A recent study made by researchers from Duke University in North Carolina states that women need more sleep than men and that they tend to suffer more, mentally and physically, than men If they have to wake up suddenly. When women don’t sleep enough or have to wake up without having rested properly, their body swells which makes them to be in pain. According to the research, the quality of rest is directly related to the risk of suffering from heart diseases, depression and psychological problems.  However, they also state that men health doesn’t seem to be connected to the length or quality of their sleep.

Other studies say that all these differences between men and women come from women brain’s activity. Women have a multi-tasking brain which is able to perform multiple activities simultaneously; that’s why their brain requires from more time to rest and recover which makes obvious why the recovering sleep is so vital for them. One of the main functions of sleeping is that, while resting, the cerebral cortex (the outermost sheet of the brain and the one in charge of thought, memory, language, attention and consciousness) disconnects from the senses and moves into a recovery stage.

Thus, in general women tend to perform several activities at the same time, which means that they use a wider part of the brain than men. That’s why they need to sleep more than them. Generally speaking, women tend to need at least 20 more minutes of sleep than men, though it depends on each one’s lifestyle and body. In case of not getting enough rest at night, specialists recommend to have short naps (25 to 90 minutes) to compensate it.

In a previous post we talked about the fact that what we eat before going to bed can affect the length and quality of our rest. Besides food, we need to consider other factors which may affect our sleeping time quality, such as stress, environment or physical and/or mental activites.

Several studies state that between 10% and 15% of adults have some troubles falling asleep and a third of them turn to use pills to solve this problem. What is not so well known is that most of the prescribed pills against insomnia have side effects such as lack of attention or memory. That’s why it is very important to reduce as much as possible (if not avoid) its consumption and try to fall asleep on the traditional way.

Specialists in sleeping medicine say that the key factor to sleep well is in the two hours before going to bed. To enjoy from a restful sleep, you should not use your mobile phone or computer just before going to bed. It is not recommended either, the everyday more common habit of taking work home as it creates stress and a lack of work disconnection which ultimately affects our rest. It is also important to set some limits such as consider the bedroom as a place where to sleep, not to work. Therefore, it should be a comfortable place, electronics-free.

Finally, it should be also said that for a proper rest, establishing a routine is very important: we should try to schedule (and follow) our going to bed and waking up time and other daily activities such as dinner. Following a routine of relaxing activities the hours before going to bed will help us to unwind and relax. Therefore, it is highly recommended to practice yoga or take a warm bath while it is not to practice strenuous exercise or consume stimulants before going to bed.

When choosing the perfect pillow, besides considering the outer and filling fabrics, it’s highly recommended to consider how firm do we want or need it. Pillows can be classified depending on their firmness in: soft, medium and firm.

To choose a pillow properly, the general rule is the same as the one for choosing the proper mattress: the right one is the pillow that feels more comfortable and keeps our backbone in a natural position. The choice of one degree of firmness or another should not be random but be directly related to our physical constitution and our usual sleeping position. Therefore, the first thing to determine, after considering our level of corpulence, is which this common position is. To identify it, we just have to think about what is the position in which we find more often when we wake up: face up, face down or on our side. Depending on the response, we will have a starting point for choosing our perfect pillow.

If we sleep on our side, the pillow should allow us to keep the neck on a horizontal position, aligned with the backbone, neither higher nor lower. It will be recommended, therefore, a thick and firm pillow to counteract the height of our shoulder. If we sleep face up, we need a medium pillow that fits the natural curve of our neck, not too thick or too thin because it would make us acquire an unnatural and forced position.

If we spend most of the night sleeping face down, then we should choose a soft pillow where the head and neck could keep rotated in a natural, comfortable and not harmful position. For the ones that have ants in their pants, the medium pillow will be their best fit. Therefore, if you are curious about knowing which of the Velfont’s pillows is your best match, you can start our test clicking on: www.velamen.com/ideal/

While sleeping, our body releases constantly water vapour due to the natural process of body’s perspiration. This moisture can reach the mattress which, as it cannot be washed, has to be protected with a mattress protector that can provide us with a hygienic and comfortable sleep. With the summer around the corner and the high temperatures almost here, it becomes even more necessary to protect the mattress from moisture and sweat to keep it in the best conditions. The best option is, then, to use a waterproof and breathable bed sheet to protect the mattress against liquids and to let the mattress breath.

The Velfont’s waterproof and hyper-breathable Respira bed sheet is made with 100% extra soft combed cotton and a unique membrane of hyper-breathable polyurethane. Its main function is to keep the mattress protected from liquids and to allow a perfect breathability degree, combining protection, hygiene and comfort all-in-one product. This is possible thanks to its very thin waterproof lamination, which is a step further in the evolution of technology regarding the mattress protection.

Thanks to the hyper-breathable polyurethane membrane this bed sheet is at least 4 times more breathable than traditional waterproof protectors, besides, it allows the protection of the mattress while lets it breath on a higher degree. This new generation of Velfont’s waterproof and hyper-breathable items offers a degree of breathability unique in the market. That’s why the Respira is the best fit to the upcoming summer nights’ high temperatures.

The Respira bed sheet is available in a wide range of colours (white, sand, blue, pistachio and many others) in order to let you choose the one that suits the best your bedroom decor. So this summer, provide your mattress with colour, hygiene, protection and breathability with the Velfont’s Respira bed sheet.

What happens in people’s mind has always been a mystery that psychologists, scientists, physicians and specialists of the human body have always wanted to solve. Moreover, understanding how our brain works and what happens in there while we’re sleeping has always been one of the biggest challenges of the scientific community. New curious facts have been provided regarding dreams.

Our rest can be affected by what happens in our brain while sleeping. Who hasn’t ever woken up from a nightmare? A recent study says that women have more nightmares than men and that those nightmares are more tragic and with more negative emotions than the men’s ones. Those nightmares also tend to involve family members and usually are developed indoors instead of outdoors. Another recent statement confirms that dreaming erases the pain. During the REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) the brain processes the daily emotions while softens the negative or painful memories. This is because the chemical substances that produce stress are inactive during the sleeping time and that’s why we are more relaxed.

The content of dreams can be influenced also by the smells we perceive while sleeping. German scientists proved with a practical study that a pleasant smell generates more positive dreams than an unpleasant one. It makes sense, then, to say that the sleeping brain looks like the awaken one. While dreaming, the brain works just like while we are awake or, at least, in terms of neuronal activity.

We all know that we need to sleep and eat well to perform properly in our day to day basis but what very few probably know is that eating well is also necessary to sleep better and more hours. What we eat hours before going to bed can have an impact and, in fact, determines the duration and quality of our sleep.

What to eat for dinner or just before bed affects the quality of our sleeping time. There are some meals that help to sleep better and it is important to know which meals are they and to include them in our diet. For instance, fish, eggs, chicken, turkey, soy or dry foods promote satiety and the drowsy feeling. Going to bed by being hungry is a very unpleasant feeling that can alter our rest avoiding our full capacity the next day. Besides, not having a properly rest can affect the decisions we make regarding the food we are going to eat. People who sleep less are more likely to consume more energy-dense foods, such as fats or refined carbohydrates, in order to be able to perform as they are required regardless their inadequate rest. Furthermore, it is more likely that they’re going to have fewer vegetables and more irregular eating patterns. Having a short sleeping time is associated with weight gain and obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and poor performance.

A perfect dinner to have an adequate rest might start with leafy vegetables (chard, spinach or lettuce); will continue with grilled fish, an omelette or turkey and, finally, fruit or dairy products as a dessert. Before going to bed, it is highly recommended to take a relaxing tea adding a teaspoon of honey. By having a balanced diet, besides being in good health, you will have a better rest.

Whatever the type your pillow is, you should do your best on taking care of it in order to keep your pillow in the best conditions and, as a result, prolong its life. That’s why the Team Velfont recommends protecting your pillow with a pillowcase: to maintain its properties and features intact and protect it from stains and dust.

The pillowcase protects the pillow from stains, moisture and bacteria and, moreover, contributes to keep it clean and in good condition during a longer period of time. A pillowcase should be easy to put and clean in order to make its use and maintenance process easier and keep it in the optimal conditions. In the end, if we use the appropriate pillowcase and we keep it in good a condition, it will play its role perfectly otherwise, our pillow might suffer the consequences of an inadequate, low quality or poor conditions pillowcase.

In Velfont, we have a wide range of pillowcases all with different properties but all with a common goal: to protect your pillow and keep it intact over use and time. The zipper is a very useful and practical element in the pillowcases: it makes the process to put on and take off easier and protects and insulates the pillow from dirt, bacteria and other external elements. The 100% cotton fabric pillowcases are the most common but there are also other pillowcases such as the one made with bamboo thread with natural anti-bacterial properties, very soft and extremely absorbent, and the pillowcase made with an anti-dustmite treatment to ensure the hygiene of the pillow while offering an effective protection against allergies.

In any case, the pillowcases help us to keep stains, moisture and bacteria away from the pillow and, from our point of view, they do it perfectly. That’s why we really think that the pillowcase is a must on our bedding products.

There is not a perfect pillow for everyone but each person must find the one that suits its constitution, preferences and sleeping position. It is not the same to sleep face up or face down than on your side, and not everybody has the same constitution nor preferences for materials or pillow tissues. It must be highlighted that the perfect pillow for each person is the one that allows head, neck and back, that’s the entire spine, to be aligned in the same position as when standing up.

That’s why here in Velfont we have a wide range of pillows, so each person can find the one that suits the best its needs and preferences. There are three major groups of Velfont pillows: latex pillows, fiber pillows and memory foam pillows. Latex pillows are made with ecological and natural materials, very elastic and undeformable. Latex can easily recover its shape after having supported weight or being under pressure. This enhances the cervical position and provides more comfort during the night. It also helps with the level of breathability of the pillow.

Fiber pillows, besides being very breathable, are also very hygienic since fiber is a material that prevents from the accumulation of malodors. In addition, the fiber is light, fluffy and has a resilient form. On the other hand, memory foam pillows (aka viscoelastic pillows) enhance the cervical position as they are made of a fully ergonomic and undeformable material that react to body temperature and weight adapting itself to the head and neck of the person and memorizing its shape. The memory foam pillows help with relieving the pressure on specific areas of the body and promote an anatomically correct position while resting.

So, whatever your constitution is and the way you sleep, you can find your perfect pillow among the Velfont’s wide offer.

Even if spring is not here yet, days are slowly getting longer and we are able to enjoy of more daylight hours letting the cold winter nights behind. Probably, in a few weeks, many of you will ask yourselves: Is it time to change the winter Duvet for a thinner one or for a bedspread?

In winter, the duvet is perfect due to its lightweight and because it provides us with a comfortable temperature all night protecting us from the cold winter. Also makes it much easier to make the bed every morning; with a couple of stretching the bed looks perfect. However, when temperatures begin to rise (usually with the arrival of spring), the winter duvet becomes a bit uncomfortable because it provides us an excess of heat that keeps us from sleeping and resting properly. It is, therefore, the time to make a decision: It’s time to change the duvet. A good option is to change the duvet we have used all winter for a lighter one which will keep us with warm with the right temperature over nights. If during the winter we use a duvet of 250-400 g/m², a 125 g/m² duvet in spring will be more than enough.

If even with the lighter duvet we still feel too warm, we can always go for the traditional bed sheets and summer bedspread. The advantage over the duvet is that if we are hot during the night, we can always get rid of the bedspread and sleep only with sheets. The downside, making the bed won’t be as easy and fast as with the duvet.

During the winter, the duvet is one of the main products that help us to get protected from the low temperatures in the bed. Therefore, now it’s a good time to refresh some good advices on how to keep it in the best conditions and use it in the proper way. Even though sometimes we don’t pay enough attention, it’s very important to choose the right duvet to give us the comfort and wellbeing in bed that we’re looking for. Moreover, we have to take care of the duvet as good as we can in order to keep it as if it was brand new after several uses.

It is important to remember that during the months we use the duvet, we need to ventilate the room daily to help release the moisture that has been accumulated overnight. To help with the evaporation of this moisture, we can also hang the duvet on the outside only, of course, if it’s not a rainy day or an especially wet one. If you ventilate daily the duvet and you use it with a duvet cover, you’ll see that you don’t need to wash it very often. Depending on the type of filling, it can be washed at home or you may need to take it to the laundromat. So, if it is a fiber-filled duvet, it can be washed at home at low temperature and always bearing in mind to use a soft soap and without bleach. Following these recommendations, the duvet might look brand new after every wash. Regarding the drying, it can be dried in the tumble dryer with a low heat cycle or outdoors in places with low humidity. The duvets filled with feather or down, for its delicacy, it’s recommended dry-cleaning or to take them to the laundromat; otherwise, if they do not dry completely, the moisture from the inside can ruin them.

Finally, note that it is not recommended to sleep or sit on the duvet to avoid an unequal distribution of the filling. If that happens, the duvet will not fulfill its main functions: provide us warmth, comfort and protection from the cold winter.