Why is your mattress such a key component in your daily recovery?
Here’s why:
We sleep in “cycles” of approximately 90 minutes, transitioning between 4 different stages of sleep.
STAGE 3 SLEEP (DEEP SLEEP) IS WHAT YOU NEED TO SPEND THE MAXIMUM TIME IN, IN ORDER FOR YOU TO GET THE MAXIMUM PHYSICAL RECOVERY FROM YOUR TIME ASLEEP.
Here are what the 4 Stages of Sleep look like.
Stage 1, Awake
Stage 1 is the time that you spend transitioning from being awake into light sleep.
You are in Stage 1 when you go to bed before you fall asleep and at points during the night as your sleep moves through the 90 minute cycles.
This should be the stage of sleep that you spend the least amount of time in.
Stage 2, Light Sleep
As you transition into light sleep you will physiologically change in the following ways:
Your respiratory rate slows and heart rate decreases
Your temperature begins to fall
Your muscles relax and may twitch
You transition into different stages of sleep
Stage 3, Deep Sleep
Deep Sleep (Stage 3 sleep) is where your body recuperates. For active people this is where they want to maximise the amount of time.
Blood pressure drops
More blood is directed into the muscles
Growth Hormone is released
Muscle growth and tissue repair takes place
The brain flushes waste
In Level 3 Sleep it is more difficult to waken up, and if awoken you will typically feel groggy and disoriented
STAGE 3, DEEP SLEEP IS THE “HOLY GRAIL” FOR ACTIVE PEOPLE. THIS IS WHERE YOUR BODY RECOVERS. THIS IS WHERE FITNESS IMPROVES. THIS IS WHERE GAINS ARE MADE.
THE MILE 27 MATTRESS IS DESIGNED TO HELP YOU TO MAXIMISE YOUR TIME IN LEVEL 3 SLEEP.
Stage 4, REM Sleep
While your brain is aroused with mental activities during REM sleep, the fourth stage of sleep, your voluntary muscles become immobilized.
REM sleep begins approximately 90 minutes after falling asleep. At this time:1
Your brain lights up with activity
Your body is relaxed and immobilized
Your breathing is faster and irregular
Your eyes move rapidly
You dream
The keys to recovering well during sleep and feeling refreshed when you waken are:
Create a sleeping environment with as few external interruptions as possible.
Use a mattress which reduces pressure points so that you don’t need to change sleeping positions during the night
Use a mattress which prevents overheating causing sleep disturbance
If you use an alarm set it to waken you either 6 hours, 7.5 hours or 9 hours after you go to sleep – in other words at the end of a 90 minute cycle when you will be in stage 1 or 2 sleep.