Buis Mattress

  • Home
  • Products
    • Custom
    • Latex
    • National Line
    • Mattress Toppers
    • Traditions Line
    • Youth Custom
    • Foam Mattress
    • Pillow Top Mattress
  • Furniture
    • Solid Wood
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Manufacturing
    • Testimonials
    • Mattress Materials
    • Showroom
  • Contact
    • Directions from Grand Haven
    • Directions from Grand Rapids
Contact Us Now!

Tips to Help Seniors Get a Better Night’s Sleep

May 16, 2019 by buismattress Leave a Comment

As people get older, sleep patterns change. One study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago analyzed the sleep patterns of a group of male subjects aged 16 to 83 and found that, on average, the total time people slept at night went down by 27 minutes with each decade of age. This is a natural part of aging. As people get older, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, or “SCN,” the part of the brain that regulates the internal clock, begins to deteriorate. Many seniors struggle to get the hours of sleep that the body needs to stay healthy and the mind needs to stay alert. These three tips can help people maintain or regain their sleep patterns as they age.

Stick to a Routine Tips to Help Seniors Get a Better Night's Sleep - Buis Mattress

Most people have some sort of routine that prepares them for bed, whether it’s showering, brushing their teeth, or bedtime reading. Keeping not only the steps of the routine but the time of it can condition the body to feel tired and ready for sleep at a certain time each evening. Some things should not be part of the evening routine, like watching TV in bed or drinking liquids (especially alcohol) close to sleep time. Instead of a drink to calm down at the end of the day, seniors should try some sort of meditation or mindfulness for five to ten minutes.

Maintain the Right Sleep Environment

Two of the biggest sleep detractors are light and sound. Natural light is desirable in the bedroom during the day, but too much artificial light at night will prevent sleep. Blackout curtains are a good option to keep a room dark in the evening and block out streetlights, car headlights, and other sources of artificial light. Persistent noise can also be a problem. For those who find earplugs intrusive or uncomfortable, white noise machines may be a good option to drown out exterior noise with benign and even soothing sounds that fade into the background.

Monitor the Effect of Medications

One factor that can be detrimental to sleep in seniors particularly is the effect of medications. Many of the common medications that senior citizens take, like diuretics to reduce high blood pressure, have the adverse side effect of keeping people awake. While these medicines serve important and even essential functions, it may be possible to alter the dosage or ingestion time to help with sleep if a doctor approves of the change.

At any age, having the right mattress is the key to a good night’s sleep. At Buis Mattress, we handcraft all of our mattresses in Holland, MI. We use the highest quality materials to produce a wide range of products designed to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Take care of your mental and physical wellbeing with deep sleep on a Buis Mattress. Check out our unique products at our showroom or on our website, or contact us at 616-396-6257 for further information.

Filed Under: Sleeping

How to Find the Optimal Temperature for a Good Night’s Sleep

April 8, 2019 by Buis Mattress Leave a Comment

A bedroom is kind of like a cave; it provides a dark, quiet place to sleep and recharge at the end of a long day. Caves also stay cool, the way a bedroom should at night. While there’s no exact temperature that guarantees a good night’s sleep for everyone, keeping the thermostat somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit provides the ideal temperature to initiate and maintain sleep.

Understanding Thermoregulation How to Find the Optimal Temperature for a Good Night's Sleep - Buis Mattress

The sleep-wake cycle depends on a process called thermoregulation, which for most people begins in the late afternoon. This is when the body starts cooling down for sleep. The goal of thermoregulation is to adjust the body’s core temperature to aid in falling asleep and staying asleep. A higher body temperature helps with the waking process, so body temperature rises near the waking hours to resume alertness.

Thermoregulation and Sleep Temperature

Based on the process of thermoregulation, a room temperature that is too hot can cause restlessness and disrupt the deep REM stage of sleep. However, being too cold can also become a problem. A bad night’s sleep makes for a miserable next day, so sleeping with the thermostat set to an extreme is not doing anyone any favors. It’s important to find a temperature that not only helps the body reach deep sleep at night, but also supports the body in transitioning to a state of alertness in the morning. For anyone who has ever struggled to get out of a warm, cozy bed in the morning (who hasn’t?), thermoregulation is part of the reason.

Determining the Ideal Temperature

So how can the ideal sleep temperature be determined? It’s mostly trial and error. Folks who keep their home at extreme temperatures should start somewhere near the warmer or cooler end of the 60 to 67 degree Fahrenheit range, respectively, and adjust accordingly. However, this is only in regard to the ambient air, and all those blankets increase body heat. Even if the surrounding air temperature is ideal, it’s only touching exposed body parts. Additionally, heat builds through the body just from contact with the mattress.

Because there is more at play than just air temperature, finding the ideal temperature can be tricky. Thankfully, there are now solutions on the market that help control body heat through the night. Popular options include latex mattresses that provide a cooler sleep surface and certain types of mattress toppers that help lower body temperature in the evening and raise it as morning approaches.

Start Sleeping Better Tonight

As you see, the right type of mattress and bedding can play a big role in keeping you cool at night. Buis Mattress offers bedding products including latex mattresses and mattress toppers designed to help your body reach an optimal temperature for sleep. Check out our unique products at our store locations, or call us at 616-396-6257 to learn more. And don’t forget to adjust the thermostat tonight!

Filed Under: Sleeping

Over the Counter & Prescription Sleep Aids to Avoid for a Good Night’s Rest

March 29, 2019 by Buis Mattress Leave a Comment

After a long bout of insomnia, it may be tempting to reach for over-the-counter medicines to help with drifting off. However, some of these easily-accessible sleep aids and other drugs may actually do more harm than good when it comes to restful sleep. 

The Dependency Dilemma

 Even the best mattress topper can’t always beat insomnia, and there comes a time to use sleep aids. However, when this becomes a daily routine, it has its significant drawbacks. Because the body forms a tolerance to several drugs over time, it can require more and more of the substance to have the desired reaction. Furthermore, sleepers may find that they can no longer fall asleep without the medication, leading to dependency. This may result in insomnia and even withdrawal symptoms when the medication is stopped.

Benzodiazepine Sedative-hypnotic Sleeping Pills

Benzodiazepine prescription medications, such as Xanax, Valium, and Ativan, are used to treat anxiety, but they also can be used to treat insomnia. According to the CDC, nearly 9 million Americans use prescription medications for a sleep aid, but they should be used very safely and wisely. For example, according to WebMD, the sedative-hypnotic Halcion is potentially addictive and can present problems with memory and attention. WebMD also reports that some patients report problems with sleepwalking when taking these sleeping pills. When used on a nightly basis, they can also lose their effectiveness and lead to cognitive slowing and drowsiness.

Cough Syrup

When sleep aids aren’t available, many reach instead to cough syrup. Even over-the-counter antihistamines, such as liquid Benadryl, may result in drowsiness and more ease falling asleep. However, cough syrups can also contain alcohol in a range from 1.5 percent to a whopping 40 percent. Alcohol is a known sleep disruptor and can reduce the quality of one’s sleep, so it’s important to find alcohol-free cough syrup formulations.

Herbal Supplements

Herbal supplements used as sleep aids, such as St. John’s wort and melatonin, are largely unregulated. This means that these supplements are often not tested for purity or concentration, so consumers have little way of knowing what they’re ingesting. This may result in consuming much higher levels of sleep aids than necessary, resulting in sluggishness and a change to one’s sleeping schedule. However, since melatonin is produced naturally in the body, this is one of the safest products to take for a sleep aid when used in moderation and in accordance with the dosage directions. 

When it comes to getting a good night’s sleep, it’s also important to know you’re sleeping on the best mattress available. For more information about preparing for a better night’s sleep with a new mattress, you can check out our previous blog post. At Buis Mattress, our bench-made mattresses can be custom-fit to ensure you receive a good night’s rest. Reach out to us today to learn more about our line of mattresses.

Filed Under: Sleeping

How Too Much Screen Time Impacts a Good Night’s Sleep

January 22, 2019 by buismattress Leave a Comment

Getting a good night’s sleep is important for feeling energized, alert, and content every day. Spending too much time looking at cell phones, laptops, tablets, and other screen-based gadgets can significantly impact sleep quality, especially if done too close to bedtime. Here’s a look at the science behind too much screen time and its effects on sleep and serenity. 

Screens Suppress Melatonin

A girl looking at a tablet in the dark

The screens on all of our most commonly used gadgets emit what’s called “blue light,” which has a very short wavelength and produces a high amount of energy. Blue light is responsible for the suppression of melatonin, the hormone that controls the body’s circadian rhythm, also known as the sleep/wake cycle. When melatonin production is reduced and the sleep/wake cycle is disrupted, even the world’s most comfortable mattress won’t make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Stimulated Brains Stay Active Longer

It may be part of your routine to check into social media, read the news, or watch a few funny videos right before bed, but all that late-night screen time diminishes your sense of serenity right when you need it most. That’s because bright screens keep the brain engaged, making it harder to mentally relax and unwind when you’re finally ready to drift off to sleep. Having at least 30 screen-free minutes before bed can impact how quickly and comfortably you fall asleep.

Technology Doesn’t Sleep 

Even if you avoid too much direct screen viewing at bedtime, simply having gadgets too close to the bed can impact how well you sleep. There’s always the chance that a text, call, or email will arrive, and even if the interruption doesn’t wake you, it can still disturb the serenity of a resting brain. So unless you’re waiting for a very important phone call or message, it’s better for your sleep quality to sleep with the gadgets turned off.

At Buis Mattress, we believe that a great mattress is one of the home’s most important features. Check out all our unique, high-quality products in our Holland, MI showroom. For questions about our products and services, contact us online or call (616) 396-6257.

Filed Under: Sleeping

How to Prepare for a Better Night’s Sleep

June 7, 2018 by Buis Mattress Leave a Comment

Image of a sleeping woman

A few hours before bedtime is the ideal time to start preparing for a good night’s sleep. Read on to learn more about the body, its sleep-wake cycles, and how to guide the body toward falling asleep fast and producing a good night’s rest.

Set a Schedule and Follow It

Determining and honoring the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle—or circadian rhythm—is very important in preparing for a good night’s sleep. Some individuals are programmed to remain awake later, others to wake up early. If at all possible, try to follow one’s “body clock”—and stick to it. Even sleeping in on weekends can disrupt alignment with that clock, so try to adhere to the same sleeping schedule no matter what day of the week it is.

Nighttime Dining

Since the body’s system is not designed to digest food during sleeping hours, avoid heavy, protein-laden meals before going to bed. If eating late, go for foods like turkey, bananas, honey, and warm milk to increase the flow of melatonin, a hormone that encourages sleep at night. As for alcohol, enjoy the nightcaps at least over three hours before bedtime. If alcohol is consumed too close to bedtime, it can lead to disruptive sleep, snoring, and feelings of insomnia.

Power Down the Gadgets and TV

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the light-emitting screens of technological devices inhibit the urge to fall asleep. As a result, turn off all laptops, smartphones, and the TV at least an hour before bedtime or better yet, eliminate them from the bedroom altogether.

The Nocturnal Scene

The ideal atmosphere for sleeping is a room that is dark, quiet, and cool. Try to eliminate as much light as possible. If noises from traffic or other sources are inevitable, try obscuring it with the sound of a fan, white noise, or the use of earplugs.

Bedtime Ritual

Since the goal is to go to bed with a relaxed, carefree mind, do not allow worries or racing thoughts to impede a good night’s sleep. Instead, jot them down on a piece of paper for consideration the next day. Some writing or light reading is typical for a bedtime ritual but preferably in a comfy chair or sofa rather than in bed.

A Stretch or Bath

Light stretching that loosens and relaxes tight muscles before bed is a good idea, especially when much of the day is spent facing a computer screen. A short stretching routine can help relieve muscle tension and prepare the body for a more peaceful, rejuvenating sleep. Of course, a warm, relaxing bath before bedtime is almost always a sure way to fall asleep fast and benefit from a thorough night’s rest.

To ensure our customers of sound, restful sleep night after night, Buis Mattress design experts build mattresses one at a time. We are the preferred choice for many customers throughout the Holland, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven areas. For more details on our mattresses, custom products, brand-name bedroom furniture, and more, please call us at 616-396-6257 or fill out our contact form.

Filed Under: mattress, Sleeping, unplug

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Copyright © 2019 · Buis Mattress · 440 S. Waverly Rd
Holland, MI 49423 · Powered by ThriveHive