Improving sleep

There are numerous ways to get to sleep and these can involve herbal remedies, sleeping tablets and aromatherapy. However, getting good sleep is no just about being asleep, but rather about the mind “and body” getting rest that rejuvenates and recharges.

The key to getting the best solution to this challenge is in finding the best surface on which to sleep and there are plenty of alternatives.

In previous posts we have looked at different mattress types ranging from conventional spring based systems to the more recent emergence of memory and Latex construction foams. But there may be an opportunity to change and improve a bed’s sleeping surface without replacing either the bed or the mattress.

Mattress toppers

 
A mattress topper is an additional layer of cushioning material that is laid (or fitted) on top of an existing mattress. The topper can act to add an additional degree of softness, or it can take advantage of the body moulding properties of a material like visco elastic memory foam.

Most mattress toppers vary in thickness from 2 to 4 inches with the thicker toppers being superior.

The topper will usually have corner fasteners that allow it to be tied to the mattress and most manufacturers produce their mattress toppers in sizes that duplicate standard bed/mattress formats.


The most popular topper material is memory foam and this allows a regular mattress to be converted into the equivalent of a composite spring and foam mattress with firmness and support combined with profiling around critical areas like the lower back and shoulders.

One point to bear in mind is that no mattress topper will compensate for a failing mattress. If the mattress is “dead”, then a new topper alone will not improve your sleep.
However, a good firm mattress working in combination with a Latex or memory foam topper can be a good solution to improving poor sleeping.

Mattress toppers are also available in natural wool, standard foam, duck and goose feathers/down and a mix of materials. You should always look for a good quality of ticking and side stitching as these will usually be indicative of the topper’s overall quality.

Collagen supplements

One of the building blocks of bone is collagen which our bodies produce in varying quantities and types e.g. type I, type II etc. However the rate and types of natural collagen that we produce diminish as we get older.

Collagen has long been recognised as important to the body and there are claims that it can keep joints flexible and manoeuvrable, remove joint aches and even relieve or eradicate joint pain.

For these reasons there are a number of products available that can either, encourage the body to increase its production of collagen, or supplement the body directly with extra collagen.

Most of the medications that increase the production of collagen (naturally) require a prescription by a doctor, however there are some we known (and less well known) branded collagen supplements that you can take daily. These supplements are taken orally and it is claimed that, over a comparatively short period of time, they will ease a number of “aging” problems.

A further claimed benefit of these collagen substitutes is that they can also improve the appearance and feel of the skin and other soft tissues of the body.

Like many similar rejuvenating products, hard evidence is hard to find, but there is an increasing consensus of opinion that these collagen supplements do have a value in terms of bone and joint health.

If you want to find out more, here (http://www.howtodothings.com/health-and-fitness/a4460-how-to-choose-collagen-supplements.html) is a page with general information about collagen supplements, and here (http://www.silverwellbeing.com/protocol-collagen-tablets.php) is a page that covers one of the leading brands of collagen tablet. This brand is often sold on TV and is probably the cheapest collagen supplement tablet around.

Mattress options

I have included several posts extolling the virtues of memory foam and Latex foam in respect of mattress construction, but what I have probably not done sufficiently is point out that most good mattresses are often of a composite construction.

This means that they use a number of different materials and support approaches to try and get the best of all worlds.

With cheap economy mattress products this can be a bad thing, however if you are prepared to spend money on a mattress, the composite products can be very good.

Here are the main bed or mattress construction types that you are likely to encounter:

Open coil

This construction sees springs that run in rows and are interconnected. Some systems use a continual spring system which has a single wire from which all of the springs are produced. This is regarded as the cheapest and least technologically advanced spring or coil system.

Pocket sprung

This construction sees every individual spring enclosed in its own fabric pocket and working independently of the other springs. This system is regarded as the most advanced of spring based systems.

N.B. The higher the spring count (i.e. the more and smaller the coils), the better the mattress will be.

Memory foam

This material reacts to weight and heat and shapes itself around the human body in highly supportive way. It has superior orthopedic properties.

Latex foam

Is similar to memory foam, but with more of a bounce and an immediate return to its regular profile once it is vacated by a sleeper.

Composite mattress

This kind of mattress usually sees a pocket sprung mattress construction as a base, but one with 3 of 4 inches of memory foam or Latex foam added as a contouring top layer. This allows the structure and firmness of a conventional mattress to benefit from the shaping and contouring of visco elastic memory foam.

These mattresses offer the best performance and come in many grades and qualities that can, at the top end, run into thousands of dollars (pounds Stirling).

Orthopaedic mattresses

The first thing to point out with “orthopaedic mattresses” is that the term itself is one which, whilst conferring a specific meaning, has no definition in legal or product registration terms.

It is simply a way of defining a type of mattress where the expectation is that the design and construction are aimed very much at healthy support, particularly for the back and joints.

From this it becomes obvious that there is no such thing as a single type of orthopaedic mattress, but rather lots of different products, all of which offer some kind of support benefit beyond that of a cheap budget bed.

What kind of mattress falls into the orthopaedic category

In medical terms, up to a couple of decades ago, any doctor referring to an orthopaedic bed or mattress would have been talking about a very firm sleeping surface. This kind of mattress was thought to be superior to the cushiony and soft alternatives.

Today things have moved on, both in terms of what the medical profession proposes and in terms of the available options.

The fist big change is that the firm mattress is generally thought to be a thing of the past. Most practitioners now believe that a good orthopaedic mattress should mould itself to the unique contours of each individual’s back rather than offer a direct resistance.

This is a big change and it has largely been brought about by the advent of some new mattress materials that allow this body contouring ideal to take place.
Body contouring mattresses

Although conventional mattress bodies comprise springs (often called coils), these mattresses have a limited ability to adapt to the shapes and weights that rest on them. Their structural reaction is to resist any weight with an upward force that, whilst offering some moulding, is comparatively limited.

New mattress materials like the visco elastic memory foam and the similar Latex foam are very different. These materials are able to shape and mould themselves to any body shape that rests upon them and they are deemed to offer a superior level of support.

Why this kind of support is good

The reason that so many doctors and health experts like these products is because their contouring characteristics enable them to allow the spine to adopt a natural profile while asleep.

Firm beds have a tendency to straighten the back which is not desirable. The spine has what many describe as a “double S shape” and the best kinds of sleep and rest retain the back in this profile.

It is for this reason that memory foam mattresses are seen as being so supportive and why it is though that sleeping on this kind of surface can help those with back problems and prevent those who do not have them from seeing them develop.

What is a chiropractor?

I am very tight on time at the moment, so rather than writing an original post I am sampling some small segments of the information on Wikipedia defining and describing a chiropractor. i.e. what they are and what they do. You can see the full page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic.

Chiropractic is a health care profession that emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system and particularly the spine. A therapist called D.D. Palmer founded chiropractic approach to treatment in the 1890’s.

In many countries and cultures chiropractors are considered to be a complementary or alternative therapy although this is now changing and they are being acknowledged as a part of main-stream health care.

Osteopathy is an alternative treatment approach to those with similar complaints and is viewed in a similar light.

What Chiropractic treatment does

Chiropractic treatment focuses on manual therapy including spinal manipulation and other joint and soft tissue manipulation. Its hypothesis assumes that a vertebral subluxation or spinal joint dysfunction can interfere with the body's function and its ability to heal itself. A chiropractor aims to correct this by making specific adjustments to the positioning and alignment of the bones.

Treatment techniques

The main form of treatment is spinal manipulation, which chiropractors refer to as "chiropractic adjustment". There are several schools of chiropractic adjustive techniques, although most chiropractors mix techniques from different schools.

Many other procedures are used by chiropractors for treating the spine, other joints and tissues, and general health issues.

All chiropractors require a qualification and medical registration in order to practice, but how and where this is done will depend upon the regulations of the nation in question. In both the UK and USA regulation is very strict and chiropractic treatment is often suggested by doctors, GP’s, MD’s etc.

Memory foam car seats

Unusually, I watched a TV show called “pimp my ride” yesterday evening where the highlight of the show (for me) was the construction of new car seats using the visco elastic memory foam material.

The reasons given for using memory foam for this purpose were highly valid and that led me to run a couple of searches today to see if I could find any commercially available car seat products using the material.

Surprisingly, even when checking the likes of Maserati and Aston Martin, I was unable to find a seating option offering this material. This becomes even more surprising when you consider the amount time we spend seated and being buffered around in cars and the advantages that a memory foam seat would offer.

Unfortunately I was left to conclude that no motor manufacturer, small or large, budget or prestige, offers such seats and it would seem evident that there is a major “whole” in the market for any future company that does.

For anyone wanting the addition of memory foam to their car’s upholstery, there are some options. The main one it to buy a full sized seat cushion. This is really an extra memory foam layer that is contoured and profiled to the shape of a car seat and you can see one at http://www.houseofbath.co.uk/productcache/HOB/BO7616/BL096DL.html.gz.

Memory foam back wedges and support cushions are the other options, but these are really “make shift” attempts to make another product fit into the car seat market place.

If there is anyone involved in car interior design reading this, you should seriously consider both memory foam and latex foam as future motor vehicle seat padding materials. This material would not only improve the quality of car seating, but also be a good marketing feature.

Orthopedic – a definition

Despite writing numerous posts on this blog, I have never defined what orthopedic actually means, which is perhaps the first thing that I should have done. So here is a definition courtesy of thefreedictionary.com.

“The branch of medicine that deals with the prevention or correction of injuries or disorders of the skeletal system and associated muscles, joints, and ligaments.”

The word would appear to be derived from the French language and, in English, can be spelt as either, orthopedic (the more usual American way), or orthopaedic (the conventional English UK way).

I always adopt the more simplified spelling that omits the pointless ”a” for the simple reason that I believe in phonetic spelling – which is ironic as the very word itself is a contradiction of it own meaning and should really be spelt “fonetic”.

If you want a series of definitions, descriptions and explanations, try http://www.answers.com/topic/orthopedics this link.

Many of the products that I highlight are not only orthopedic in their intended injury/pain/discomfort target, but very much aimed at orthopedics concerned with the spine. This is probably because, aside from injuries, problems with the back and spine are the most frequently occurring orthopedic difficulties and they are also the ones where improved posture and support have the biggest benefit. There are also more products aimed at this sector than any other and, with the spine having such a broad influence on skeletal health, this seems logical.

Orthopedic office chairs

Orthopedic chairs (sometimes referred to as ergonomically designed chairs) are most often purchased and specified for work related purposes. They are of course also available in different formats and intended uses for the home.

Orthopedic office chairs are designed and conceptualized to provide comfort and support which, in turn, improves the efficiency and productivity of the workplace. This is an important to point to remember when considering the long term benefits to a business of healthy employees. These chairs offer comfortable seating that relaxes the body and promotes a good and healthy alignment of the spine.

Within the office environment the main function of an orthopedic chair is that of good posture when using office equipment or undertaking tasks like typing.

The big advantage of the orthopedic office chair is that it helps prevent or alleviate back problems, lumbar and joint difficulties. These can result from sitting for prolonged periods of time which is never advisable.

Good office chairs should have multiple modes of adjustment that can include: back rest angle and height manipulation, seat height variation and, ideally, lumbar support adjustments.

Having these adjustable features not only allows a chair to be customised for a particular user, but also to be tailored for a specific use or job operation. i.e. It is customised for both the user and the task.

Anyone looking to buy a good orthopedic office chair should seek out one which is described using terms like: “possess tilt locks, posture lock controls, back height adjustment and multi-task controls” etc.

As a general guide, the more variable and inclusive an orthopedic office chair’s modes of adjustment are, the better the chair is likely to be.

The cost of orthopedic office chairs varies dramatically, but good supportive and customisable chairs can be purchased for under £70 or $100 (US). That said, if a chair appears to offer more than its price would seem to be capable of representing, the chances are that the chair is “too good to be true”.

Always equate what you are getting with the price that you are paying and if something looks too good to be true, the chances are that it is.

This site http://www.theofficebackcarecentre.co.uk/ offers more information for those who are interested and who want to find out more.

Orthopedic car cushions

There are a number of orthopedic cushions, all of which offer different potential benefits including the easing of discomfort and support of various sections of the back.

As most easy chairs have ample padding and many office chairs have adjustable settings, most of these wedge and lumbar cushions are for car seats. The main reason for this is the inability to alter position when driving and wearing a seat belt and the need to have a comfortable and supportive posture.

Many people spend more than one hour of unbroken travel everyday in a car seat and this can lead to back problems if the seat is not adequate.

The types of orthopedic car supports available range from lumbar rolls, that are tubular sections of compressible material (and that fill out the curve in the lower back), to ring cushions that offer support and protect the base of the back, the thighs and the buttocks.

Wedge shaped cushions are popular, as are travel pillows that support the head and neck and prevent stiff necks and shoulders for sleeping passengers.

Adding a car seat support accessory enables the customisation of the driving posture for any user and it can make driving more pleasurable and less stressful on the body.

Other car seat additions include beaded back rests that comprise a net or mesh of massaging beads. These accessories are claimed to relax muscles and improve air flow (preventing sweating) from the back area. Some drivers (and passengers) like them, whilst others find them uncomfortable.

For a few examples of the car seat accessories and other pillow/cushion types, see this http://physiosupplies.com/acatalog/Orthopaedic_Pillow_Cushions_Mattress.html site.