Staying clear-headed and ready to take on the demands of work, family, and life means you must get the deep, restorative sleep you need on a regular basis.

When you sleep, there’s a lot more going on in your brain than you might realize. And deep sleep is the most important because it affects many aspects of your health -- attitude, performance, eating habits, behavior, and more.

When you’re in deep sleep your brain triggers a type of cleaning system. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that is released during deep sleep, washes away toxic proteins and protects the brain from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Research about how deep sleep scrubs your brain of toxins was performed by monitoring participants who spent the night in a sleep lab, sleeping inside an MRI machine. The tests started at midnight to ensure the subjects would be tired and be more likely to fall asleep sooner.

As electrodes monitored the electrical currents in their brains while, the MRI measured blood oxygen levels in their brains and where and how much cerebrospinal fluid was flowing.

REM and non-REM Sleep

When you sleep, you cycle between rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM. The REM cycle is when your eyes move around quickly in different directions. This is the stage in which you have dreams. Non-REM sleep is a deeper sleep and is the stage in which tissue is repaired and regrown. It is also the stage that supports memory, fights brain disease, and generally maintains your brain.

Scientists have discovered that during non-REM sleep, large waves of fluid wash over your brain about every 20 seconds. First, electrical activity occurs in the brain and then a wash of fluid follows a few seconds later. This suggests that the electrical waves trigger each slow wave of fluid, and this limits your brain’s ability to get rid of toxins.

Another key ingredient to good, deep sleep is what you’re sleeping on, as in sheets, pillows, bedding and such. Science continues to prove again and again that bamboo bedding offers maximum advantages.

Bamboo has been around for ages, but modern technology has shown us how to master the art of converting this miracle of nature into luxurious bamboo sheets, pillows, comforters and more. Some of bamboo’s natural benefits include:

• Naturally hypoallergenic
• Breathes evenly and keeps you dry
• Organic antimicrobial benefits
• Naturally hypoallergenic
• Great for allergy sufferers
• Warm in winter; cool in summer

And if that’s not enough, imagine a palette of colors for every décor. Beautiful, luxurious, bamboo sheets and bedding to compliment your Sleep Oasis®.

Island Slumber also supports a healthier planet with our Plant a Tree Program. For every purchase you make, American Forests will plant a new tree somewhere in the U.S. We believe ‘living green’ is important and part of our responsibility as residents of planet Earth. Come visit us and see why bamboo is best.