Deep sleep is considered to be the holy grail for most South Africans. We even have our own language for it when we talk. You didn’t sleep deep, you slept like a brick.
As of late there have been a couple of studies coming out around this topic. How much sleep is enough? How much is too little? Why do we need it?
What is deep sleep?
SleepFoundation.org defines 4 stages of sleep and it’s a more scientific approach. These stages are:
The REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement where NREM is for non-Rapid Eye Movement.
According to them N1 is where you doze off, during N2 your muscles start relaxing, breathing slows down and your body temperature lowers.
N3 is where we want to be, deep sleep. This is the important stage where the body repairs itself and our brains get to organise itself. It is also the stage during which our bodies improve our immune systems.
Finally during stage 4 the brain activity picks up again and our creativity sparks. You are starting to wake and this is the stage where the vivid dreams start coming into play.
All these stages combined are important as they make us the happy sparkly people we pretend to be on social media. Chances are great that the grumpy among us had this cycle interrupted and tend to walk through the day needing more sleep to return to our normal state.
How much sleep do we need?
Experts do not agree on a specific amount of hours but recommend that your goal should be between 7 to 9 hours per 24 hour cycle. Where there are four stages of sleep, they believe that the body self-regulates these stages and you might go through a few cycles per session.
Studies also show that during our lives our sleeping habits and requirements change. The only constant is that we need a good nights sleep as it is connected to our general health.
Does my pillow make a difference?
Yes. I am now going to veer off from studies and experts and I am going to rely on my own common sense and experience and say; Yes, your pillow does influence your sleep quality. I am a firm believer in quality over quantity.
I am now in my 40s and my whole life I have just bought whatever pillow was on special and that was it. The first few weeks were fantastic and I was on top of the world. However as the pillow age increased with my own mortality, it became flat and I spent more time hitting it, bundling it up into position and constantly searching for the sweet spot.
It took me more time to get comfortable than any of the stages mentioned above. It basically became a stage in itself.
- Stage 0: The WTF is wrong with this cushion stage.
The DuviBuddy Zip-ID pillow fixed this issue for me. It comes down to the microfibres inside the pillow and the fact that I can add or take out fibres to fit my personal needs. Think of it as the smartphone of pillows, just more manual.
Does one solution fit all?
No two people are the same, so it stands to reason that how we lie on our beds and the angle between our heads and pillow would also be unique. Thus, the one size fits all approach is simply not good enough when we consider where we lie down our heads.
Pillows With Zip IDs
Duvibuddy Pillows with Zip ID plus extra bag filled with Microfibre
High quality T200 Cotton Percale with zipped side and Trade Marked design for the Zip ID. The zip is available in different colours and the function thereof is to identify each individual's pillow on the bed. The extra bag with microfibre allows them to exercise their preference for how firm, medium or soft they want their pillows to be. Part of the design is a flap inside the pillow-zip side, to keep the microfibre intact and not interfere with the working of the zip.
Pillow Cases T300
Duvibuddy T300 Pillowcases with Piping
High quality T300 Cotton Percale with piping. Pillowcases are bigger than normal to allow for an easy fit into the pillows and a quality look and feel when on the bed.(2 Pillow cases per package)
Another problem for me was that once I actually fell asleep and went through all the stages, I woke up with a stiff neck. Effectively rendering the deep sleep I had through the night null and void, as I spent most of the following morning with a literal pain in the neck. I was grumpy on tap.
A slight change in my soft-pillow-ware changed this for me and I started to enjoy the process of sleeping.
Disclosure. I developed this website and I would love for you to buy a DuviBuddy Zip-ID pillow. Do you want more honesty. When I started on this protect I thought the claims were bull. A pillow is a bloody pillow. It was only when I actually used the Zip-ID pillow that I started seeing all these positive in my life. I love that I can adjust it from time to time depending on whether I need it to be a softer, or other times, more firm. I now get quality deep sleep.
I converted myself, and I would love to convert you.
My challenge to you is the following. Make a note how long it takes you to get comfortable in bed, and how you actually feel in the morning. If you notice it takes about 10 minutes and you feel like crap most mornings, then I know what will help you. Get yourself a DuviBuddy Zip-ID pillow.
It is a simple change to your sleeping tools that will actually change your life for the better.
