Jet Noise Could Harm Sleepers

We all know that living near an airport - especially right under the flight path - can keep you awake at night. Now it seems that even when you do get to sleep the noise could be damaging your health.

New research published in the European Heart Journal has shown that jet noise can cause a rise in blood pressure (BP) whilst asleep. The BP of volunteers was measured remotely and showed an average increase of 0.62 mmHg in systolic blood pressure during aircraft noise. The researchers conclude:

"Effects of noise exposure on elevated subsequent BP measurements were clearly shown. The effect size of the noise level appears to be independent of the noise source."

The "independent of source" comment is interesting. The research showed that increased blood pressure was associated not just with aircraft noise but also from traffic noise - and snoring.

Tropical Comfort Introduce "Comfort Cube"

The Tropical Comfort company of California has announced the launch of a new product: the patent pending "Comfort Cube" mattress.

The new mattress is designed to combine the advantages of memory foam with the flexibility of an adjustable air bed. It's also non-mechanical - no springs or mechanical parts to go wrong.

So how does it work? The clever design consists of six cubes, three on each side of the bed. Each cube has firm memory foam on one side and less dense foam on the other. So to adjust the firmness on your side of the bed - or just part of it - you simply unzip the top cover and "flip" the relevant cubes.

Tropical Comfort offers custom OEM and complete marketing program for America's top 20 bedding retail chains.

Sleep Deprivation Might be Linked to Weight Gain

Great news from the American Thoracic Society: Getting a good night's sleep might help you to keep slim.

Research presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference followed 70,000 women over 16 years. The researchers - from Ohio's Case Western Reserve University - found that those women who regularly slept for five hours or less were a third more likely to put on 33lbs over the period. Short sleepers were 15% more likely to become technically obese than those who slept longer.

Of course, a link does not necessarily mean causality. However the researchers are convinced that their results had nothing to do with short sleepers taking less exercise or eating more.

In fact, the short sleepers in the study tended to eat less that the others - and still put on weight.

Possible explanations for the results include changes in hormonal activity caused by sleep and people who sleep less being less prone to involuntary daytime activity such as fidgeting.

Whatever the reason, the research does suggest that getting a good night's sleep might be a useful part of a weight control regime for some people.