Ear Plugs for Light Sleepers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 19, 2010 -- Recent research has shown that heavy sleepers are less disturbed by noise at night because their brains produce more "spindle" patterns during sleep, which stops the brain from registering certain noise levels.

The research also showed that lighter sleepers produce less of these sleep spindles, but there are steps that light sleepers can take to stop noise from waking them.

Alpine SleepSoft ear plugs from Ascent Hearing Care could be an effective way for light sleepers to get a good night's rest even despite noise from traffic, or a snoring partner.

But why are heavy sleepers naturally able to sleep through noise without using ear plugs? The answer may be in sleep spindles, as new research suggests.

The sleep study was carried out by researchers at Cambridge Health Alliance, Brigham And Womens Hospital, the University of Liege in Belgium, Harvard Medical School and Massachusets General Hospital.

Sleep spindles are a certain pattern of electrical activity in the brain during non-REM sleep.

Scientists have found that these spindles can prevent noise from stimulating the brain and waking us. It was found that the more of these spindles someone produces throughout the night, the less likely they are to be woken by noise.

The aim of the study was to see if people whose brains naturally generated more spindles could sleep through louder noise. The sleep stability of the volunteers was measured using an EEG test, which records the electrical activity in the brain.

In the study 12 young adult volunteers were monitored in a sleep lab for three nights. During the first night they slept in silence, and in the second and third nights the sound of traffic and a ringing phone were played as they slept.

Noises were played for ten seconds at a time, starting at a volume of 40 decibels and getting louder every thirty seconds until EEG measurements showed that the brain was disturbed from its sleeping patterns.

The volunteers whose brains produced more sleep spindles during the first night of the study were found to have a higher resistance to noise on the second and third nights, and were able to sleep through more noise without waking up.

The researchers concluded that those with higher spindle rates had more resistance to sound, and said that it is possible to predict how well someone can sleep despite noise.

The findings may help to benefit future treatments that could improve spindle rates in poor sleepers, and help them to get better sleep.

The results may be useful in developing future treatments for people who are prone to poor sleep in noisier places, such as homes on busy roads. However these treatments may take years to develop and benefit people who are suffering from poor sleep.

The research concentrated on the effects of noise on young, healthy adults but not those who suffered from sleeping problems.

Sleep spindles and noise tolerance decreases with age, so that sleep problems can become more common in older people.

However there are alternative methods that could help people of all ages who are finding it difficult to get good, restful sleep.

Many people use ear plugs as an affordable solution for a better nights sleep. But many struggle with sleeping ear plugs which are uncomfortable to wear all night, and can often block out the sound of the alarm clock along with traffic noise outside or a snoring partner.

However there are some ear plugs that will allow you to hear sounds like the alarm clock, while filtering out other noises to keep them from disturbing your sleep.

These are Alpine SleepSoft ear plugs, which use an in-built sound filter which sieves out the loud sounds that might be stopping you getting a decent night's sleep.

There are also a few other small things you can do to give yourself a better chance of good sleep:

Stay warm. Leave the heating until last thing at night, or wear something warmer to bed. Your body doesn't have to use up as much energy keeping you at a good temperature, so you are more likely to drop off. It hasn't been a particularly warm summer, so make sure you're toasty before you go to sleep.

Mind what you drink. Alcohol and caffeine are common-sense things to avoid before sleep, since caffeine technically puts your body in panic mode and alcohol will keep your liver working all night in order to cope with it.

Watch what time you're eating at night. Your stomach can spend hours digesting a plateful of food, especially when it's ready to clock off for the night after about seven. If you go to bed on a full stomach then it has to work overtime, slowly, for most of the night.

Make sure it's dark enough. If there's a light on then your eyes are still trying to pick up visual information, and that means your brain is still having to make sense of it. You can't switch your brain off, but you can reduce to a minimum the amount of information it's having to deal with. The same goes for light from outside, and the solution is often quite low-tech: a thicker pair of curtains.

When it comes to your ears, unfortunately there is no off switch. Any noise that your ears picks up is keeping your brain awake to make sense of it. Your brain then has to decide whether it should do something about the noise or not - and this can go on all night, even while your conscious mind is asleep.

The noise needs to be filtered out, not blocked, so that the signals to your brain are decreased. This is where filtered ear plugs, like Alpine ear plugs, are better than old-fashioned ones. And because they don't completely block high-frequency sounds, you still hear your alarm clock beep in the morning.

We have made Alpine Sleepsoft ear plugs available on our online shop, because we believe that they are the best ear plugs to help people get a better nights sleep.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact us - we'd be happy to help.



About Ascent Hearing Care
Ascent Hearing Care provide a high quality hearing aid and hearing care service in high street centres across the UK.

Our Registered Hearing Aid Dispensers are some of the most experienced hearing specialists in the country. They are highly qualified and specialise in a more personal level of professional care, whether providing a client with a state-of-the-art custom-fitted invisible hearing aid or carrying out a free hearing test.

www.ascenthearing.co.uk is a comprehensive hearing and hearing loss information resource, and features an online shop for products designed for users with hearing loss. Everything from amplified alarm clocks and phones to filtered ear plugs and ear wax spray are available for fast, secure mail order purchase.

Press Enquiries
Steve Elles
0161 495 3650
steve.elles@ascenthearing.com

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