Wednesday, September 10, 2014
In the next few weeks, our blog will give an in-depth look at the most common tips for getting a good night’s sleep. Iowa Sleep will help you learn what steps you can take to better improve your sleep and the reasons behind each step.
If you’ve read our tips for getting a better night’s sleep in past blog posts, you may have noticed that limiting caffeine and alcohol consumption before…
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
If you’re like us here at Iowa Sleep, you’ve been asking what a fitness monitor such as the Fitbit, Jawbone Up or BodyMedia FIT can do for you. We know these devices monitor a myriad of activity, whether that’s exercise, sleep or your normal day-to-day activity such as the number of steps you taken since waking up. But we just had to dig a little deeper…you know, really unearth the value these…
Monday, June 30, 2014
When you plan your family vacations, you probably have a full list of activities to schedule, but have you allowed enough time to sleep and recharge between activities? Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule on vacation will help you feel refreshed while you’re away and once you return – especially if you’re traveling with small children.
To get the most out of your family vacation and keep…
Monday, June 23, 2014
When planning your next getaway, consider a sleep vacation.
Sleep vacations, which are rising in popularity across the world, typically involve a hotel package that includes a consultation with a sleep expert, physical/mental relaxation exercises, aromatherapy and overnight sleep monitoring. Upscale resorts and hotels in Europe have popularized these holiday retreats, but a sleep vacation is…
Monday, June 16, 2014
The Summer Solstice – the longest day of light in the year in the Northern Hemisphere – will arrive on Saturday, June 21. Late light at this time of year encourages us to stay awake longer, often making it difficult for children and, sometimes adults, to get a full night’s sleep.
Most children resist going to bed when the sun is still shining. Yet they often persist in waking up in the early…
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
We’ve told you about how Fitbits can help your sleep, but now sleep tracking for iPhone and iPad users will require little more than downloading the phone’s new operating system, iOS8, this fall.
Apple announced on Monday that iOS8 will include a health-monitoring app called HealthKit, which can log the user’s footsteps, heart rate and sleep patterns. Don’t panic if you already have a mobile…
Monday, June 02, 2014
The proliferation of personal fitness monitors used to measure sleep has prompted researchers to study the accuracy of these devices.
Dr. Montgomery Downs, a sleep researcher at West Virginia University, conducted a study designed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Fitbit when compared with the polysomnography and standard actigraphy tests used by sleep doctors for diagnosis of most…
Friday, May 30, 2014
If your family has a history of heart disease, it’s more important than ever to be aware of sleep disorders and their side effects.
Although the connection between sleep disorders and heart conditions is not fully defined, there is a relationship between the two. Sleep disorders have been associated with heart conditions such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, stroke, cardiac…
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
A quick note before answering: our free webinar on use of a personal fitness monitor is coming up! The webinar is from 12-12:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 5. Register at www.insightsaboutsleep.com. Watch from the conveniences of your office or at home!
Back to the question
Personal fitness monitors—including the Fitbit, the Jawbone UP and the Nike Fuel Band—are big business. Sales in the United…
Monday, May 05, 2014
It’s time to celebrate, but we’re not blowing up balloons or baking a cake. Instead, we’re planning our May schedules in a way that will allow us to get a full seven to eight hours of sleep every night in honor of Better Sleep Month.
The Better Sleep Council designated May as Better Sleep Month in 1985 with the original goal of selling more mattresses. A good mattress is certainly important to…