Bose Created Noise-Masking Sleepbuds to Help You Sleep Better at Night

From House Beautiful

Nothing, and I repeat nothing, is m ore infuriating to me than not being able to sleep due to noise around me. Whether it's a snoring bed partner, construction work outside, or a loud roommate, I'm sure many can relate to the frustration. In personal experience, I've tried bulky sound-cancelling headphones, or blaring music in my AirPods loud enough to drown out the noise-and well, those methods are both extremely uncomfortable and probably awful for my ears.

Bose Sleepbuds, on the other hand, are tiny, wireless earphones designed to stay in place throughout the night. The noise-masking Sleepbuds seal off unwanted noise (like excessive snoring), while playing sounds "that have been optimally tuned to mask those noises that interfere with your sleep," according to the product description.

The Sleepbuds eliminate the need for a sound machine, since you can choose to fall asleep to the sound of rolling waves on the beach, rustling leaves, or the crackling of a campfire, to name a few. Within the Bose Sleep app, there's an entire library of different sounds-some for noise-masking and others for relaxation.

To design the Sleepbuds for the most comfortable fit, Bose used 3-D scans to better understand ear geometry. The tiny earbud conforms to the upper ridge of your ear, so the tip stays in place throughout the night, even for side sleepers. There are three ear-tip sizes (small, medium, and large) that come with the Sleepbuds, so you can see which best fits the shape of your ear.

The rechargeable battery on the Sleepbuds provides up to 16 hours of use (more than an entire night of sleeping). The earbuds come with a charging case, too, that stores and charges the Sleepbuds when you're not using them.

After you choose which soothing sound you want to sleep to, you set your volume level, and decide how long you want the Sleepbuds to play during the night. You won't have to worry about the earphones masking your alarm-you can set one through the Sleepbuds.

One reviewer on Amazon said, "they fit, they stay in, you can sleep on your side with the pillow pushing the earbud into your ear-and thus they do what all other ear buds fail to do." The same review, though, complained about the price (given that the earbuds don't even play music). Also, the reviewer noted that the only way to control the volume is through the app, which requires that yo u use your phone in the middle of the night should you choose to adjust the volume in your ears.

For more information on the Sleepbuds, check out Bose's website.

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I want a producer who doesn’t want to sleep with me – Feli Nuna cries out

Speaking on Class Drive, the Gelaway' singer has been reported by classfmonline.com to have said that "I want an executive producer who does not want to sleep with me but who wants to bring me money and work with me"

READ ALSO: Whose business is it if I had sex with Lil WIn? - Efia Odo

Felicia Nuna Tawiah, further detailed that ever since she left her former record label, Beehive Entertainment, other labels that come her way has people who show interest in having a sexual affair with her.

"I've had a lot of offers from people who want to invest in my craft but they all say: 'Your waist is nice', or 'you are a nice girl', and at the end, sometimes they might not start from the beginning but it always gets there and I always complain," the 28-year-old musician lamented.

READ ALSO: Girls strip naked to jam to "wrowroho" song

Davi Diva continued that she's been facing this sex for music deal challenge ever since she started pursuing her career. Feli Nuna suggested that female entrepreneurs should invest in female acts to save them from these sexual predators. 

"I've been facing this [challenge] from the outset of my career. I urge women who are financially sound to invest as well, they should also invest in other female artistes as well. Trust me, the music business is booming, you can make a lot of money from the music business if you take it seriously. More record labels focus on the show, not the business," she advised.

"All the male artistes you see, big men and influential people support them, so, does it mean that they also sleep with them? You are investing to get your money back; that is the same way you should approach it with a female artiste as well," she stressed.

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How to Fall Sleep Easily, Stay Asleep Longer, and Power Through "Sleep Inertia"

Getting a good sleep can be tough, and this can lead to feeling less than refreshed when you wake up in the morning. Falling asleep and waking up are brain processes we don't fully understand, but research suggests these transitions are a lot more gradual than the flip of a switch.

Even if you feel like you're unconscious until morning, sleep has a typical structure, cycling in and out of lighter and deeper stages. All stages of sleep are important for waking refreshed; if sleep is disrupted or you're not getting enough, waking up in the morning can be really hard.

Most adults need between seven and nine hours a night to ensure they're functioning at their best. Getting enough sleep is important for good physical and mental health. Getting enough good-quality sleep will ensure you wake up feeling alert and are more productive during the day.

See also: Body Clock Study Shows Mental Health Effects of Being a "Morning Person"

Everyday Habits That May Be Affecting Your Sleep

Bright lighting will help you get up in the morning.

Bright light in the morning helps reset your body clock and keeps your circadian rhythms ticking along regularly. To help keep your sleep/wake schedule regular and improve health and alertness, seek out bright light in the morning when you wake up.

In contrast, too much bright light at night can make falling asleep difficult. This is because bright light suppresses melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. This is why we don't advise the use of devices like mobile phones, tablets, or laptops in bed before sleep.

Digesting a big meal can disrupt your sleep.

Eating a large meal too close to bedtime can put pressure on your oesophageal sphincter (the muscles at the end of the oesophagus that prevent acid and stomach contents from traveling backwards from the stomach) when you lie down, causing heartburn that can disturb sleep. Eating your last main meal at least two to three hours before bed will ensure food is adequately digested.

Fluid intake should also be reduced prior to bed so you don't wake up needing to go to the toilet.

Avoid drinking alcohol too close to bedtime.

Alcohol can make you feel sleepy but consumed too close to bedtime can also disrupt sleep. The metabolism of alcohol during sleep causes more frequent awakenings, night sweats, nightmares, headaches, and decreased quality of sleep in the second half of the night. It's advised to avoid alcohol for at least four hours before bedtime.

Tips to Help You Go to Sleep and Stay Asleep

Reading will help you relax before going to sleep.

De-stress and wind down before bed. Try a warm bath or quietly read a book (old-school paperback, not the electronic version) and have a warm drink of milk. Exercising, playing computer games, and watching TV directly before bed is not advised as this can increase physiological arousal and amp you up before bed.

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Stress itself can affect sleep — relaxing and unwinding before going to bed can help prevent restless nights spent staring at the ceiling.

Try to wake up at the same time every morning.

Set a good sleep routine and stick to it. The body runs on an internal clock that controls sleep and wake. This internal body clock works most effectively if you have a regular routine. Try to set a consistent sleep and wake time and remember bright morning light is important to reset your body clock.

Create a good sleep environment — one that is quiet, dark, and cool with comfortable bedding and good temperature control.

A Bit of Grogginess Is Normal

The first 15 minutes after waking can be difficult for the best of us. That's because your brain is not yet working properly. This is called sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is the groggy feeling when you first wake up and occurs because some of your brain is still in a sleep state.

See also: A Creepy Robotic Cradle Worked Wonders on Sleep in a Weird Study

Sleep inertia helps us go back to sleep if we've been woken briefly. But if you're woken suddenly, say to an alarm or a telephone ringing, sleep inertia can impact your cognitive ability to respond to the alarm or phone. The magnitude of sleep inertia is affected by prior sleep loss, time of day, and if you wake from a deep sleep or not.

So if you're suffering in the morning and finding it hard to wake up, make sure to get a good sleep and allow a bit of time to gradually wake up in the morning.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Crystal Grant and Siobhan Banks. Read the original article here.

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How to improve sleep quality naturally

What is sleep? The dictionary definition is "a condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended."

But actually, sleep equals rest. And it's an important part of your daily life — most of us spend approximately one third of our lifetime sleeping. Without sleep you can not survive, and it's important for a number of brain functions, including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other. In fact, your brain and body stay remarkably active while you sleep. And it also plays a housekeeping role that removes toxins in your brain that build up while you are awake.

Sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in the body — from the brain, heart, and lungs to our metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance. Many studies have shown that a chronic lack of sleep, or simply poor sleep quality, can increase the risk of disorders including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.

There are four stages when we sleep. Stage 1 is the transition between being asleep and awake. Stage 2 is light sleep. Stage 3 is deep sleep, which is the most refreshing and the time for the body to repair its tissues. And stage 4 is REM sleep. This 4th phase is also known as paradoxical sleep, and it is the sleep state during which we have most of our dreams, and is also involved in the regulation of emotions and memory consolidation. REM sleep disturbances are common in mood disorders, such as depression.

Did you know, however, that our body actually does not really require sleep? It really only requires rest. That's why the quality of our sleep, and getting enough of the deep sleep phase, is the most important. I'm sure you have experienced too that sometimes even if you sleep for 9 hours you really didn't rest, and you will wake up feeling tired. Unfortunately, as we get older we get less deep sleep.

The circadian rhythm is our body's biological clock that directs a wide variety of functions, from daily fluctuations in wakefulness to body temperature, metabolism, and the release of hormones. It works together with our body's homeostasis to regulate when we are awake and when we sleep, causing us to be sleepy at night and a tendency to wake in the morning, without an alarm. Homeostasis is a state of equilibrium. Homeostatic sleep drive reminds the body to sleep after a certain time and regulates sleep intensity.

So how can we improve the quality of our sleep, and wake up refreshed, not tired? I'll mention some natural supplementation in a moment, but before I do of course first I want to remind you again that what you eat, and how much exercise you do, especially outdoor exercise, will hugely affect your sleep quality.

Our nervous system relies on neurotransmitters to communicate. During nerve impulse transmission, the nerve cells release neurotransmitters to communicate with neighboring nerve cells, triggering more nerve transmissions.

This network of communication allows for a range of nervous system functions such as muscle control, memory, and regulating our heart rate and body temperature.

The foods we eat affect our brain's ability to produce and metabolize neurotransmitters, and consuming enough nutrients such as protein, vitamin C, vitamin B (specially B2, B6 and B3) helps maintain neurotransmitter function.

Some of the following natural supplements may provide benefits too, however if you are using anti-depressant (SSRIs) or sleeping pills make sure to discuss this with your doctor before you try.

First, tryptophan is an essential amino acid, a precursor to melatonin and the neurotransmitter serotonin, and it is a safe and effective sleep remedy. It can positively affect various serotonin-dependent brain functions, such as sleepiness and mood swings, and is actually also a wonderful remedy for anxiety and depression.

Foods high in tryptophan include meat, fish, spirulina, seaweed, spinach, bananas, eggs, oats, dates, and pumpkin and sesame seeds. Tryptophan supplements are typically available in 500mg and 1000mg tablets and capsules. You can take it on an empty stomach, or two hours after eating to increase the absorption.

L-ornithine is a non-essential, non-protein amino acid. It plays a central role in the urea cycle which converts ammonia to urea in the liver, and has been known to enhance detoxification of ammonia. Recent studies are showing that it can improve our stress levels and sleep quality. It is contained in various foods, with small amounts in meat, dairy, fish and eggs.

Another potentially beneficial supplement is niacin (vitamin B3). The body uses this water-soluble vitamin in the process of releasing energy from carbohydrates. It is needed to form fat from carbohydrates and to process alcohol. It can also help cholesterol. However niacinamide (the flush-free form) does not.

Niacin can be very useful for adrenal support, working with the adrenal gland to make stress-reducing hormones, thereby helping the body relax by reducing anxiety and depression. It can be used as a natural sleeping aid.

Food sources for niacin include leafy greens, cashews, peanuts, fish, cremini mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus, eggs, and meat (especially organ meats such as liver). Some niacin is also found in whole grains. If supplementing then you can take between 50 and 250 milligrams about 30 minutes before bedtime for best results. Start with a small dosage, and be prepared that you may feel a tingling, blushing sensation and a hot flush for a short time — this is the normal "niacin flush."

In addition, you may also like to try valerian, passion flower, kava tea, and chamomile tea.

And finally, a few more tips to help improve your sleep:

w Try to sleep at the same time every day, and if you can, don't use an alarm clock.

w Do enough activity during the day, and use every opportunity to go outside and get fresh air.

w Don't exercise close to your bed time.

w Avoid caffeine and alcohol as you're getting closer to bed time.

w Relax before bed — try a warm bath, reading, or listening to relaxing music. When I was in school I was always listening to Richard Clayderman music, I found listening to the piano always made me relax, and my mom had to come to my room and turn off the music every night!

w Most importantly, don't leave any electronics in your bedroom — no TV, phone, clock with bright lights etc. Get them all out of your bedroom!

Lastly, and more importantly than any supplements, herbs or even medication, is to be good company with yourself. If you can not go to sleep, don't be angry at yourself, use this opportunity to learn how to relax, and learn what you need to do to heal yourself. Just take a deep breath, focus only on your breath, and listen … You are alive!

•••

Ayda Ersoy is a nutrition and fitness director at The Diet Doc Hawaii. She can be reached at DietDocHawaii.com, Ayda@DietDocHawaii.com or (808) 276-6892.

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Scientists are creating music to unlock your brain’s potential

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Dan Clark is the CEO of Brain.fm — functional music made to help you focus, relax and sleep better, backed by science. He is passionate about implementing helpful technology into our daily lives ...

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Insomnia? Listen to App-Based Bedtime Stories by ‘Extreme Sleep Adventurer’

Phoebe Smith has slept soundly on mountaintops and inside glaciers. Now she's sharing her secrets through the popular app Calm. Think bedtime stories for adults.

Smith has spent a better part of her life as an "extreme sleep adventurer." In fact, the U.K.-based travel author has written eight books related to sleeping in some of the weirdest places in the world. She's so good at it that the sleep and meditation app Calm recently tapped her to write and narrate bedtime stories for grown-ups.

To learn more, we caught up with Smith after a chilly visit to the Scottish Highlands. She explained how her "Sleep Story Collection" soothes buzzing adults to sleep like babies.

One Good Night in Australia

Smith didn't even grow up camping, aka sleeping outside. But one night over a decade ago while visiting Australia, she had the most remarkable night of sleep, drifting off while waiting for the sun to set.

"I got addicted," she said. "And that led to me traveling around the world and in my own country."

Since then, she has slept on mountains, glaciers, sea cliffs, and even inside a tree trunk. When she writes about her dreamy adventures, the crux is the tendency to end in profoundly deep sleep.

"I found that I slept really well on these trips, but not in my own bed," she said. Smith knew she wasn't alone. Research overwhelmingly suggests that people are more stressed, increasingly depressed, and sleeping less in the modern world. Insomnia is widespread.

"I realized that when in the outdoors you are focused on primal things like warmth and food, not emails and deadlines," she said. "All those modern things are pushed back in the outdoors. We're focused on staying alive."

And that is exhausting in its own special way.

The Best Sleep Stories Are Transporting

So Calm asked Smith to bring those extreme sleeping adventures into the bedroom. And she has delivered as much with her personal sleep series, some of which she narrates. Master storytellers like Stephen Fry narrate others.

Calm describes these sleep-inducing audio tales as a mix of words, music, mindfulness, and sound effects to help listeners wind down. "Writing about a place somewhere different and transporting people somewhere makes them gently let go of worries and concerns," Smith explained.

Her sleep stories transport listeners on her favorite extreme sleeping adventures. One follows a winding road to the ancient cedar forests of Morocco. Others explore the jungles of Madagascar and an outdoor network of huts in Scotland. One can even sleepwalk among the elephants in Nepal.

To date "Blue Gold" is Smith's most popular sleep story on the Calm app. She set the story in the lavender fields of Provence. "It's an iconic destination with these amazing fields that almost glow blue at sunrise," she said. "And we all know you're supposed to spray lavender on your pillow to relax and destress."

I don't know about you, but I feel like a nap already.

Phoebe Smith's Outdoor Sleep Kit

An adult bedtime story is great. (And you can download the Calm Sleep Stories on your phone to go.) But not everyone sleeps well in the wild. So what guarantees a good night's rest when sleeping outdoors? Smith says knowledge, practice — and the right gear.

"I invested in a good kit," she said. "I never skimp on a tent, sleeping bag, pad, hot drinks, and a change of clothes for sleeping. This tells your body it's in the process of getting ready to go to bed."

Her favorite trick on cold nights is filling a Sigg as a makeshift hot-water bottle. Load it with boiling water, wrap it in a sock, and put in your sleeping bag. See what else Smith takes when sleeping outside here.

By Julie Kailus Associate editor Julie Kailus has spent a career covering people, places, and products in the outdoor industry. Julie can be found testing the latest and greatest in her favorite activities — trail running, mountain biking, swimming, snowboarding, and the underrated endurance sport of chasing two sons around the mountains.

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Pet owners turning to CBD to help with hyperactivity, anxiety

Should CBD oil be given to pets in treats or food?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Many people are turning to CBD oils for everything from a sleep aid to muscle pain relief. Now the question is, is it safe for your pets?

Owner of Music City Hemp Store, David Duncan, says CBD oils for pets are quite popular with his customers. In fact, over the last few months he's sold more than 250 small bottles. He says most of his customers come in to help with hyperactive pets or pets with anxiety.

Duncan tells us you can just put it straight in your pets mouth or on their food.

But veterinarians are hesitant to give out CBD. That's because Richland Animal Clinic Vet, Dr. John Mark Russell, says there's not enough research on CBD effects on pets.

"We know anecdotal stories, we've heard clients talking about helping with seizures, arthritis, and anxiety but the science isn't there yet," said Dr. John Mark Russell.

If your dog is hyperactive, Doctor Russell says a good way to ease their anxiety is making sure they get lots of exercise.

Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Music's power over pain gives it the ability to heal

© Shutterstock

"People told me, 'You are changing me.' 'You are healing me,' " Emma Smith said.

This is the feedback Smith receives on her YouTube videos, which compile gentle sounds created by touching, tapping or stroking objects, such as hairbrushes and books.

These sounds can create an autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR. This is a tingling sensation, usually starting in the crown of the head and moving to other parts of the body.

© Courtesy WhispersRed ASMR Smith creates ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos, she taps and strokes everyday objects, like a hairbrush, to create gentle sounds that can help listeners sleep, relax or concentrate.

"Everyday objects all have a sound," Smith said.

The experience is caused by a range of "triggers," including whispering, soft speaking, tapping, scratching, slow hand movements and close personal attention, reports one of the few studies into this phenomenon.

© Courtesy WhispersRed ASMR Smith uses singing bowls to create relaxing sounds during sound bath sessions.

Not everyone experiences ASMR. Smith believes it comes down to an individuals' sensitivity to sound.

But the experience was linked to a reduced heart rate and increased skin conductance levels, offering potentially therapeutic options for mental and physical health, according to a 2018 report. Another study has shown that ASMR videos can temporarily ease symptoms of depression or chronic pain in listeners.

The experience is about "noticing things around you" and helping people become present, she said.

As someone who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2013, Smith turned to YouTube in search of relaxation videos herself to help her sleep and feel at ease. "If I was able to sleep and be calm, I was able to focus on my therapy," she said.

Today, Smith helps more than 670,000 video channel subscribers relax, sleep and handle pain or stress by using everyday objects to create ASMR-inducing sounds.

A form of mindfulness

The exact nature of ASMR is not understood, according to a report by Swansea University, in the UK. One theory is that the tingles some people experience result from a minor seizure, but this has not been investigated.

The Swansea report found that participants who had depression used ASMR videos specifically to help them with their condition. ASMR can improve mood in depressed people because it can be considered as a form of mindfulness, according to the researchers.

People focus on the positive feelings created and focus exclusively on the present task, explain the researchers. This is similar to other mindfulness practices, like meditation, that have been shown to improve depression and chronic pain.

ASMR also helps people rest, sleep, study or focus better, Smith said. A state of pure relaxation helps people function well, she says.

Tones to relax with

Sleeplessness and insomnia is a global problem. A recent study found that people who get an average of only six hours sleep per night had a 13% higher mortality risk compared to people who enjoyed seven to nine hours. 2014 CDC figures revealed that over one third of Americans struggle to get enough sleep regularly.

It is therefore not surprising that people are searching for means to relax and help them sleep.

When it comes to healing or providing calm, lighter tones are usually beneficial for relaxing the head area, while deeper tones usually relax the body's bones, said Smith who now runs sound therapy sessions that involve people lying down and listening to chanting, gongs or other instrumental sounds.

After a session, most people shared with Smith that they feel refreshed, balanced and more relaxed.

Smith explained that many people feel transformed as a result of being at peace for an entire hour, without any interruptions. "When we are completely relaxed our body works at full capacity, so it is able to heal itself," she said.

'A massage for your mind'

One year ago, Laura Franses founded Crystal Sound Lounge in London which holds regular gong and sound bath sessions.

In a good sound bath session there will be no interruptions. If that is the case, around 75% of people reach an altered state, like a dream-like trance, according to Franses.

Franses encountered people with depression who reported feeling better after sound baths as it helped with relaxation, while people with physical injuries shared with her that they were able to relax for an hour and forget about the pain in their body.

She believes that a sound bath is essentially a "massage for your mind" and people leave feeling pampered and very relaxed, which produce a wide range of positive outcomes in people.

Studies into the effects of sound baths are limited, with one 2016 study observing that 62 participants felt less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed after a sound bath, especially in first-time users.

Lyrics over painkillers?

Sound healing may be a relatively new phenomenon, but the idea of using sounds or music to address pain has been around for much longer.

Music has remained popular throughout history because of the emotional impact it has on people and its power to help regulate emotions, according to research by Daniel Levitin, professor of psychology and music at McGill University in Montreal.

The effectiveness of using music to deal with physical pain has also been clinically proven. Studies on people who underwent medical procedures, such as cardiac, colonoscopy or knee surgeries, show the patients who listened to music after their surgery having lower levels of anxiety and a lesser need for painkillers.

In one 2006 study, one group of patients who enjoyed music after their surgery was shown to need 18.4% less morphine than patients who were not exposed to music after the procedure.

This is mainly because music has the power to lift people's mood, Levitin said. A positive mood, in turn, affects peoples' serotonin production, which boosts production of natural killer cells and T cells -- both vital for a healthy immune system.

A different analysis compared the prevention of anxiety before scheduled surgery by either taking benzodiazepine sedatives or using a relaxing playlist put together by a licensed music therapist. Both groups in the trial received the same amount of care, but researchers found that the group who listened to calming songs had significantly lower anxiety levels.

Rachael Finnerty, a music therapist based in Ontario, explained that this is down to pain being an emotion, affected by a person's emotional well-being.

"Music is such a good distraction to pain," Finnerty continued, because "when we are listening to music we are processing the memories and the emotions that are related to the music which makes it much more difficult for us to process the memories and emotions associated with the pain." Because of that we can impact pain perception through music, she said.

Both music and pain use the same neurological pathways, meaning that music can override the emotions and memories that are needed to evoke pain, Finnerty explained.

Soft music that averages 60 beats per minute can be used for relaxation and to lower anxiety because our autonomic nervous system, in charge of breathing and heart rate, is engaged by music, Finnerty said. If patients focus on the music, they start to breathe to the beat of music, and their heartbeats will start to change to the beat of the music, she said.

But if the music played is linked to negative emotions, the patient will not see benefits, she pointed out. That's why using a chosen selection of music rather than one the patient has no control over will "always have better results," according to Finnerty.

Music in the wake of trauma

While we are all very differently affected by music, people can benefit from music as they are dealing with emotional stress or trauma.

In the wake of the "Black Saturday" fires in Victoria in 2009, the most devastating bush fires in Australian history with 173 deaths reported, music therapy was used to help young people navigate the tragedy, a 2011 study says. Participants' music therapy sessions included songwriting, sharing and discussions of music.

Music therapy was an effective choice because children don't have the cognitive abilities to verbally process their emotions, but they can identify and express their feelings in music, Finnerty explained.

Music therapy offers an outlet to recognize and process emotions, according to Finnerty, who founded an education platform, the Ontario Music Therapy Academy. Through the song or lyric improvisations children can be in control. By working through the song content and changing it to reflect their situation or how they would like to feel, it will help them change their perception of the traumatic event, she explained.

Ultimately, music is effective in healing humans through a variety of means, because of its multiple yet unique effects on our mind.

It is next to impossible to listen to music and not have some sort of emotion evoked, FInnerty said.

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Sleep problem? 10 things to make you sleep faster Part I

Sleep disturbances and chronic sleep disorders are incredibly prevalent in modern society, and if you're tired of tossing and turning through the night, we've got some insightful remedies to put an end to your anguish. Here's part 1.

Here, take a look at six (six of 10) remedies to make you sleep faster Part I:

Reducing the room temperature can help you fall asleep because when we sleep, the temperature of our core decreases, while the temperature of the feet and hands increases.

So, be sure to maintain the temperature between 60-75°F to avoid tossing and turning through the night. If you share a bed with a partner, communication will become a key to make sure that both of you on the same page.

Yoga is an ancient art to promote relaxation and calmness, and scientific research has lauded its ability to improve sleep quality. With the help of relaxed breathing and flexible body movements, yoga aids in reducing stress and tension, which tend to trigger sleeplessness.

If you have insomnia, avoid taking naps in the day as it will cause you to sleep poorly at night. This often tends to be difficult as insomniacs tend to feel drowsy during day time. Even if you must nap, don't sleep for more than an hour. Most people need between 30 minutes to an hour of a nap to feel rested and energized.

This is considered the most potent breathing technique to relax the body and wash it over with calmness and serenity. It will help you relax your nervous system before sleeping. You begin by placing the tip of your tongue behind the front teeth and use your mouth to exhale. Then, close your mouth and use your nose to inhale as you count to four, hold your breath and count till seven. Now exhale through your mouth and count till eight.

These are two more ancient arts that have been associated with deep relaxation and promoting quality sleep for centuries. Meditation aids in boosting melatonin levels within the body, and aiding the brain in helping drowsiness without much difficulty.

Many patients suffering from chronic sleeping disorders, particularly insomnia, are advised to listen to relaxing music to help them fall asleep. Buddhist music that consists of Buddhist chants and meditative tones is a remarkable sleep-inducing tool, and you can also experiment with other sedative music genres.

In the next article, we will look at four more remedies (hacks) that we believe are far more effective. Please note, these remedies or hacks are more effective if done as a routine every day or night.

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Why Are Women Underrepresented in Music? Look to the Ryan Adams Story

It’s a tale that’s been told a thousand times before: A young, idealistic woman meets an older, more powerful man. He says he loves her work and promises to help her career. She’s charmed and convinced. Butâ€"surprise!â€"there’s a catch: He wants to sleep with her. Maybe she wants to sleep with him too, maybe she doesn’t. She might feel that she doesn’t have any other options to get ahead. Or, even worse, she’s forced against her will. Eventually, predictably, things turn ugly.

The latest (public) version of this story concerns Ryan Adams, as revealed by a New York Times exposé published earlier this week. Several women, including Adams’ ex-wife, the actress and singer Mandy Moore, the singer-songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Courtney Jaye, and, heartbreakingly, a teenage musician from Ohio identified only as Ava, all recounted similar tales: Adams would allegedly lure them in with promises of artistic advancement, only for the relationship to turn sexual and him to become controlling, manipulative, and obsessive.

“For Ava, the idea that she would be objectified or have to sleep with people to get ahead ‘just totally put me off to the whole idea’ of being a musician, she said,” reads one of the more devastating parts of the Times story. “She never played another gig.”

What might’ve happened if things had turned out differently for Ava? The Times describes her as “a gifted bassist since the age of 9,” who was “road-tripping with her family to Manhattan for gigs with established musicians” by 12. She says that she began communicating with Adams on Twitter when she was 14; over the next two years, they would text and video chat, initially about her career. Later on, he solicited photos from her and once appeared naked when she called him on Skype. (The FBI opened an inquiry into their relationship the day after the Times’ report was published.) If she hadn’t been derailed by Adams, maybe Ava would be in a band right now, making vital, inspiring music. Maybe she would be on her way to becoming the next Kim Gordon or Meshell Ndegeocello or Tina Weymouth.

Similarly, Courtney Jaye is quoted as saying of her interactions with Adams, “Something changed in me that year. It made me just not want to make music.” Mandy Moore, who was married to Adams from 2009 to 2016, described an emotionally abusive relationship in which “music was a point of control.” She abandoned her recording career because of it; she hasn’t released a full-length since the year she married Adams.

Up until a couple years ago, the Times’ investigation might not have happened. A rock star acting like a creep towards women seeking his help? Business as usual. The entire history of popular music is paved with tales of abusive and predatory men, from John Lennon and Led Zeppelin to Tupac and Dr. Dre, on and on and on. Sex with underage girls has not only been normalized, it has been celebrated. (Almost Famous and Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” don’t exactly hold up in the #MeToo era.) This stuff is baked into the DNA of the industry. Ask any female musician if she has experienced anything like what Phoebe Bridgers, Courtney Jaye, or Mandy Moore describe, and she’s likely to have a story of her own to share.

How many lives have been ruined by coercive men and their protectors? How many women stopped working in music because of them? And how much great music did we lose in turn?

When having to put up with everything from sexual assault and physical abuse to what Bridgers once described as “emotional motion sickness,” it’s no wonder some women change paths altogether. Alice Glass has spoken about “romanticizing working at Burger King” rather than continue in her former band, Crystal Castles, alongside her alleged abuser. When breaking her silence in 2015 about her alleged rape by Kim Fowley in 1975, when she was 16, former Runaways bassist Jackie Fuchs told the Huffington Post, “I know from personal experience how all those things can eat away at you. They can take vibrant young people and turn them into something else.” She left the music industry and pursued a career in law. (When she became a four-time “Jeopardy” champion late last year, Fuchs told Pitchfork that the experience of coming forward about Fowley had helped prepare her for being in the spotlight of a game show.)

When women do press on, they are tied to the consequences forever. Lady Gaga has talked about the PTSD she still suffers, after being raped by a music producer when she was just 19. Kesha has spent the past five years fighting in court against Dr. Luke, who she claims drugged and assaulted her. Halsey read a heartbreaking poem at the 2018 New York Women’s March detailing her history with abusive men, culminating in the revelation that even her fame couldn’t protect her.

What if R. Kelly had actually mentored the young women he lured in by promising fame and fortune, from the 15-year-old he met at his old high school in 1991 to the women allegedly currently being held in his “sex cult”? What if the label employees who say they were sexually harassed by ex-Republic Records president Charlie Walk and ex-Epic Records head L.A. Reid had been left to do their jobs in peace? What would have become of R&B singer Michel’le’s career if she hadn’t been abused by Dr. Dre (her ex) and Suge Knight?

“I think sometimes about the size of a library full of the books that weren't written, the movies and shows that weren't made, the music that was never played because of the way marginalized and vulnerable creative people were treated,” Linda Holmes, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, tweeted in the wake of the Times’ Ryan Adams report. “I mean, there's a good chance you never heard what would have been your favorite band.”

Every time another headline pops up about how women are underrepresented on the charts or in music production or missing from festival lineups, we should think about the countless gatekeepers who, instead of helping women, used their positions for sexual gain at the expense of their targets. This casual abuse of power is the norm in music, a grey area unlikely to be dealt with by a male-dominated industry still just wading into #MeToo. But the Ryan Adams account is a necessary reminder that this is what many women deal with, at one point or another, in pursuit of their dreams. The more often these difficult stories are told, the less abusers can hide behind feigned ignorance and weak, deflective apologies.

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3 Benefits to Improving Sleep With Proper Ear Plugs

If you have not been sleeping well at night due to distraction by noise, it's high time you considered investing in ear plugs. In fact, it's hard to fall asleep when there is too much noise in your neighborhood that is often made by hooting cars and loud music. Once you have inserted them into the carnal of your ear, you will not be able to hear the noise that's made by your snoring partner or any other noise from your immediate environment. The plugs are actually not new because they have been around for some years. Fortunately, the plugs are made using soft material to prevent them from irritating your ears.  And since they are small in size, you can wear them when travelling for long distances. Here is a list of wearing ear plugs when going to bed.

Boosts Memory and Concentration

If you have not been sleeping well, you will eventually start forgetting things. This is because your brain is not getting the rest it requires to be able to store stuff. Besides that, lack of quality sleep due to noise usually causes your concentration levels to dwindle. In fact, you will not be able to focus on something for at least 20 minutes. Even if you try your best, you will end up dozing before you are done with whatever you are doing. This can be very risky especially if you operate a machine or if you are a driver. There are actually many people that die due to road accidents that are triggered by fatigue. To spare yourself from such trouble, it's advisable you invest in proper ear plugs for sleeping. This will ensure that you rest without being disturbed by any noise.

Guarantees Improved Performance

Lack of sleep causes your productivity to go south. Whether you are an athlete or an employee, your performance will never be the same when you start compromising on your sleep. Under normal circumstances, your muscles get worn out while you get involved in normal work duties such as carrying things around. These muscles get repaired when you go to bed. However, lack of sleep denies them an opportunity to heal. If you don't do something about your quality of sleep, you will not have energy to work for the long run. If you are an athlete for instance, you will no longer be able to participate in vigorous training. This will in return hurt your career and make you feel wasted.

Helps in Preventing Diseases and Weight Gain

When you start sleeping for at least 5 hours, your body will be less vulnerable to diseases. This means that your immunity levels will go up. According to scientific studies carried out in the recent past, people who don't get enough rest are more likely to suffer from lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. And that's not all. Such people tend to be more obese because they eat more often to cope with their cravings. When you get enough sleep, you will not be tempted to eat more food because your body is able to conserve the energy that it gets from the little food that you eat.

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From the cardiologist to the baker: how busy people manage sleep

© Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images What are the best tips for getting a good sleep - whatever time it might actually be? Dr Shahid Aziz

Consultant cardiologist, North Bristol NHS trust, Bristol

© ER Productions/Getty Exercise, apps, and breathing techniques can help with sleep says Dr Aziz

I have always found sleep to be a physiological necessity for my mind and body to recover – a good sleep has a significantly positive impact on my sense of wellbeing the next day. When I started as a junior doctor, I accepted that working nights and being on call was part of the training culture. What I did not envisage was that I'd still be having interrupted sleep 25 years later.

My job as an interventional cardiologist means that I am often called into the hospital from home after midnight to deal with patients having heart attacks. Often I'm on call after a full day of routine work. Busy nights on call can take their toll on our physical and emotional wellbeing, and sleep recovery can take several days. I had a particularly challenging night recently when I was called in three times to deal with heart attacks and cardiac arrests. I felt too fatigued to go in for a routine day the next morning.

One of the challenges we face as doctors is to recognise when we should or shouldn't be working. To make high-quality decisions for patient care, including for procedure-led specialities, you have to maintain a sharp focus. As a consultant, I also have to provide leadership to staff around me and communicate well with patients and their families.

Routine: To help me sleep, I like to exercise. I go to spinning classes, the gym and do road cycling a few times a week. I have the Calm meditation app on my phone, which I use at night for a few minutes. This really helps me as I do stretching exercises. I write in my journal every night – it can be anything from random thoughts to reflections of gratitude. I avoid screens before bedtime and read 10-20 pages every night. Usually I fall asleep quickly but sometimes I use 4-7-8 breathing exercises to help me.

Harpz Kaur

Breakfast show presenter on BBC Asian Network

© Andrew Benge/Redferns Harpz Kaur

I'm definitely a bad sleeper and found it very difficult to overcome once I was given the breakfast slot. I decided to join yoga classes to help me unwind and relax. I train at the gym regularly so that I know I will be tired enough by the end of the day to naturally want to sleep.

Routine: Changing the ambience of my home has been important. To make it a more relaxed atmosphere, I have calm/relaxation music playing through my speakers and light candles around the room. These little things make big differences. And I also make sure I am not doing too much throughout the day. I've learned to put myself first and bear in mind that health literally is wealth.

Toyah Willcox

Singer and actor

© Lorne Thomson/Redferns HENLEY-ON-THAMES, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Toyah Wilcox poses for photographers at Rewind South at Temple Island Meadows on August 20, 2016 in Henley-on-Thames, England. (Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

I have always had disrupted, broken sleep. Over a year, I could count on my fingers the times I have slept through the night. I don't think my insomnia is fixable: I think it's in my DNA. I cannot emphasise enough how important exercise is. I have to do at least a three-mile fast walk a day, usually in the afternoon. Movement is incredibly important in helping my body use up my energy. When I'm disciplined enough, detoxing of stimulants and exercising is also a conscious part of my day.

Routine: I take books on learning to bed – music theory, colour theory – and usually my brain thinks, "Um, I think I'd rather turn off," than learn something. But my natural pattern is to sleep from 11pm-1am, then I'm awake till 7am and I only get into deep sleep at around 7-10am. Instead of lying there praying to go to sleep all night, I get up and work. At 4am you do feel a bit jet-lagged and brain-dead, but it's a very practical time to go through my emails, pay the bills, get rid of the mundane tasks. And there's times in the summer when I'm awake as the sun is rising and I think this is the best, this is absolutely wonderful. Of course, if you have a 9-5 job this is a real problem, but as a singer, it can work well for me.

Sarah Wood

Air traffic controller, Nats

© Emily Keegin/Getty Go through your regular routine, regardless of what time it is suggests Sarah Wood

At my operational unit, the shift pattern is two early mornings, two late afternoons and two nights, followed by four days off. This requires you to swing your body clock forwards and back by 12 hours at least twice a week, so there is always going to be an effect on your sleep. I'm an expert napper and don't find it odd to be sleeping at any time of the day or night.

The key to coping with such varied shift work is to embrace the inevitable changes to your lifestyle – don't fight it. I try to be kind to myself and plan my life activities around what sleep I can expect the next night. A lot of people struggle with staying asleep for long enough after a night shift to feel refreshed.

Routine: My tip would be that you should prepare for sleep the moment you leave work. I wear sunglasses on the way home (as long as it's safe to do so) and ask my husband to leave all the curtains closed. I would recommend going through all the little things you would normally do. For example, if you like a hot drink before bed or to read a book, then do so, and wear your most comfortable pyjamas and some warm socks – comfort really is king.

Martha Kearney

Presenter, BBC Radio 4's Today

© Eamonn McCabe/Getty Images Portrait of Irish-born English broadcast journalist Martha Kearney

Everybody asks me about my sleep pattern, so my friend Ben had a T-shirt printed for me. One side reads: "Actually I don't mind getting up at 3.30am." The other side says: "Thank you for asking."

But luckily I am a lark. I used to find working on Newsnight really exhausting – live on air at 10.30pm, then a few drinks afterwards with the producers in the Green Room. It was often hard to get to sleep afterwards. A low point came one night after work when I found myself watching Big Brother live – the contestants were all asleep. I definitely get less sleep as I get older.

Working on the Today show has had an effect too – it is very odd going to bed at 8pm, especially on New Year's Eve. Getting to sleep on the first night in a run of shifts is tricky.

Routine: I use an eye mask to block out the light, spray the pillow with lavender and put the radio on a timer. I also set three alarm clocks for 3.15am, after one morning when I overslept…

Jack Trigger

Sailor

© Damien Meyer/AFP British skipper Jack Trigger poses on his Class 40 monohull Concise 8 in Saint-Malo, western France on November 1, 2018, a few days prior to the start of the Route du Rhum solo sailing race - Created in 1978, the Route du Rhum, a solo race held every four years between Saint-Malo to Pointe-a-Pitre, in the French West Indies, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2018. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP) (Photo credit should read DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images)

Sleep is so unbelievably important in offshore sailing, probably the most important thing, in fact. Plenty of studies have shown what sleep deprivation does to you. When you apply that to solo offshore sailing, it becomes even more relevant. There is such a fine line in this sport between sleeping too little and underperforming or making errors as a result, and sleeping too much and compromising your performance.

If I don't get enough sleep on a race, the consequences are huge. Physically, it can make you more susceptible to things such as sea sickness. But more than that, there's a point where everything compounds and your body just says "no". But it's amazing what the body can do. My philosophy on sleep is to listen to your body. It's all about cognitive function. When I'm sleep deprived, I stop making good decisions. I also have type 1 diabetes. Obviously that can be very difficult with offshore sailing, but it's supposed to be challenging and it certainly isn't impossible. I enjoy proving that it can be done.

Routine: How much sleep I get at sea will depend on the length and nature of the race. If I compete in a race over 24 hours, I won't sleep at all. For a three-day race, I'll sleep a little but not much. For races over three days, I'll try to get some sleep from the beginning so that I don't overexert myself too early on. Generally, I'll sleep 20-40 minutes every 2-3 hours. The longest I'll sleep at any one time will be 40 minutes and, if you take a race like the Route du Rhum, which I've just finished, that was over 18 days. The longest I've stayed awake during a race is probably about 62 hours.

Alice Robb

Author of Why We Dream

© pookpiik/Getty Diary or notebook and vintage alarm clock on bed in bedroom at home or hotel, working or note something before sleep.

When I was 22, I went through a period of pretty debilitating insomnia. I was sleeping only a few hours a night and I was basically miserable all the time. I got through that, thankfully, but I never took sleep for granted again. In 2011, I happened to find a book by lucid dream pioneer Stephen LaBerge, and I used his techniques to induce lucid dreams (dreams where you are aware within the dream that you are dreaming). I found that experience mind-boggling, and wanted to learn more about what's going on in the brain during lucid dreams as well as regular dreams.

I started keeping a dream journal, and the entries quickly got longer and more detailed. Training myself to recall more of my dreams has improved my relationship with sleep. It's helped me appreciate that sleep isn't some dead zone – we're still thinking, fantasising, feeling. I went from being anxious about going to sleep to being excited to find out what I'd dream.

Routine: We dream every time we have a REM cycle – four or five times a night – even if we forget most of them. Devoting a minute or two a day to thinking about dreams, or a pre-bed thought for your intention to remember them, can improve your dream recall. But the easiest way is to keep a dream journal and write in it first thing in the morning – before making coffee, before looking at your phone, before getting out of bed. Any bodily motion or engagement with the physical environment can jolt you out of your internal world and erase your memories from the night.

Shauna Coxsey

Professional rock climber

© Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images Team GB Rock Climber Shauna Coxsey

I love sleep. I value it a lot and I am very careful to ensure I get enough. I think most people are guilty of underestimating the power of sleep. But as an athlete, sleep becomes even more important. We need sleep to recover, to recharge, to train harder, to get better at our sport. It's easy to view sleep as a necessity rather than value it as something that contributes to your wellbeing. I think a lot of people have an unhealthy relationship with sleep; in a world that seems to be getting busier and busier, we often seem to be resenting the fact that it's necessary.

Routine: I generally go to bed pretty early and rarely struggle to get to sleep. I don't use my phone in bed – I think that is the best tip I could give anyone. Having a good sleep routine leading into a competition really helps. I know I'm going in off a good bank of sleep, so if I have a bad sleep the night before, then that's OK. I see little point in getting stressed about not being able to sleep. I also know that I can perform well after a bad night's sleep because I've done it before.

Rebecca Spaven

Baker, Brick House Bakery, London

© eggeeggjiew/Getty 6pm is bedtime for Rebecca Spaven ahead of her early starts

When I do a bake shift, I'm in from 3am to 10.30am. Those solitary night-time hours are my favourite. I get to play music and work to my own rhythm, unsupervised. There's no better feeling than rewarding yourself for all your hard work with an early breakfast of an oven-hot baguette and butter. The hours fly past so quickly and by the time everyone else is waking up, my working day is almost finished. Walking out of the bakery into daylight makes me feel like I've somehow cheated the system and blagged myself a whole day off. The only downside is it can feel a bit like jet lag without having had the holiday.

You have to have a very rich inner life to be a baker. I've struggled with adapting my social life to my working schedule. Having a few days in my week where I have to say no to any plans due to early starts was tough to begin with, especially at weekends. I've struggled to find people willing to go out dancing with me on a Monday evening! 

Routine: If I've had a day off before an early shift, I always make sure I get enough fresh air and exercise to be able to fall asleep early-ish the evening before. There's no point in trying to get seven hours of sleep in as I'll just end up lying awake for hours, but the first shift of the week is usually easy to get through on willpower alone. Once I'm back into the rhythm of the week, I'll be so tired it's easy to fall asleep at 6pm. Luckily, there's an abundance of carbs and coffee and cake to keep me going through a long shift when I'm at work.

Ben Holden

Editor of Bedtime Stories for Grown-Ups

© Elva Etienne/Getty A bedtime story should be nothing to do with work, or Brexit, says Ben Holden

Once I became a parent I realised that, just as the human race is the most profoundly arrogant species to ignore billions of years of evolution and disregard its light-dark cycles, so can we grownups be very hypocritical when it comes to the bedtime routine we adopt for ourselves, as opposed to that we impose on children.

Routine: I would never dream – pun intended – of letting my kids use a device immediately before lights-out. My wife and I like to get them settled in bed early. We read together most nights (they are 10-year-old twins) – a story or a chapter of a book.

The oral storytelling tradition has prevailed since Ancient Greece and the bedtime variant is its most precious iteration. Moreover, various fairytale archetypes – such as that behind Jack and the Beanstalk – have been shown to date back more than 5,000 years. This is all quite primal stuff. Bedtime stories are a powerful, beautiful thing for a family and beneficial to all parties on every level. A good story told well, either aloud or not, takes the mind off things by rounding out the day's own narrative.

As for the perfect bedtime story? Nothing too compulsive – you do need to be able to put the book down – nor stressful. Ideally it should be something far-removed from work, too. And definitely nothing about Brexit.

Related gallery: 19 things bad sleep does to your body (Momme)

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Dozens sleep at Ramsey County Sheriff's Office to evade the cold

More than 50 people slept Friday night in the lobby of the Ramsey County law enforcement center, which was opened up for vulnerable adults to evade subzero temperatures.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher had opened up the lobby after the Union Depot, which acted as an emergency shelter during last month's polar vortex, was closed again Friday.

While the lobby will be closed to the homeless Saturday night, it could reopen if temperatures drop to dangerous levels again, said sheriff's spokesman Roy Magnuson.

"That's the commitment of the sheriff and the commitment of the county," he said. "We'll respond if it's life-threatening."

A total of 57 people slept on the floor of the lobby, Magnuson said. They were given bedding from the detention center and food from the kitchen.

"It was warm, it was respectful, there were restrooms and it was uninterrupted sleep," he said. "Possessions and other things were all safe."

People cleared out between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. Saturday, Magnuson said.

More than 100 people were staying overnight at the Union Depot during the polar vortex, Magnuson said. On Friday, deputies also took people from there to nearby shelters that had increased their occupancy limits.

Union Depot will again close at midnight Saturday, he said.

 

 

 

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Watch this Super Bowl commercial — it could give you a ‘brain orgasm’ (or put you to sleep)

A new Super Bowl commercial aims to calm frenzied football fans with oddly relaxing images of actress Zoe Kravitz whispering into a pair of microphones and softly tapping on a bottle.

The beer ad , which already has drawn more than 10 million views, stands to expose a vast audience to an internet craze known as ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response.

Some people spend hours watching videos of hair brushing, paper crinkling or “happy little clouds” artist Bob Ross painting because they say it makes their brains tingle. They report feeling a rush from the subtle, repetitive sights and sounds, but is it all in their heads?

Not everyone feels ASMR. And so far, there’s not enough evidence to recommend it as a stand-alone treatment for depression, anxiety, insomnia or any of the other problems its fans claim it solves.

But a few scientists are trying to study ASMR, and there is evidence that there might be something to it. And if any harm is done, it’s not financial: It’s usually free.

WHAT IS ASMR

Most people agree the sound of nails on a chalkboard is freakishly unpleasant. ASMR is described as an opposite feeling: a tingly euphoric response, usually starting on the head and scalp, and sometimes spreading down the neck, arms or back.

Triggers include videos of someone turning pages in a book, pretending to give an eye exam or tapping on a collection of purses .

Some call it a “brain orgasm,” though most say it’s not sexual. They say it’s deeply relaxing, making it different from goosebumps or chills. The feeling helps some people get to sleep.

“I’ll feel my eyelids start to droop. I’ll feel a tingling sensation start toward the top of my head and slowly travel down my neck to my shoulders to my fingertips,” said Robert Calaceto, 24, of Ridgewood, New Jersey, who uses it nightly before going to sleep and sometimes after work. “Listening to these videos helps my mind to mellow out.”

Craig Richard, author of “Brain Tingles” and a professor at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia, traces the history to 2007 when a post titled “Weird sensation feels good” kicked off a conversation in an internet health forum.

A Facebook group and YouTube channels followed. From the start, people shared their triggers: slow or quiet talking, chewing sounds, even teeth cleaning .

Today, millions subscribe to content from the most popular ASMR artists. Advertisers use it for products including Dove chocolate , Behr paint and IKEA . A hair-cutting scene in the 2017 movie “Battle of the Sexes” was designed to elicit the response. A live ASMR spa experience has launched with planned performances in New York and California.

IS IT REAL?

About a dozen research studies have been published. That’s not a lot in the world of medical science.

In England, University of Sheffield researchers found something surprising when they hooked up 112 volunteers to electrodes to gather biophysical data during ASMR videos: The tinglers seemed physically excited, but their heart rates slowed.

Half the volunteers were self-identified ASMR fans. They had greater reductions in their heart rates â€" by about 3 beats per minute â€" compared to the non-tinglers while watching the same videos. Their bodies became more excited, compared to non-tinglers, as measured by how their skin conducted electricity.

In Canada, University of Winnipeg researchers conducted brain scans of 11 people who experience ASMR and 11 people who don’t. The scientists measured which areas of the brain fired together when participants were lying in the scanner but weren’t watching any videos.

In the brains of ASMR people, they saw unexpected “teams” of neurons firing together, suggesting that normally distinct networks were blended together. It was as if “a few members of the Seahawks are trying to play outfield for the Mariners,” said Stephen Smith of the University of Winnipeg.

That could mean ASMR is similar to synesthesia, a better-known condition where people describe seeing music or numbers as specific colors.

PLACEBO EFFECT

Louisiana State University researchers tried to see whether the power of suggestion affected people’s responses to ASMR audio clips. It did, but only for the people who never before experienced ASMR.

The study involved 209 volunteers, including fans of ASMR recruited from the online forum Reddit. All were told about the ASMR effect and that they would hear three audio clips.

Half were told the audio clips were known to produce the effect. The others were told none of the audio clips had been shown to elicit ASMR. Some clips were ASMR-triggering sounds such as a whispering and tapping. Other clips were fakes: screaming and piano scales.

The encouraging instructions made a huge difference in those who’d never experienced ASMR before; they mostly felt tingles when they were told to expect tingles.

But ASMR fans weren’t fooled by the fakes or the misleading instructions. They reported more tingles when they heard legitimate ASMR audio, no matter what they were told ahead of time.

“In a way, it doesn’t matter as long as what the user experiences is relief or stress reduction,” said Megan Papesh, who led the study. “It seems relatively harmless and it is free, which is wonderful.”

WHAT’S NEXT

For ASMR to take hold in mainstream science hinges on whether the craze lasts long enough for researchers to find out whether it helps people with stress or other health problems. That kind of study is expensive and lengthy.

For now, Richard said the best way to think about ASMR is “supplemental intimacy.” It shouldn’t replace healthy relationships, but it can be used like a vitamin to improve mood.

A pleasant feeling caused by a soft voice, caring gaze, gentle disposition, light touch and soothing hand movements â€" “that’s something we’re born with,” he said, “and its purpose is to soothe and comfort.”

It could even be educational.

“I think it helps teach people the feeling from a healthy relationship,” Richard said. “You can have people learning for the first time what a healthy relationship feels like from an ASMR video.”

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Listening to yoga music and making to-do lists can help you sleep better, studies show

Christine Lampard breaks down in tears while discussing birth of first child Tesco is currently selling LOL Surprise toys for half price in stores Martin Lewis cancels TV appearance after suffering with 'agonising' ulcer

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Hittmaker: A Music Producer Who Doesn't Sleep

Chicago Music Producer HittMaker knows a thing or two about sleep deprivation. In fact, he knows so much about it that it is the inspiration behind the name of his first full length project, which dropped this past July. Entitled "No Sleep, Vol. 1," the story about how the project got its name is a testament to HittMaker's tireless work ethic behind the boards. After a week-long time period where he blew off sleeping in favor of honing his craft, the local musician received a stern warning from his family doctor. "You need to sleep," the doctor had told him. "If you keep living like this, you're going to die." Like countless other artists around the globe, HittMaker is a perfectionist. He spends hours on end each and every day working to perfect his art and promote his brand. And when he isn't in the studio making beats, his mind is running rampant with ideas. Elaborating on this, HittMaker says, "I'm so driven to be the best at what I'm doing. If I'm out at a function, my mind is constantly making melodies cause I'm not in the studio. It drives me crazy....I'll rush home and start making something." HittMaker is a mad scientist of sorts. Every little detail in his music has to be perfect, and he will not go to bed until he is truly satisfied. On the weekends, he says he spends about twelve hours a day working on beats, and his goal is to make ten a day. He stated point blank that he refuses to rest until he has reached that goal. "Sometimes I'll be up until 2 or 3 in the morning and I won't be able to sleep....I'll be up all night."

HittMaker, whose real name is Paul Whittaker, originally hails from St. Louis, Missouri. Stating that he was always around music throughout his childhood, it was when he started playing around with Garageband on his dad's computer that he started to take music seriously. "I'd always play around with it," he says, looking back on the earlier days of his journey. "I'd always be listening to the radio and a lot of Hip-Hop later on. Eventually it led to me investing my money into it and that's where I am now." Once he discovered how passionate he was about music production, HittMaker hit the ground running right away. Devoting virtually all of his free time to making beats, late nights occasionally spilled over into the school days that followed. He reflects, "I would go to school, come home, do homework right away and try and finish by 6. Then I would try and make beats until twelve. Sometimes that didn't work out....I'd bring my laptop to school and skip lunch to make beats." Knowin g that he wanted to pursue his passion as a career, Hittmaker decided to attend Columbia College Chicago where he is now enrolled as a freshman studying Audio Production.

Through the soundboards where he channels his creativity, Hittmaker has managed to develop a sound that is unique and all his own. However, that doesn't mean he is devoid of influences. He stated that well-regarded Hip-Hop producers Metro Boomin and Travis Scott were influential early on, and that he was later influenced by the work of Pi'erre Bourne, Mike Will, Wheezy & Turbo. Hittmaker cites Rapper Playboi Carti's project "Die Lit" as being influential as well. Stirring these ingredients in his own personal melting pot, Hittmaker has been able to carve out his own niche in the modern trap music scene, a subgenre of Rap often regarded as being redundant and lacking substance. With his No Sleep album, HittMaker is able to come through with a project that is intoxicating yet effortless. Every song blends into one another perfectly, creating a balanced, cohesive body of work as opposed to a thrown together collection of tracks that sound messy and disorganized. He proves that pr oducers are every bit as capable of putting out a well thought out project as MC's are. Even though HittMaker works harder than most, he crafts a cutting edge, pristine sound on this album with ease.

HittMaker has his eyes toward the future, but he also has both feet grounded firmly beneath him in the present. He has an EP on the way entitled "Timeless," which is slated for an October release date. Speaking on how it might differ from No Sleep, he says that the sound of the record will have more depth. "I want it to be something more deep with in the sound...Something more deep and meaningful within the production value." He also says he will be dropping No Sleep, Vol. 2 on July 7th, 2019, which is his birthday. He wouldn't say much about this project, other than to say he will be expanding upon his sound more and more with each release. For now, HittMaker says he is working on the upcoming EP, and is focused on networking and building his name around the Chicago scene. Figuring he'll put just as much of himself into networking as he puts into his music, he should have no problem garnering attention. As for his sleeping habits these days? "Better," he says with a laugh. "As lo ng as I can sleep in I'll be fine."

Listen to HittMaker's Debut Album "No Sleep, Vol. 1" currently available on all streaming platforms.

Listen to HittMaker on Soundcloud @HittMaker

Follow him on Instagram @1hittwonderbeats

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Now It's Stylish to Sleep On The Job

Napping on the job has long been considered a fireable offense, and in many corporate cultures, employees wear long hours with too little sleep as a badge of honor, proof of their dedication. However, employers are coming to realize employees suffering from burnout are poor employees, and as the employee well-being revolution continues, companies are adopting--or rejuvenating--a long-held tradition: the power nap.

But First, a Quick Science Lesson We All Need

According to the CDC, a third of adults are not sleeping the recommended seven hours a night. This deprivation contributes to a plethora of problems. Employees without enough rest under their belts are more reactive, less creative, less logical, and less empathetic, and that's before taking into account the increased anxiety, anger, and blood pressure problems sleep deprivation can cause.

Humans are built for the afternoon nap. It's not a glitch in our systems. Studies have proven the afternoon drag between 1 and 3 p.m. is biological, not a food coma or our body's shout for sugary snacks or caffeine.

The Power Nap is Back

When employers consider the staggering $411 billion in economic losses per year due to employee mistakes, lost working days for illness made worse by sleep deprivation, and missed opportunities thanks to poor creativity and logical thinking, the solution seems simple, right?

Enable employees to get more sleep.

First, the cool kids, like Google and Zappos, were doing it, providing employees with quiet spaces where they could catch some ZZZs. Ben & Jerry's have been providing nap rooms to their employees for over a decade now. But more companies are catching on, and doing so with style by making nap pods, sleeping nooks, and sleep-supporting furniture part of their design.

Dreaming of a Comfortable, Nap-Friendly Office

Nap pods such as the ones manufactured by MetroNaps fit right in at NASA, but what if they don't match the aesthetic for your company? You want all the benefits of well rested employees, including boosted alertness, mood, memory, and creativity, right? You know it's about working smarter, not longer. After all, no one wants their employees collapsing from exhaustion and hurting themselves, like what happened to media mogul Ariana Huffington, who broke her cheekbone on her way down.

You don't have to dedicate whole rooms to napping space for your workforce, nor do you have to put a space-age sleeping module in the middle of your soothing biophilic space. Maybe a comfortable chaise lounge is more your speed.

Or perhaps you prefer a multi-purpose piece with versatility as well as function with this modular seating perfect for napping, sitting, lounging, and yes, even working.

But it doesn't have to be that complicated. Sometimes, a beautiful sofa in a low-traffic area will do.

The Beauty of the Nap Pod

There's no denying, however, the versatility and sleekness of the modern nap pod, however. They minimize distractions, and have features designed to put the power nap back on the grid:

Ergonomic comfort to take pressure off achy joints, relieve muscle tension, and get the blood flowing.

Privacy visor to minimize distractions, so that 20-minute power nap remains only 20 minutes.

Gentle waking features, such as vibrations and soft music, that don't jar people out of their snooze.

Pre-programmed auditory rhythms designed to send the user off to dreamland in the blink of an eye.

Universities are bringing them in to libraries for students who need that quick dip into dreaming to rejuvenate an overtaxed mind. Hospitals have long provided space for physicians and nurses on days-long shifts to catch some sleep where they can between round-the-clock patient care. It's honestly about time Corporate America wake up--or not, as the case may be--and realize happy, productive employees are well-rested employees. By giving room, or pods in this instance, for employees to take naps, companies are recognizing burn out is no longer a point of pride.

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