The Snoozery Earplugs Featured In Sainsbury's Magazine

In this month's edition of the Sainsbury's magazine The Snoozery's Handy Bags of earplugs are featured in a piece on 4 Ways to Get Some ZZZs....

Thank you Sainsbury's.

The Snoozery...as recommended by The Telegraph

We're supremely confident that our range of lovely sleep inducing products will be very well-received by the restless sleeper in your life...

...And it appears that the nice folk at The Telegraph agree, as we've been featured in their Last Minute Gifts for Christmas guide.

We're guaranteeing delivery by Christmas, if you order before midnight on Thursday 19th December - that's tomorrow BTW. So why not hurry on over to The Snoozery and have a browse around?

(Having resisted the urge to write the unacceptable "Give the gift of Sleep this Christmas", I now feel that it's somehow OK...although I know it's not, so sorry about that.)

Cure for jet lag?

Drugs that rapidly tweak the body clock in order to avoid jet lag and the pains of shift work have moved a step closer after research in Japan.

Scientists at Kyoto University have found the clock's 'reset button' inside the brain, according to an article on BBCNews.

Whilst we prefer natural sleep remedies here at The Snoozery, we're going to keep a close eye on how this develops. Click on the link to read more on the BBC website.

Sleep tight.

Boardrooms to Bedrooms?

Nowadays everyone knows the importance of exercise on our health and productivity levels; including companies who have harnessed that knowledge and provided gyms or at least gym subsidies for their employees. 

But could sleeping become the new working out? In the US ‘Nap Rooms’ are becoming the latest phenomenon in businesses as big as Google, Nike and The Huffington Post. 

Companies are right to look at their workers’ sleep patterns according to Dr Irshaad Ebrahim, from the London Sleep Centre. Sleep is ‘as crucial as our diet, our mental well-being and our physical health’. Lack of sleep affects levels of concentration, our learning and problem solving capabilities and can make us prone to swings in temper and depression.

But is it up to an employer to make sure its employees are well rested or should individuals be taking the responsibility for their own sleep?

Either way - until your company jumps on the power nap bandwagon - check out some of our products here at The Snoozery and see if we can't help you on your way to some more restful nights and some consequentially more productive days! 

Christmas turkey makes you sleepy: True or false?

Post the traditional Christmas roast turkey, many a knowledgeable uncle up and down the land can be heard asserting that it's due to the Tryptophan-rich turkey that Grandad has nodded off...

According to Uncle Bob, it's the Tryptophan in turkey that makes us all feel sleepy.

Here at The Snoozery, we've dug a little deeper into this "fascinating" piece of avuncular trivia and can reveal that Uncle Bob hasn't got it quite right. 

Yes, there is Tryptophan - an essential amino acid - in turkey, but no more so than in most other protein-rich foods such as eggs, cheese, yoghurt, meat, poultry as well as many plant proteins. 

It's the combination of the Tryptophan-rich protein and carbohydrates that make us feel sleepy after Christmas Dinner. 

So - in basic terms - it works like this:

• The Tryptophan (stored and just consumed) combines with carbohydrates to produce Serotonin
• When Serotonin levels are high, you're in a better mood, have a higher pain tolerance, and sleep better
• The Serotonin is then further metabolised into Melatonin
• Melatonin is the hormone that helps to control your sleep and wake cycles
• The increase in Melatonin then affects your sleep-wake cycle (or circadian rhythm) by chemically causing drowsiness and lowering the body temperature
• You feel sleepy. 

The red wine can also make us feel drowsy. 

Sleep tight and Happy Christmas! 

The Snoozery Is Spreading That Christmas Spirit!

Thank you to everyone who came to see us at Late Night Shopping in Marlow last Thursday!

What a great turn out despite the miserable weather! We had lots of fun spreading some Christmas Cheer and the word about our fabulous products! 

Chatting to you all is such an important part of our mission to help people sleep better – and if we’ve helped just a few of you to get that peaceful night’s sleep you deserve over Christmas – then it’s been a success! 

And the prizes for the Best Christmassy Sellers of the night go to...(drumroll please)...Our Luxurious Snoozery's Own Lullaby Cream! And Our Deep Sleep Pillow Spray by This Works!

For those of you who missed out or need to buy in those last few Christmas presents Click Here to check out our products for yourself! 

Goodnight Britain

Fascinating program on BBC One last night - Goodnight Britain - exploring the sleep problems of 5 volunteers, each of whom suffer from a different sleep condition.

Comic at times (Sheila's Victoria Sponge making at 3am) to tragic at others (Gwen hasn't had a good night's sleep for 30 years), it's a real eye-opener (sorry) into the problematic world of sleep.

Having made the diagnoses last night, in Episode 2 - on at 9pm tonight - the sleep experts Dr Kirstie Anderson and Dr Jason Ellis will create a set of treatment plans to help the volunteers sleep better.

Will make for highly interesting viewing...if you missed it, you can catch up on the BBC iPlayer.

Sleep tight.

Hurray we're famous!

When the clocks go back on Sunday the London Evening Standard suggests using The Snoozery's Dreamweaver Sleep Masks to ensure you make the most of that extra hour!

We certainly will be!

Top tip if you're struggling to get to sleep...

Lie as close as you can to the edge of the bed and you'll soon drop off...

(Sorry).

Lucid Dreaming

The difference between a normal dream and a lucid dream is that in the latter, you're aware that you are dreaming.

Flying is one of the most regular dreams of lucid dreamers.

It is almost universally accepted that lucid dreaming occurs, and many people report the moment of clarity in their dream when they realise that in reality they cannot fly or actually be part of the bizarre plot and non-narrative structure of their dreams.

But there is considerable debate around the proponents of lucid dreaming's central hypothesis: that you can control your dreams, consciously deciding to "visit" specific places or undertake specific activities.

But for those that believe in our ability control our lucid dreams, the potential practical implications of dream control are enormous, varying from training one's brain to overcome fears or phobias, relieving post-traumatic stress syndrome through to controlling nightmares.

If it all sounds a bit bizarre, prepare to be more confused by watching the movie Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In fact, watch it twice - you might understand it second time round.

Here The Snoozery, we're intrigued by anything that can help you sleep better, and that could possibly mean controlling dreams. In the meantime, we're going to keep our eyes on a product due to launch in the US shortly called Remee which promises to enhance lucid dreaming.

Check out their website for more details, or better still watch their video on funding platform Kickstarter where the founders managed to raise over $500k whilst trying to raise just $35k.

Sleep tight.

SLEEPING PILLS - THERE IS ANOTHER WAY...

It is estimated that c.10 million prescriptions for sleeping pills are issued every year in England alone.

That's a heck of a lot of pills.

But then again, as many as one in four people in the UK are thought to suffer from insomnia at some point in their lives.

Sleeping pills typically hail from 2 "families" - the Benzodiazepine family (Temazepam being the most well known) and the newer (and allegedly less addictive) Z-drugs family (with variants such as Zolpidem and Zopiclone).

The various side-effects and downsides of sleeping pills are well documented (and pretty scary once you get into the detail), so before you even consider heading down to your GP and asking for a prescription, why not consider doing the following:

• Make sure your bedroom is cool without being cold - read more here
• Cut out your weekend lie-in - sounds stupid, but it could really help - read more here
• Keep a pad and pen by your bed to put to rest those pesky thoughts that are keeping you awake - read more here
• Stay off the booze - read more here - and caffeine - read more here
• Take some exercise - read more here
• Make your sleeping environment as isolated and secure as possible - read more here
• Do everything you can to block out noise - read more here
• Have a hot bath about an hour before bed - read more here

Sleep tight.

IS YOUR CHILD A SLEEPWALKER?

Well don’t worry – your somnambulating little cherub is not alone!

Sleepwalking – which is thought to be hereditary - is fairly common in children between the ages of 5-12 – and there’s absolutely no evidence that it’s a sign of something being emotionally or psychologically wrong.

The good news is that as most children tend to sleepwalk within an hour or two of falling asleep (during stages 3 or 4 of their first sleep cycle), it’s more than likely that you’ll still be up and about and on hand to guide them back to bed.

You should, however, take precautions so that your sleepwalking child is less likely to come to harm. Even though their eyes are open, they don’t see the same way they do when they’re awake and they often think they’re in different rooms in the house or different places altogether. 

Top tips to keep your sleepwalker out of harms way:

• Try not to wake them up as this might be scary – gently guide him or her back to bed (sleepwalking occurs during deep sleep anyway, so you might struggle to wake them up at all)
• Lock doors and windows so they cannot wander out into the night.
• Think twice before installing a bunk bed
• Remove sharp or breakable thing from around their bed and keep dangerous objects out of reach
• Close the safety gate at the top of the stairs.

Unless the episodes are very regular, cause your child to be sleepy during the day, or your child is engaging in dangerous sleepwalking behaviours, there’s usually no need to “treat” sleepwalking. But if the sleepwalking is frequent, causing problems, or your child hasn’t outgrown it by the early teens, it’s probably worth talking to your doctor.

Sleep tight. 

AVOID SLEEP DEPRIVATION AT ALL COSTS – IT’S SERIOUSLY BAD FOR YOU

Not wanting to be a harbinger of doom, but we thought it might be worth taking a moment to share with you the potential dangers associated with not getting enough sleep.

We all know that not getting enough sleep can make you grouchy, but according to Dr Chris Idzikowski from the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, sleep deprivation can:

• Destroy your mood
• Impair concentration and memory
• Cause fatigue, tiredness and irritability
• Result in increased weight and poorer glucose handling
• Make it harder to lose weight
• Cause a dip in your Emotional Intelligence (EQ) of 5% which affects your interpersonal, empathetic and stress management skills
• Increase anxiety and stress levels
• Result in difficulty in coping with life’s demands
• Lower your ability to complete tasks
• Cause you to struggle with job performance, social life and family life
• Make you less willing to accept blame as a means of alleviating conflict
• Cause you to react more aggressively and emit more blaming responses when faced with frustrating situations

And if that’s not enough to want you to go and have a lie-down, scientists have discovered that a prolonged lack of sleep increases the chance of heart disease by 48% and strokes by 15%.

(It’s all down to the hormones Ghrelin and Leptin, which control appetite and are more plentiful when you’re sleep deprived. Poorer sleepers tend to eat more and are more likely to be obese, so are at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.)

Top tip: Leave stuff on the do-list, don’t watch another episode from that Box-set, do accept that a candle burnt at both ends will burn out quicker and GET TO BED!