Sleep. It is the warming companion that soothes us to rest at night and revives our body and soul. But for many of us, sleep is also the angry beast that haunts us, disrupts the calm of our minds and invades the serenity our rest. Either way, sleep is an essential companion in our lives…and as essential as this companion is, so many of us struggle desperately to make friends with this ever so basic human need. [caption id="attachment_418" align="alignleft" width="404"]
Model: Credella Credle
At SleepSwag, we are proud of the high-quality, comfortable products we make. We have spent countless hours designing, researching and testing our sleep masks, but at the end of the day…we launched our company for one simple reason… we needed to find a way to sleep better. So, we did our research. Instinctively, we knew that light was the enemy of sleep. We also assumed that a sleep mask could be effective at extending our rest beyond the nighttime hours. Of course this made sense, but we were pleased to see the National Sleep Foundation agreed. The following is reprinted from their website: “Light and darkness are powerful cues that tell your body it's time to rest, or get you ready for a productive day. So it's no surprise that light in the bedroom (as well as light peeking in from outside) has an impact on the quality of your sleep. Artificial light after dark can send wake-up messages to the brain, suppressing the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.” Lack of “dark room” sleep is even a larger problem when you consider the contemporary demands of our 24/7 life today. The NSF goes on to say… “Plenty of jobs come with hours outside the typical 9 to 5 day. An irregular work schedule can be taxing on the body. When you work late at night and miss out on daytime light, for example, it confuses the brain, disrupts the circadian rhythm and can make for sleepiness, insomnia, and other health problems. Managing the light in your bedroom can help…. When you're winding down for sleep, dim the lights and…try wearing an eye mask.” Whether sleep for you is a warming companion, or an angry beast…SleepSwag can help. We encourage you to send us an email or post a question on our Facebook page…we’d love to help you find your path to a better night’s sleep.