn into a work space, or a relaxation room – but you don’t know where to start?

Clutter and Storage 
Do you have rooms or areas which are cluttered, too busy or need to be changed, but you’re stuck with ideas for what to do? Do you have storage space which needs reorganising but it feels like an insurmountable task? Do you need help deciding what to keep and what to throw away?

Creating balance 
Our team can help with practical ideas to enable you to get the best out of any space. This can include ideas about storage, design and colour schemes or even your garden and will also incorporate the key aspects of Feng Shui and energy balance.

Not only will the end result work better on a practical level, but you will find the newly designed space works in harmony with you as an individual.

Good design is about people and how they live their lives. Good design expresses who we are.

Interior Design can be offered on its own or as part of our Sleep like a Baby programme. To contact us to discuss your requirements, emailamanda@soothingspaces.co.uk or call Amanda on 07970 521 787 or 020 8420 7271.

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