Protect•A•Bed® Sleep Assessment Tool

Conducted on Facebook in July 2010

The purpose of this survey was to assess the ‘healthy’ and ‘hygienic’ state of our sleep environments. Many of us don’t realise the impact the condition of our bed can have on our health – often unhygienic sleep environments can have an effect on serious health conditions such as asthma and skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis.
We hoped that our Sleep Assessment Tool would give an indication of whether sleep environments were having a impact on your health, please find the results below.
Please note results from this tool were suggestions only and do not serve as a replacement for formal medical advice.

1. How long (in minutes) does it usually take you to fall asleep each night?

Result:
37% of people surveyed fell asleep in under 15 minutes
30% of people surveyed fell asleep between 30mins to 1 hour
17% of people surveyed fell asleep between 15-29 minutes
16% of people surveyed fell asleep after  1 hour

What responses mean:
If you fall asleep between 15-29 minutes you have a good bedtime routine.
If you’re taking longer than half an hour to fall asleep every night, here are some tips to help you get to sleep sooner:

  • Reading before bed relaxes the mind and is a good way of unwinding from a long stressful day – try reading a light, entertaining book or magazine before going to bed.
  • Ensure the room is dark – light can trick the body into staying awake and prolong you from getting to sleep. Even dim lights such as TV or computer screens can confuse the body clock.
  • A light snack, cup of hot tea or a glass of warm milk before bedtime can help promote sleep as it can help calm your brain and allow you to sleep better. Experiment here to determine optimum meals and snacks.


2. Do you wake up tired?




An alarming 89% of people wake up tired each day!

What responses mean:
If you find that you’re waking up tired on a regular basis, this probably means you’re either not getting enough hours sleep in a night, or you’re not getting enough relaxing and healthy sleep. In order to ensure a healthy and uninterrupted sleep, you could consider making some changes to your sleep environment.

  • Is your bed large enough? Your bed should be large enough for you to stretch and turn comfortably, even if you have someone sleeping next to you.
  • Assess your mattress, pillows and bedding – if you’re waking up with a sore neck or cramps in your back, experiment with different levels of mattress firmness and pillows that provide more support.
  • Invest in bedding protection that will improve sleep hygiene and protect your bed from bacteria, mould, dust mites and their allergens, spills and pet allergens.
    Not all mattress protectors offer the same level of protection, so ensuring you have the correct protective bedding is a great way to limit exposure to allergens. See the Protect·A·Bed® range of mattress protectors.

Here’s some interesting facts and figures published in recent media;
www.protectabed.com.au/videomedia.php. 


3. Do you often overheat/perspire during the night?




65% of people surveyed mentioned they often overheat/perspire at night.

What responses mean:
The average adult perspires approximately 250mL to 1 Litre per night. Perspiration can lead to bacteria and mould, causing health conditions such as rhinitis, sinusitis, sneezing and asthma. Now imagine the impact all this built up bacteria and mould can have on the health of your sleeping environment. You’d be surprised at the difference some straightforward, cost-effective changes can make, such as changing your sheets regularly and using the right bedding protection. All Protect·A·Bed® products have a protective barrier ensuring that perspiration/bacteria and mould do not penetrate into mattresses, quilts and pillows. 

Click here for all our products: www.protectabed.com.au.

Some products can actually help with the heat transfer from skin to mattress for example products like Protect·A·Bed® Elite, compared with cotton, feels much softer and cooler on skin www.protectabed.com.au/products/fitted-protectors/elite-mattress-protector.php.

Protect·A·Bed® also has a range of waterproof, all natural Tencel® Linen that can assist with sensitive skin and heat transfer called CumfySafe®
www.protectabed.com.au/products/linen-with-built-in-protection.php.


4. Do you find you get itchy at night or sometimes wake up with rashes?




37% people surveyed confirmed they do get itchy at night or wake up with rashes
63% do not.

What responses mean:
We spend an average one-third of our lives in bed, and by virtue of what happens in the night (or between the sheets!), the health and hygiene of beds can very quickly become compromised, resulting in health problems like allergies, rhinitis, sinusitis, asthma and skin disorders – many of which go undiagnosed. If you are often itching at night or find that you wake up with rashes, it’s very possible you might have a skin disorder such as eczema.
Skin disorders can be made worse in bed due to the friction of standard cotton and overheating. However before rushing off to the doctor and spending money on expensive scripts and creams, again consider the health and hygiene of your sleep environment. Making some simple changes in the bedroom can make the world of difference. Try Protect·A·Bed®’s Elite® mattress protector, made from natural eucalyptus Tencel its extremely beneficial for sensitive skin. Its hypoallergenic and antibacterial properties ensure a optimal environment for healthy skin.
Protect·A·Bed® also has a range of waterproof, all natural Tencel® Linen that can assist with sensitive skin and heat transfer called CumfySafe®
www.protectabed.com.au/products/linen-with-built-in-protection.php.


5. Do you often sneeze at night, wake up with a blocked nose, or itchy eyes?




45% of people surveyed often sneeze at night or in the morning, and/or wake up with blocked nose or itchy eyes.

Around 30 to 40 per cent of Australians are allergic to dustmites and one of the primary places dust mites accumulate is in a mattress, with the typical mattress containing anywhere from 100,000 to two million mites!  At any one point only five per cent of these dust mites are alive and it’s their faecal pellets (their poo!) and the dead dust mites that contain a series of proteins that are highly allergic for susceptible people, causing everything from a blocked, running nose, sneezing and itchy eyes to a severe asthma attack.
If you find yourself waking up constantly to sneezing attacks, a blocked nose or itchy eyes, you might very well be allergic to dust mites. All Protect·A·Bed® products have a dustmite protective barrier built-in. Should you have a serious dustmite allergy or have asthma try Protect·A·Bed®’s AllerZip® mattress protector, a full mattress encasement solution that includes a three-sided zipper system for complete protection against dust mites.
Unlike other mattress protectors, the system comprises of a protective buglock device that prevents both dustmites as well as bed bugs from penetrating through the fabric.


6. Have you ever noticed yellow stains on your pillows?




55% of people surveyed had noticed the yellow stains and many commented that they didn’t know what they were!
45% of people survey had not noticed stains.

If you’ve ever noticed those yellow stains, it’s because the typical pillow contains a build up of bodily secretions, perspiration, bacteria, mould and fungi to dust mites and food particles. This buildup forms stains in and on pillows. The average person sheds and regrows skin every 27 days and loses 100 hairs a day! After 5 years, 10 per cent of the weight of your pillow will be made up of dust mites and dust mite faeces, creating a breeding ground for allergens and bacteria.
Ensuring you have the right pillow protection (like Protect·A·Bed®’s Elite® or Premium® pillow protectors) is a way of blocking all the unhealthy bacteria from getting into your pillows and also from getting out! Pillow Protectors will also extend the life of your pillow by many years.

For more information on what lives in our pillows click on this footage from ‘A Current Affair’.


7. Do you have children




If yes, are they currently at an age where bedwetting is an issue?




While 73% of our people surveyed said yes they had children, only 26% were dealing with bedwetting as a sleep issue.

What responses mean:
There are many problems you can face when trying to ensure a healthy night’s sleep for your child, one of the most common being the issue of bedwetting. Frequent in young children and still extremely normal up to the age of five years, this is generally because the waking response is not yet fully developed.

Bedwetting is often a very traumatic experience for children and can affect their behaviour and self-esteem. Bedwetting can be just as stressful for parents, creating extra work and ultimately reducing the amount of sleep you and your family get.

Often the best cure for bedwetting is simply time, however looking at ways to improve the sleep environment of your child is a good way to limit its effects and deal with the problem quickly.

Try giving Protect·A·Bed®’s Sheet Protector/Drawsheet a go – it sits on top of existing bedding and when an accident occurs during the night, it takes merely minutes to pull the drawsheet/linen protector off, get your child dry, and have the whole family back in bed asleep. Its easily machine washed and tumble-dried and can be back on the bed in 30 minutes or better still ensure you have a spare!
 


Should you have any additional sleep-health questions, remember our Protect·A·Bed Healthy Sleep Nurse is on board to help. 
Email address: healthysleep@protectabed.net.au.