Bed Heads

Weird Sleep Science

Parasomnia is the term used to describe unnatural movements during sleep. Extreme cases include committing crimes while asleep, including, sleep driving and even murder!
Research has found that, just based on the humidity in our breath, we lose almost 1 litre of water each night! It's recommended, that we drink at least one glass of water to re-hydrate in the morning. Delay that morning coffee for an hour or so if at all possible as it is a diuretic.
Is it any wonder cats are so laid-back and cool? They sleep nearly 2/3rds of their lives!
It has been estimated that 15% of the North American population sleep walk. It is a myth that you shouldn't wake them when they are walking!
Humans are the only mammals known to science, that purposely try to delay the onset of sleep.
Next to air, food and water, sleep is the most essential for supporting human life regardless of what planet you happen to be on!
Bottle-nose Dolphins sleep by shutting down one hemisphere of the brain at a time and close the opposite eye. The other hemisphere and eye keep a low level monitoring of surroundings and control of breathing etc. They can be motionless or swimming slowly during sleep.
Cerebral spinal fluid is pumped more quickly throughout the brain while you sleep. It acts like a dishwasher, whisking away waste products that the brain cells make. You wake up with, quite literally, a clean slate.
Ergonomic sleep studies have shown that couples sleep better in both quality and quantity in larger beds. Before one such study, 15% of participants said they were likely to buy a larger bed. After the study, that number increased to 50% of the same participants!
Staying awake for more than 19 hours straight can decrease your mental and physical performance to the level of a blood/ alcohol content of .05%. In many jurisdictions, this is over the legal limit to operate a vehicle. Drowsy driving is every bit as dangerous as drinking and driving. Science has shown, you are never more productive or safe working these kind of extended hours!
Sea otters hold each others' hands when they sleep, to keep from drifting apart.
To demonstrate the effect television has had on humans, previous testing when television was B&W showed that only 15% of North Americans had dreams in colour. Since colour television was introduced, 75% dream in colour!

Mattress Nerd Facts

Memory Foams' polyurethane polymers began being developed in 1937 by Otto Bayer and his team. By the 1950's, the original memory foam had been created. In 1965 it was tested in a hospital to reduce bed sores in bed-ridden patients. It was also found to be hypoallergenic and resistant to bacteria. Around this time NASA hired Systems Dynamics group of North American Aviation Inc. to create foam to use in pilots' seats and as cockpit protection in the event of a crash. Charles Jost created an open-celled Memory Foam they called "Temper" foam. He sold the rights in 1974 but later reformed a company to develop variations of the original foam for use in medical applications. It is currently widely used in the sleep industry among others.
Astronauts in the ISS sleep in sleeping bags secured to the wall of a sleep pod . No pillow or mattress is required because the body is in zero gravity and muscles are fully relaxed .
According to National Geographic, the oldest know mattress in the world was discovered in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. It was 77,000 years old and was 12 inches thick and was a whopping 22 square feet around. Room for the whole family! The mattress was made of plant material and leaf matts layered into a mattress 12" thick.
James Marshall, of Toronto Ontario, invented the first "Pocket-Coil" in 1899 and received Canadian Patent in 1900. It was known as the Marshall Coil. The Marshall Mattress Company Toronto was in operation for over 100 years! Another Canadian first!!
Latex mattresses are famous for their pressure relief and support. The first latex mattress sold was in North America was in 1931 and was created in a process known as the Dunlop process. In 1935, Leon, Joseph and Ansil Talalay developed latex mattresses in the "Talalay" process and sold to Sears Roebuck in the United States. Both styles of latex processing are currently used in today's latex mattresses sold by many manufacturers to great success!
The phrase "Sleep Tight" originated back in the days when mattresses were supported by ropes attached to a wooden frame. Sleeping tight, prevented a sagging mattress and a back ache!
In 1986 Guiliano Magni revolutionized the world of mattress manufacturing by patenting the process of vacuum packing mattresses. Yes, this was the original bed-in-a-box! This allowed Magniflex International to ship its mattresses to over 98 markets around the world. The process allowed the hygenic transportation of 13 mattresses in the same space as 3 regularly packed mattresses. Come experience them for yourself!