Cotton

[caption id="attachment_387" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Cotton bolls ready for harvest[/caption]   Cotton is made from fibers in the seedpods of plants in the Gossypium genus of the Mallow family. The name "cotton" comes from goz, Arabic for "soft material." From Arabic comes the Spanish algodon, then English cotton. Cultivation of cotton is as old as civilization in Asia, Africa and Central America. It was introduced into what is now the United States in 1556 in Florida...

Mattresses, Beds, and How We Sleep

by Wesley Vaughn   [caption id="attachment_342" align="aligncenter" width="397"] Sealy Mattress and Box Spring[/caption]   It is common knowledge that we need sleep, and that—for the most part—several factors determine whether and how we sleep. Among these factors are time of day, how tired we are, physical condition, medication, diet, amount of light, noise, vibration and motion, warmth and cold, pain and comfort. Even knowing this much, it is easy for many people to...

Quality Sleep: How to Get a Night of Rest and Restoration

by Wesley G. Vaughn If someone tells you, "It's not how long you sleep, but how well you sleep," they're half right. It's both. Research studies show us that quantity and quality of sleep are correlated and work together. We cannot have quality sleep unless we have enough sleep. On the other hand, staying in bed for a certain amount of time does not automatically provide us with much needed rest, relaxation and restoration. Sleeping long but not sleeping well may be called "Empty Sleep...

Benefits of Sleep: The Importance of Rest

Proper rest, including quality sleep, is vital to our health and well-being. It is not only an issue of personal health, but one of safety. The Department of Transportation has regulations limiting the amount of time commercial drivers can operate their vehicles without time off for rest. Numerous airline, maritime and industrial accidents have been blamed on operator fatigue. Lack of rest also affects workplace efficiency. Office workers sometimes nod at the desk, with a long string of one...

Adjustable Beds: Adjusting for Health and Comfort

By Wesley Vaughn   Adjustable Beds: Adjusting for Health and Comfort When adjustable beds became available for home use, they were commonly called “hospital beds.” This was only natural, since until that time adjustable beds were primarily used in hospitals. The first adjustable beds were beds with adjustable side rails, first used in English hospitals in the early 1800s. Then beds could be tilted with either the foot high (Trendelenburg position) or the head high...

The Great Mattress Cover-up

By Wesley Vaughn [caption id="attachment_270" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Cover of WJ Southard Archetype mattress[/caption] Ever since the transition from woven sleeping mats, mattresses have been covered. Whether filled with sawdust, straw, or feathers, a cover—also called ticking—defined the shapes and dimensions of the earliest mattresses. The role of the cover was to hold the loose materials in place. The first cover materials were whatever was available where the mattresses...

Memory Foam Mattresses – Good or Bad?

By Scott Braddam [caption id="attachment_249" align="aligncenter" width="302"] Hand Impression in Memory Foam[/caption] Since about 2004, when I bought my current memory foam bed, I’ve been sold on the benefits of memory foam. There is truly no other feeling in the world which is close to sleeping on memory foam. Memory foam is like sleeping on silk sheets, unless you’ve done it, you can’t possibly understand why people rave about it. My bed is a pure foam bed, meaning no springs...

Wooden Coils: What Will They Make Springs from Next?

By Wesley Vaughn What are innerspring coils made of? “Steel,” we say. Other options are: Stainless steel, titanium steel, titanium alloy, or some other metal alloy. That is it! Or it was—until now. Among the new mattress companies at the Winter Las Vegas Market in January 2014 is VitalWOOD USA, the U.S. distributor for VitalWOOD, a division of Hungarian manufacturer Bio-Textima. This family-owned firm developed the wooden coil as an alternative to metal springs, releasing it...

Microcoils

[caption id="attachment_199" align="aligncenter" width="242"] Leggett & Platt "Softouch" Microcoil[/caption] Definition Microcoils (or minicoils) are coils which are smaller than standard innerspring coils. Innersprings are usually 6” to 8” high. Some microcoils are 4” high, but most are much shorter, usually 1” to 2½” high. They are also narrower and made with lighter gauge wire. Some microcoils are only ¾” tall. At least one supplier calls the shorter ones...

Mattress Foams – Part 2

(Continued from Part 1) The three major kinds of foam used in mattresses are polyurethane foam, visco-elastic memory foam, and latex foam. Each kind of foam has variations. First, there are different ingredients in these foams. Then there are different densities and firmness levels. Now gel is infused into different foams to add desired characteristics. Polyurethane Foam Polyurethane (PU) foam is made by linking large molecules, usually isocyanates, to each other with modified oil...

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