Whether or not we’d like to admit it, we are all guilty.  Between email, TV, cell phones, and various social media platforms, we leave ourselves very little time to sit down and let our brain relax.  Our accessibility to information, technology and social networks has increased our engagement with smart phones, smart TVs, tablets and other electronics.  Our ability to be connected and accessible to work, friends, family and other contacts at any time of the day has our mind on edge.  Often times cell phones are never turned off for sleep; instead they end up on our night stand, in our beds or under our pillow.  Our obsession of staying connected has reduced the quality of sleep we all need to live a healthy and productive life. 

The over exposure to electronics has started at such a young age it is not uncommon to see pre-teens with cell phones, and social media accounts.  Technology has forever changed the way we communicate but is it changing how we sleep as well? A nursing professor at Villanova University is concerned that for some teens, cell phones have taken over a whole new aspect of life. To these teens texting has become something more than second nature; it’s become an activity of the unconscious. Teens have reported sending texts into the wee hours of the morning when they were seemingly fast asleep. It is not until the next day that they realize the odd, and sometimes inappropriate, texts they had sent the night before.

Sleep used to be a restful time when we could escape the stresses of our daily lives but our overdependence on technology has landed our cell phones and ipads in bed with us. Experts say that ditching these devices at least a half an hour before bed may actually improve our quality of sleep. Technology has wedged itself into every aspect of our daily lives, are we going to let it take our sleep as well?

I challenge you to take the Electronics Curfew Challenge!  For one week only, try turning of all your electronics in your bedroom 30-45 minutes prior to going to sleep.  After you wake up record your observations and share them with the Mediflow Community via Facebook or Twitter (@MediflowPillow #ElectronicsCurfew).  

I am starting the Electronics Curfew Challenge tonight (February 25^th).  I will be tweeting about it @MediflowPillow hash tag #ElectronicsCurfew, and posting to the Mediflow Facebook page; so check out my observations and see if you agree. 

Give yourself an Electronics Curfew and start taking your sleep back!

We’ve all heard people tell harrowing nighttime tales of alien abductions, visits from ghosts and even demonic possessions. Maybe you’ve even experienced an episode yourself. Well, good news – that most likely was NOT Lucifer at your bedside.

The scientific explanation is sleep paralysis – a short period of time during which voluntary muscle movement is inhibited, but ocular and respiratory movements remain intact. In other words, you can see your surroundings, and sometimes even feel or see a presence in the room with you (enter: aliens, devils, Elvis etc.) but you cannot move your body.  Essentially, your mind is awake, but your body and muscles are still in REM sleep.

A recent study published in Sleep Medicine Reviews  examined thirty-five different studies discussing lifetime incidents of sleep paralysis. The most interesting conclusion was that while the odds of sleep paralysis occurring in the general population are less than eight percent, the chances of incident are higher among both college students and psychiatric patients.

While I’m sure there is a joke to be made about the similarities between psych patients and college kids, the one thing they definitely have in common is a strong likelihood for disrupted sleep. Those with poor or irregular sleep patterns, including sleep disorder sufferers, are more likely to experience sleep paralysis.

So what can you do to protect yourself from nighttime demonic possessions? Do your best to avoid irregular sleep patterns and get as much QUALITY sleep as possible.  Mediflow waterbase pillows are clinically shown to improve sleep quality  – you will fall asleep faster and experience less tossing and turning. The less you disturb your REM sleep, the less vulnerable you become to sleep paralysis. Your body…and soul will thank you!