Sleep Health

Sleep Health Resources

The bed & bedding connection

Who of us has not felt like the sleep-deprived fairy tale character in The Princess and The Pea who tossed and turned all night and couldn’t sleep? We’ve tried our best – no caffeine late in the day, no “Dagwood” sandwiches before bed, a fresh well-ventilated bedroom and ear plugs to muffle traffic sounds or spouse’s snores!

Even the bed looks so inviting. The mattress is tall, with multi-comfort layers and a pillow-top. The sheets high thread count cotton, a wonderful collection of pillows and the down duvet in it’s beautiful decorator cover. Surely we have created a good sleeping environment. But have we forgotten the most important thing:

How do our bodies function while we are asleep?

Our metabolism slows during sleep but continues to produce heat and moisture vapour. In order to maintain a natural body temperature and a restful state, this heat and moisture vapour must be dissipated, or thermal stress will result. Heart rate and blood pressure rise, perspiration occurs, and the bed covers will be thrown on and off. Our sleep patterns are broken, and we wake up restless and uncomfortable.

Most popular mattress materials, such as memory foam, cotton, polyester and polyurethane foam, have very poor breathability and virtually no moisture control ability. Combine these bed materials with high thread count sheets, heavy decorative duvet covers and downproof material on the duvet itself, and our bodies are in a constant state of thermal stress and unhealthy sleep patterns.

The simple choice of a SnugSleep™ wool duvet or wool pillow will significantly improve sleep quality. Only wool creates a microclimate which assists in regulating body temperature and humidity, thus relieving thermal stress and promoting a deeper, more refreshing sleep.

Thermal stress, a leading cause of poor sleep, is now eliminated, but other health issues still need to be solved.

To learn more about other benefits of wool bedding, look at our Sleep Health 101 resource, knowledge and articles.