June 7, 2011. Paul Hixon
We are living in an age of information overload, overwork and too much overtime. Is it any wonder that many of us are too stressed out to sleep well at night? The physical requirements of getting a good night’s sleep are quite well-known: regular physical exercise, a regular sleeping schedule, enough morning sunlight when you wake up, a healthy diet, avoiding alcohol and caffeine at least six hours before bedtime, proper relaxation, and a comfortable bed.
The problem is that most of us office workers do not have the private time needed to do things right. Our office work intrudes into our life way too much, so if we want to sleep better, we need some kind of shortcut.
What kind of shortcut? There are several good choices available. Melatonin supplements, herbal sleep supplements, and relaxing herbal teas like chamomile work well for many people and are pretty cheap in the short run. However, after our bodies adapt to them, their effectiveness tends to drop after a while. Relaxation exercises like progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and autogenics also work very well. But both of these techniques need quite a great deal of training and conditioning. When you first start out, you will probably need at least one hour before you see any effects. To reach the peak effectiveness, i.e. complete relaxation within 10 minutes, most people will need six months of regular practice.
Fortunately, for those willing to spend a bit more, there is a simpler and faster shortcut – sleep on a more comfortable bed. But what is the most comfortable bed? There are actually three different types: water beds, air beds and memory foam beds. The first is very expensive and very heavy, too heavy for the floor loading of most apartments and multi-story homes. The second can be cheap, but tends to leak easily. The last, memory foam beds, are also expensive, but do have a cheaper version that is almost as comfortable, the memory foam topper.
What are memory foam toppers, also called memory foam mattress pads, among other things? In reality, these are nothing more than thinner mattresses made out of memory foam, originally about 1-1/2 inches to 3 inches in thickness. We can find even 5 or 6 inch thick toppers in the market nowadays. Depending on where and when you buy one, it can cost under $50.
So how do you use a memory foam pad? You simply place it on top of your regular mattress and then sleep on top of it. Although not as comfortable as a water bed or a whole memory foam mattress, it still makes a very noticeable difference. It really works best if your current mattress is the firm type. Don’t worry, you will not lose any back support. The memory foam topper pad gives you the comfort of a soft mattress while retaining the spinal support of a firm mattress. However, it does not work so well if you have a soft mattress.
If you want to sleep better at night, there are many ways to do so. Buying a memory foam topper is one of the fastest and simplest ways if you are impatient. And unlike more questionable products like magnetic mattresses, it is not too expensive.
Updated June 7, 2011. Published February 24, 2011. Paul Hixon
