Sleep Healthy

Farewell, Professor Earnheart

 

Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, Wickford, RI Showroom Manager

In all the time-consuming work and fun of establishing the showroom in Wickford, Rhode Island, a very important detail was left out – my training! Being around 130-miles away from Kittery, I couldn't easily see Chris or Rachel in action, so I had to rely on the product knowledge I attained from reading and from information sessions by Chris on her visits.

Well, there was a realization – I was missing something big! I never learned what it was like to BE a customer. Well, Chris came down to visit on Friday and we did some role-playing. She played a customer and I gave her my pitch. She gave me a critique and pointed out what I did well and what I needed to improve on. One of my favorite descriptions she used for me was “Professor Earnheart”, she said it was like listening to a lecture! Although having information is useful, having too much information can be a dizzying experience. Then I played the customer and Chris attended to my needs. It finally clicked, it was like someone turned on the lights in a dark room. I wanted to be attended to, not pressured.

So, in order to correct this default information giving mode, as Chris referred to it, I am going to invite you into my showroom, find out what you are looking for and help find a mattress that fits YOU. It is, and always has been, all about you! It is my goal to make sure you have the perfect fit, the absolute most solid support and comfort, walking away satisfied with information and a good feeling that will help you make a thoughtful decision.

The professor has retired.

Quest for a Better Rest

Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, Wickford, RI Showroom Manager

Nothing like starting the day off with a little procrastination, right? Who doesn't love the snooze bar? It allows you those precious extra nine minutes of subconscious bliss. However, what if you were able to axe the alarm clock and steer clear of the snooze bar?

Well, it's certainly possible because your body runs on a constant 24-hour clock called a circadian rhythm. These rhythms are existent in plants, animals, fungi and even bacterium and govern the biochemical and physiological processes in living entities. Essentially, your body's clock knows when you should wake and sleep and your resistance to natural calls to rest can have adverse effects in your life.

There are some things you can do restore your circadian harmony:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time: Yes, even on weekends! Adhering to a schedule can reinforce your body's natural sleep-wake cycle, making you less dependent on your alarm clock.
• Don't eat or drink in large quantities before bed: Your digestive system needs to process food and drink and whenever you consume anything, it is converted into useful energy. No one needs excess energy while they are trying to go to sleep! Also, if you're prone to heartburn, refrain from eating spicy foods as they can agitate heartburn flares, preventing you from a restful sleep.
• Make your bedroom a sleeper's haven: That means ditching the TV, the laptop, the BlackBerry® -- this place is for sleeping. Turn down the lights, turn on a Natura Sound Machine, activate your National Sleep Foundation Bedroom Machine and drift into a clean, healthy and pleasant sleep. If you don't get to sleep after fifteen minutes, get up and do something until you get tired. Lamenting over your inability to get to sleep will cause anxiety and further you from experiencing your best rest.
• Sleep primarily at night: If you're a napper, limit the nap to 30 minutes. Long periods of sleep during your normal "wake cycle" steal hours from your "rest cycle", this causes a disruption that can lead to a lack of regenerative sleep. Of course, if you work at night and sleep during the day, ensure that you block out as much light as possible in your sleeping environment to allow your body's rhythm to adjust accordingly.
• Select a comfortable mattress and pillow: If you aren't comfortable, it is guaranteed you are not going to get the replenishing sleep you need to go about your daily routine. One of the most essential pieces of the sleep environment is the mattress. Find one that offers sufficient release to pressure point tensions and support your body, adjusting to your movement. The Clean Bedroomoffers a variety of organic mattresses and pillows to help you reach a more revitalizing sleep. In fact, our newest and exclusive mattress, the Oyasumi, was designed especially for pressure point reduction and unyielding support to offer a truly recuperative rest.

For more information about sleeping habits, sleeping tips and finding your ideal sleeping environment, please visit www.bettersleep.org

Oh, you saw me on our Oyasumi?

One of our favorite manufacturers visited us earlier this summer and asked, “If we were to create the perfect mattress for our showroom floor what would it be? The answer was easy, “Give us the Green Sleep comfort and elegance for a price people could more easily afford.” That’s exactly what we got.

 

Our new Oyasumi (Japanese for “good night”) is not only beautiful to look at, it is heavenly to rest on. Each sleeping partner chooses their comfort, with plenty of options from medium to firm. We here at The Clean Bedroom all have our favorite side - most of us prefer the medium/soft. The guys seem to like the firm/soft.

 

The Oyasumi comes fully assembled. Inside cores are individually wrapped to protect the latex and assure they work independently, not as one big block. The outer stretch knit fabric gives with your body, meaning the layers work more effectively. These are features that distinguish our high end Green Sleep system but our Oyasumi is priced about $1,000 less.

 

Best of all, it’s fun to watch customers as they lie back and say, “Ahhh, this is heaven. And, how much did you say it was again?”

 

Come take a test rest at our Kittery showroom. And, let us know what you think.

Water, Water Everywhere...but not a drop to drink.

 Guest Blogger: Michael Earnheart, Wickford, RI Showroom Manager
 

Water, the most basic of human needs: I thought about it today as I neared the bottom of one of the many bottles of water I consume throughout the day. Industrialized nations have little difficulty finding water, we simply open the refrigerator or the tap and out comes wonderfully refreshing, filtered and clean drinking water. It this everyday simplicity that allows us to easily forget that there are those that live in our world who lack this absolute necessity.

None of us have ever been thirsty, we never had to walk out of our front doors and battle blistering heat for over five miles to retrieve a small gourd filled with water, but as I said before, some of us are very thirsty. Let me throw out a number, how about one billion? One billion people do not have access to clean water. That is over three times the population of the United States. None of these people chose the situation they live in now, not one of them asked to grow up in a village where the only source of water was a polluted swamp or stand hours in queue waiting for their turn at a well, only to learn that it is empty. Yet in modern and industrialized nations across the globe, clean water is available to everyone -- even from a toilet.

charity: water is a non-profit organization founded on the basic principle of bringing drinking water to
developing nations. The necessity for water is not merely hydration, but sanitation. Eighty-percent of diseases are caused by unsafe an non-sanitized water and is also responsible for more deaths than all forms of violence, including warfare.

The ease of access to safe water will allow these families spending a great deal of their time tracking down safe water sources to do other things -- like grow crops, send their children to school and share their knowledge of fresh water and sanitation with other villages. It is an investment that has limitless growth potential and can have profoundly long-lasting effects on many lives.

My mother introduced me to this organization and we are both active donors, when I talked to her about this blog she told me that one of the best things about this Non-Profit is that 100% of the donations collected are DIRECTLY used to fund freshwater projects.

Learn more from their website charity: water