Why do we love Latex Mattresses?

Customers often ask why chose to specialise in natural latex mattresses.

Great Question ! And to answer properly, its important to look at our history and who we are and what we stand for.

Our founders’ father had severe back problems back in the 70s and he saw him suffer for years, missing work for weeks at a time with excruciating back pain and how choosing the right mattress made all the difference to his life, including how he slept and felt during the day. The mattress was a natural latex mattress and all these years later here we are.

At The Back and Neck Bed Shop we get great satisfaction helping so many choose the right mattresses for their needs.

The Back and Neck Bed Shop has specialised in certified natural mattresses for the best part of 20 years and now have the widest selection of quality certified and authentic latex mattresses. As times have changed we have branched into visco foam mattresses and lifestyle adjustable bed systems, in the best interest of our clients we offer a wider, better choice of back friendly mattresses and toppers.

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Why we need a better nights sleep

Without a good nights sleep we’ve all experienced how it affects how we feel and function – or more to the point don’t function.  Sleep deprivation affects our entire lives – our work, our social interactions, how we parent and how we treat both ourselves and those who surround us that we love and cherish.

Lets have a quick look at why its important to have the right mattress that allows our body to physically relax and ‘heal’ while in a state of deep, restful sleep.

• Emotional Wellness: when we experience a restful nights sleep its easier to feel refreshed and better able to control our emotions. Lets face it we all want to be liked and to like ourselves!
• Our brains need sleep to work: When we sleep our brains process the previous days events and ‘files’ information, similar to de-frag a computer or zip file on an apple computer.  Regulation of chemical balances also occurs ensuring the brain is ready to process and function for another day.  Quality sleep helps the brain think more clearly and remember more.
• Hormonal balance: Sleep is essential for correct function of glands of the body, including our pituitary, thyroid and adrenal glands. Insulin levels and blood sugar levels are also regulated while we sleep – better sleep, better health.
• Physical Health: With the right amount and quality of sleep the risk of obesity, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke are also decreased. Electrolyte and fluid levels are re-programmed and regulated, along with enhancement of the immune system which aid in both the ability to avoid and fight infection.

At The Back and Neck Bed Shop our entire range of mattresses are chosen to help your experience the best nights sleep EVER!

The Back and Neck Bed Shop is all about caring for your body while you sleep.

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Compass Luxury mattress

The COMPASS Luxury series mattress by GETHÁ, has been designed to help provide a solution to Electro-Magnetic Field (EMF) pollution and it’s now available in Australia.

Scientific evidence has shown that EMF radiation affects sleep negatively and long periods of exposure to EMF radiation can be dangerous to our health as it can weaken our immune system, leading to an array of various health problems.

EMF are everywhere in the environment. The body has an inbuilt immune system from light EMF exposure, however, when we are asleep, we are terribly vulnerable to EMF pollution. As the body rests, a biological regeneration process takes place and this process can be disrupted by EMF radiation which in turn limits the human DNA regeneration capacity. Most people do not realise that their choice of mattress can directly impact their health and safety. As we spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping on a mattress, it is vital that we make the right choice and protect our safety and health during sleep.

GETHÁ’s Biocare electromagnetic shield provides a magnetic barrier with nano technology yarns incorporated into the construction of the mattress to help protect against electromagnetic radiation for a healthier quality sleep.

The Compass Luxury mattress can:

• Help to protect your body from electromagnetic radiation during sleep
• Help to reduce static electricity
• Help to regulate the body’s bio-rhythm
• Help to promote an excellent quality of sleep

Visit our showrooms in Booragoon and Osborne Park and try the GETHÁ Compass Luxury latex mattress and sleep knowing you are reducing your exposure to EMF pollution.

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The rules of napping

A good nap is luxuriously refreshing – but it can disrupt your sleeping cycle if not done correctly.

A quick nap can do wonders for your energy levels, but if shouldn’t substitute a good night’s sleep.

Why take a nap?

There are a few different styles of napping, each with different purposes:

The planned nap

Planned napping means taking a nap before your feel tired.  It’s great for when you know you’re going to stay up later than normal, like a big night out or special occasion.

The emergency nap

Emergency napping happens when you suddenly find yourself overcome with tiredness and cannot function properly. These are especially important if you’re driving or operating heavy machinery. Always put safety first!

The routine nap

Routine napping is when your take a nap at the same time every day.  It’s common in children and the elderly, who may need a nap to help them get through the day.

What are the essentials needed for napping?

You do not want your nap to leave you feeling groggy or wired at night time so there are a few guidelines to follow.

How long should you nap for?

Try to keep your naps to under 30 minutes – any longer can leave you feeling groggy or lead to sleep inertia (a feeling of disorientation after waking from a deep sleep).  A quick 20-minute power nap can help to boost alertness directly following your nap.  It’s a good idea to set your alarm to make sure you do not over-nap!

Where to nap?

Where you decide to nap can be a game changer when it comes to falling asleep.  Make sure you’re in a comfortable position lying down, your room is at an ideal temperature and you have blocked our noise and light as best you can.  Use an eye mask to help create a sense of darkness.

When to nap?

Napping too late in the day can affect your night time sleep patterns, whereas napping too early in the day can be near impossible if your body isn’t ready for sleep.  Try to gauge the best nap time based on how your body is feeling.  Early afternoon, around 2-3pm can be a good time as we can naturally feel a little sleepy around this time.

Source – Medibank Private Summer 2019 issue of Be. magazine

 

 

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Common Myths About Sleep

Myth: Getting just one hour less sleep per night won’t affect your daytime functioning.  Fact: You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day but losing even one hour of sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly. It also compromises your cardiovascular health, energy balance, and ability to fight infections.

Myth: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules. Fact: Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues—and even then, by one or two hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift.

Myth: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue. Fact: The quantity of sleep you get is important, sure, but it’s the quality of your sleep that you really have to pay attention to. Some people sleep eight or nine hours a night but don’t feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor.

Myth: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. Fact: Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your sleep-wake cycle so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings.

Source: Your Guide to Healthy Sleep, The National Institutes of Health

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The Characteristics of Sleep

What are The Characteristics of Sleep?

At a Glance

• Sleep is a state that is characterised by changes in brain wave activity, breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and other physiological functions.
• Depending on the sleep stage, different physiological functions may be more active and variable (for example, during REM sleep), or less active and more stable (for example, during non-REM sleep).
• The reasons why we dream and the meaning of our dreams, despite scientific investigations, still largely remain a mystery.

What Is Sleep?

During some stages of sleep the brain is just as active as when we are fully awake.

Every night, nearly every person undergoes a remarkable change: we leave waking consciousness and for hours traverse a landscape of dreams and deep sleep. When we wake, we typically remember little or nothing about the hours that have just passed. Except in rare instances, we never contemplate and appreciate that we are sleeping while we are asleep. Thus, although everyone sleeps, most people would be hard-pressed to precisely define sleep. All organisms exhibit daily patterns of rest and activity that resemble the daily sleep and wakefulness patterns seen in humans. From observing changes in behaviour and responsiveness, scientists have noted the following characteristics that accompany, and in many ways define sleep:

• Sleep is a period of reduced activity.
• Sleep is associated with a typical posture, such as lying down with eyes closed in humans.
• Sleep results in a decreased responsiveness to external stimuli.
• Sleep is a state that is relatively easy to reverse (this distinguishes sleep from other states of reduced consciousness, such as hibernation and coma).

From observations of behavioural changes that accompany sleep and simultaneous physiological changes, scientists now define sleep in humans based on brain wave activity patterns and other physiological changes as described below.

Physiological Changes During Sleep

Many physiological variables are controlled during wakefulness at levels that are optimal for the body’s functioning. Our temperature, blood pressure, and levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and glucose in the blood remain quite constant during wakefulness. During sleep, however, physiological demands are reduced, and temperature and blood pressure drop. In general, many of our physiological functions such as brain wave activity, breathing, and heart rate are quite variable when we are awake or during REM sleep, but are extremely regular when we are in non-REM sleep.

Brain Activity

For centuries, physicians believed that sleep was a period of brain inactivity, yet research over the last 60 years has shown us that the brain remains active during sleep. There is a progressive decrease in the activation or “firing” rate of most neurons throughout the brain as sleep progresses from wakefulness to non-REM sleep. Also, the patterns of neuron firing change from a seemingly random and variable activity pattern during wakefulness, to a much more coordinated and synchronous pattern during non-REM sleep.

During REM sleep (the stage of sleep most associated with dreaming) there is an increase in the firing rate of most neurons throughout the brain, as compared to non-REM sleep. In fact, the brain in REM sleep can even be more active than when we are awake. Patterns of brain activity during REM sleep are more random and variable, similar to during wakefulness. This pattern of brain activity during REM sleep probably underlies the intense dreaming that occurs during this state.

Dolphins need to maintain a state of consciousness at all times. So, during sleep, part of their brain remains awake.

In all mammals and many other animals, sleep can be defined in much the same way that we define sleep for humans. However, there are some notable differences among species. When humans sleep, the entire brain is involved. Dolphins and whales, on the other hand, need to maintain consciousness while they sleep so they can occasionally surface to breathe. In these marine mammals, sleep occurs in only one hemisphere of their brain at a time—allowing for some degree of consciousness and vigilance to be maintained at all times.

For more information about the brain during sleep, see Natural Patterns of Sleep and Under the Brain’s Control.

Body Temperature

Through a process known as thermoregulation, the temperature of our body is controlled by mechanisms such as shivering, sweating, and changing blood flow to the skin, so that body temperature fluctuates minimally around a set level during wakefulness. Just before we fall asleep, our bodies begin to lose some heat to the environment, which some researchers believe actually helps to induce sleep. During sleep, our central set temperature is reduced by 1 to 2°F. As a result, we use less energy maintaining our body temperature. It has been hypothesised that one of the primary functions of sleep is to conserve energy in this way.

Body temperature is still maintained, although at a slightly reduced level during non-REM sleep, but during REM sleep our body temperature falls to its lowest point. Curling up in bed under a blanket during the usual 10- to 30-minute periods of REM sleep ensures that we do not lose too much heat to the environment during this potentially dangerous time without thermoregulation.

Respiratory Changes

Our breathing patterns also change during sleep. When we are awake, breathing is usually quite irregular, since it is affected by speech, emotions, exercise, posture, and other factors. As we progress from wakefulness through the stages of non-REM sleep, our breathing rate slightly decreases and becomes very regular. During REM sleep, the pattern becomes much more variable again, with an overall increase in breathing rate.

Cardiovascular Activity

One of the possible functions of sleep is to give the heart a chance to rest from the constant demands of waking life. As compared to wakefulness, during non-REM sleep there is an overall reduction in heart rate and blood pressure. During REM sleep, however, there is a more pronounced variation in cardiovascular activity, with overall increases in blood pressure and heart rate. The underlying reason for these considerable neural and physiological variations in REM sleep is currently unknown and may be a by-product of REM-related changes in nervous system activity or related to dream content.

Increased Physiological Activity During Sleep

For the most part, many physiological activities are reduced during sleep. For example, kidney function slows, and the production of urine is decreased. However, some physiological processes may be maintained or even increased during sleep. For example, one of the greatest changes induced by sleep is an increase in the release of growth hormone. Certain physiological activities associated with digestion, cell repair, and growth are often greatest during sleep, suggesting that cell repair and growth may be an important function of sleep.

Dreams

Dreaming occurs in both REM and non-REM sleep.

One of the most notable but least understood characteristics of sleep is dreaming, during which our thoughts follow bizarre and seemingly illogical sequences, sometimes random and sometimes related to experiences gathered during wakefulness. Visually intense dreaming occurs primarily during REM sleep. However, not all dreams occur during REM sleep. For example, night terrors actually occur during non-REM sleep.

Varying explanations for dreaming, as well as the meanings of dreams, have been offered by philosophers and psychologists throughout history. Even with recent scientific investigations of dreaming, our dreams still remain something of a mystery. Some experts suggest that dreams represent the replay of the day’s events as a critical mechanism in the formation of memories, while others claim that the content of dreams is simply the result of random activity in the brain.

From the Bookshelf

• Hobson JA, Pace-Schott EF. The cognitive neuroscience of sleep: neuronal systems, consciousness and learning. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2002 Sep;3(9):679-93.
• Pace-Schott EF, Hobson JA. The neurobiology of sleep: genetics, cellular physiology and subcortical networks. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2002 Aug;3(8):591-605.

Summary

Clearly the changes in brain activity and physiological functions during sleep are quite profound. These changes are used to help define the occurrence of sleep. Ultimately, some of these changes may help us to answer the difficult question of “Why do we sleep?” Although scientists are unsure exactly why we sleep, there are many clues about the functions that sleep serves and how getting more and higher quality sleep can improve our health and wellbeing.

 

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Getting the sleep you deserve

One thing that always comes up in regard to overall health is making sure that you get enough sleep. With the stress of work or school and all the other things that eat away at you during the night, a good night sleep is becoming increasingly difficult.

As a result, there is absolutely a tendency to over caffeinate yourself to get through your day. This starts the cycle of not being able to sleep all over again, causing your body to have troubling relaxing and falling asleep.

Sleep is important for all parts of your life.

Emotionally, getting a good night’s sleep helps your brain work properly. While you are asleep, your brain makes decisions, creates and consolidates memories, makes creative connections, clears out toxins, and learns and remembers how to perform physical tasks. All of this combined generally makes you smarter.

Physically, sleep allows for a healing process to your heart, blood vessels, and immune system. This is why when you are sick, the doctor tells you to get some rest. Also, sleep helps with the production of hormones and development. In general, getting enough sleep is important in order to function properly throughout the day.

With a lack of sleep comes many risks, some include falling asleep while driving a car, not being able to complete your work, and for students, falling asleep during that important lecture.

With all of this in mind, it is beneficial to know some ways to help yourself fall asleep. Many people have come up with remedies and other ways to make you fall into a deep sleep faster. When looking into it, these remedies range from something that you should begin at the beginning of your day straight to the end.

One simple stride that one can take to fall asleep is to simply lower the temperature of their room. Before falling asleep, our bodies tend to lower in temperature. Some scientists believe that this cooling of the body helps you fall asleep. As a result, by lowering the temperature of your room, you may be helping yourself cool off and fall asleep quicker.

Another way to help you fall asleep quicker is to pop in some headphones and listen to music. But, this music shouldn’t be the kind that you would hear at a party or crazy, loud concert. Studies have shown that by listening to slow, calming music, such as classical music, while trying to fall asleep is a big help. Three scientists decided to do a study to see if there truly is a correlation between music and falling asleep. In their study, they used ninety-four students between 19 and 28 that all had sleep complaints.

Participants of the study were split into three groups. Group 1 and 2 listened for 45 minutes either to relaxing classical music or an audiobook in a span of 3 weeks. The third group was the control group, which received no intervention. Having a control group in this study would serve a large purpose in order to show a true change in sleeping patterns of all the participants sleep quality before the study and weekly during it. By the end of the three weeks, the data showed that classical music is an effective way to reduce sleeping problems.

Over the years, other studies have been done to show effective ways of getting more quality sleep.

Another group of scientists decided to study the correlation between sleeping and flowers.  Sounds weird, because why would smelling a flower help you sleep, but it makes perfect sense.

The scent of Lavender’s oil helps ease anxiety and insomnia with its calming and sweet scent. One study investigated this with the help of thirty-one young healthy sleepers aged from 18 to 30. The participants, like in the music study, slept over night for three weeks, having their brain waves measured while they were sleeping.

One group received lavender oil and one group received distilled water. After three weeks of collecting data, the scientists proved that there was a correlation between lavender and sleep when they reported more deep sleep and less rapid eye movement with exposure to the flower.

Using these three tactics alone is both cheap and hopefully efficient to help you get the sleep that you deserve after a long day at work or school.

These are just two examples, but there are hundreds more. For example, some people do things as simple as taking a hot shower before bed, wearing socks to bed, and hiding their clock, to help them fall asleep.

With the variety of remedies out there, one is bound to cure your late night insomnia!

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