Iowa Sleep Blog

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.   When your mind is racing and you’re constantly thinking of your to-do list, it can be difficult to relax and prepare for a restful night’s sleep. However,…

Technology is everywhere, and increasingly, it’s found in children’s and teens’ bedrooms. Checking social media from a smartphone, watching a TV show on a tablet, or playing a video game may seem harmless, but these devices have a significant impact on your amount and quality of sleep. They often are used past a person’s planned bedtime, and their light and sounds have the potential to disrupt…

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder that targets the lower half of your body, and triggers unpleasant sensations of throbbing, creeping, pulling and the urge to move them around. These symptoms usually occur at night when you are relaxed and trying to fall asleep. The tingly, creeping or pulling sensations keeps almost 10 percent of the U.S. population up at night, making sleeping…

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…

You’ve heard the phrase “sleep is the best medicine,” but sometimes sleep, or more specifically, sleeping well, is the problem. If that’s the case, then exercise may need to be your next prescription. An active lifestyle can help treat or prevent multiple sleep problems, such as obstructive sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and insomnia.  Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) OSA is a sleep-related…

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…

 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…

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…

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…

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…