THE SECRET TO SLEEPING WELL
SLEEP WELL. LIVE WELL.
[ INTRODUCTION ]
When You Sleep Well, You Live Well.
We’ve learned a lot from 30 years of research and working with people wanting better sleep. What we’ve learned about sleep inspired a great passion for it. This knowledge helped us establish three pillars that guide and help us craft sleep solutions that help our customers live better.
Informed Sleep Years of research spent on sleep have had a big impact on the approach we take to creating mattresses. This book will help you understand how sleep works and how to take advantage of all the benefits a good night’s sleep has to offer.
Organic Sleep The best bed is made from the best materials. We’ve travelled all over the world to find the best organic materials, from Argentine wool, to Peruvian cotton, all the way to Sri Lanka for the best quality rubber. You’ll immediately understand why when you sleep on an Obasan mattress for the first time.
Customized Sleep Everybody approaches sleep differently. That reality explains why we customize each of our mattresses based on weight distribution, predominant sleep position, and spinal alignment for both you and your partner. All of this information will perfectly position you for a good night’s sleep.
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Living a healthy lifestyle, adjusting your sleep environment and understanding how sleep works makes the difference between good and great sleep.
[ INFORMED SLEEP ]
Lear n About Sleep
A Healthy Lifestyle
Living a healthy lifestyle affects your daily life as much as your time spent asleep. A healthy lifestyle means more than getting regular exercise and eating well. Finding a good work/life balance and keeping stress to a minimum is just as important. It can be harder to fall asleep when you’re not taking care of yourself. Taking steps towards living a healthy life means taking steps towards a better sleep.
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REDUCING NOISE
ADJUSTING AIRFLOW
CONTROLLING LIGHT
LOVING YOUR BED
[ INFORMED SLEEP ]
Lear n About Sleep
Sleep Environment
Your sleep environment has a big impact on how you sleep. Reducing noise, controlling light, adjusting airflow and making your bed comfortable are all ways you can improve your sleep environment to get better sleep.
Reducing Noise Noise is a deterrent to good sleep. It brings you back to consciousness, which means starting the sleep process all over again. Going from consciousness to deep sleep doesn’t happen right away, which means losing out on the benefits of a full night’s sleep. Using a fan helps mute noise throughout the night. If you prefer a different option, there are a variety of ways to use white noise that help mask sound you can’t control. Sounds of rain, thunderstorms and waves are commonly used to help mask external noise.
Controlling Light Humans wake up easily when light enters a room. This is a problem especially when the sun rises earlier in the summer months. Use thick curtains, blackout shades or curtain liners to help control light for months with bright early mornings. Light emitted from your smartphone or alarm clock is also a distraction. Keep your smartphone in a different room throughout the night. If you need it nearby, keep the screen side down. As for the alarm clock, keep it out of sight (yet still within reach).
Adjusting Airflow Opening windows and keeping your bedroom door open lets fresh air flow in and out and makes your room less stuffy. Temperature is a personal preference, but keeping your room cool helps you sleep. If you can, turn the air conditioning up before bed. If it’s a windier night, leave the windows open to allow air to flow through. Your body temperature drops when you’re asleep, so make sure you keep extra blankets or a sweater nearby should it get too cold.
Loving Your Bed One of the best things you can do to have a good sleep turns out to be the easiest. Love the room you sleep in. A calm bedroom influences your mood and helps you get ready for sleep. A messy room causes stress, so take a few minutes to make your bed and tidy up. You’ll feel more peaceful as a result. Also, finding comfortable pillows and blankets that look great makes going to bed feel as good as it looks.
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[ INFORMED SLEEP ]
Lear n About Sleep
Getting Ready for Bed
Being in the right frame of mind is helpful when trying to sleep. Here are activities to avoid before getting ready for bed.
Using screen-technology: It‘s easy to lose track of time when you’re online, and staring at a bright screen right before bed makes it harder to fall asleep. Laptops, smartphones and tablets stimulate the brain and make it difficult to wind down after putting them away. The same thing applies to watching television. Avoid using screen-technology at least an hour before calling it a night and you’ll have an easier time falling asleep.
Go to bed at the same time every night. Exercising: Getting exercise is important. Just make sure to stop a few hours before going to bed. Exercise gives you natural energy that won’t wear off easily, which makes it difficult to fall asleep after a good workout.
Have a calm, dedicated space meant specifically for sleeping, without distractions. Taking a hot bath or shower: A hot bath is a great way to relax. However, overheating impacts your ability to fall asleep. Give yourself a bit of time to cool down before going to bed.
Take a few deep breaths slowly to relax before getting into bed. Working: Sometimes, there’s not enough time in the day to finish what you’re working on. It takes time for your brain to turn off after work. Always allow yourself mental downtime between work and sleep.
Don’t think about stressful situations before bed. Eating too much: Having a meal before bed isn’t recommended. If you’re hungry, try keeping it to a light snack. Make sure to give yourself time to digest before going to bed. This way, you can fall asleep without the discomfort of a full stomach.
Getting your children to bed: Establishing an evening routine helps make sure your children get the sleep they need. Their routine should be relaxing. It could include a warm bath and listening to gentle music in a peaceful environment. This can also include soft lighting, comfortable accessories (sheets, pillows, comforters) and a mattress that breathes well to prevent overheating throughout the night. This helps calm children down and prepares them for sleep.
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SLEEP CYCLES PHYSICAL REJUVENATION
MENTAL REJUVENATION
CONSCIOUSNESS
REM
GREY SLEEP
DEEP SLEEP
CYCLE 1
CYCLE 2
CYCLE 3
CYCLE 4
CYCLE 5
[ INFORMED SLEEP ]
Lear n About Sleep
How Sleep Works
There are two separate aspects to sleep, Cycles and Stages. Cycles happen throughout the night and are measured in time, whereas Stages are the depth in which we experience the Cycle we’re in. There are four stages in the sleep process. Each of these stages are vital to living well as they help rejuvenate our minds and bodies. The stages are Consciousness, REM sleep, Grey Sleep, and Deep Sleep. The body and mind are affected differently throughout the different sleep cycles. The first two cycles have a physical impact and the third is a transition between physical and mental rejuvenation. In the fourth and fifth cycles, the main focus is mental rejuvenation. Cognitive and creative capacities of the mind are replenished and are the final benefits experienced.
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ZZ
Z
ZZZ
The First Cycle
The Second Cycle
The Third Cycle
From Consciousness to Deep Sleep
Deep Sleep
Transition
Before going to bed, your body temperature lowers. This is usually triggered by the absence or reduction of light. This cycle begins even when you’re still conscious. You then fall into Grey Sleep, followed by Deep Sleep. Most of your time in the first cycle is spent in Deep Sleep, but you also experience episodes of Grey Sleep while transitioning into the full Deep Sleep cycle.
In the second sleep cycle, you spend most of your time in Deep Sleep, which begins the body rejuvenation process. Brain activity is close to none as the focus is on the body. Cells rejuvenate, muscles repair themselves and the body as a whole is regenerating.
In this cycle, we move back and forth between Deep and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep. In the Transition phase, you go through episodes of Deep Sleep and REM sleep. But most of the time is spent in Grey Sleep. This cycle is where you transition from physical to mental rejuvenation.
There are factors that keep you from reaching Deep Sleep, such as having medication or alcohol in your system. Substances like these make it hard to reach a deep sleep, and the body remains in Grey Sleep. This means missing out on the physical benefits that Deep Sleep offers.
Sleep Fact: You reach Deep Sleep
Sleep Fact: Waking up with a fear of falling happens during the first cycle. Your body is still alert enough to react to what your mind is thinking about.
Sleep Fact: 25% of your sleep can be spent in Deep Sleep.
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much faster when you’re sleep deprived.
ZZZZ
ZZZZZ
The Fourth Cycle
The Fifth Cycle
REM Sleep
REM Sleep and Waking Up
The fourth cycle is when focus shifts from body to mind. Only vital organs remain active as the rest of the body is nearly paralyzed. This is where brain activity peaks. The mind begins to deal with cognitive information collected throughout the day. Emotions, information and situations are sorted and events are stored in memory. This cycle is the most important for teenagers and young adults attending school. What they learn throughout the day is stored in the mind during REM sleep. This is similar to how hard drives work in computers. You can store, move and remove information. It’s all done subconsciously, but works better on a full sleep.
The fifth cycle is considered a transition stage between being asleep and awake. Most of this cycle is spent dreaming in REM sleep. Natural light triggers the body temperature to rise, which causes us to wake up. In the fifth cycle, it’s common to feel like you’re waking up in the middle of a dream.
Sleep Fact: Young adults can go through the full sleep cycle up to five times in one night.
Creative people need to make sure they experience the full benefits of REM sleep. Ideas are known to come about during this stage, so it’s important to get a full sleep that takes advantage of the creative capacities of the mind.
Sleep Fact: REM sleep makes up for 25% of time spent asleep.
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Grey Sleep Experienced throughout the different sleep cycles. It offers no specific mental or physical benefits.
[ INFORMED SLEEP ]
Lear n About Sleep
What Is Enough Sleep?
Myth: The older you get, the less sleep you need. Fact: It’s a reality for some, but this only applies for a small percentage of people. A good night’s sleep for most of us is between seven and nine hours per night. You’ll be able to tell when you’re sleep-deprived. Some signs are poor digestion, emotional dullness and oversensitivity. If you’re feeling sleep-deprived, think back to the past few nights. Keep in mind, hours of lost sleep add up. Every hour of lost sleep needs to be made up eventually. This means that it takes more than one night to make up for lost sleep. In fact, it can take several.
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ORGANIC SRI LANKAN RUBBER
ORGANIC PERUVIAN COTTON
ORGANIC ARGENTINE WOOL
We traveled the world to find the best materials. Seeing first-hand how the materials are produced, the environment they’re produced in and the conditions in which their employees work were all vital parts of selecting each material partner. You’ll feel the difference the first time you lie down on one of our beds.
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[ ORGANIC SLEEP ]
The best bed is made from the best materials
Why Organic?
Organic materials are 100% pure and never come into contact with any harmful chemicals. By using organic materials, we ensure that absolutely no potential irritants get in the way of your sleep routine. All of the following materials listed are completely biodegradable; meaning everything we take from the earth naturally returns over time.
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The cotton is harvested by hand in the traditional co-operative manner that has been followed for centuries in the Ca単ete area of Peru.
[ ORGANIC SLEEP ]
The best bed is made from the best materials
Organic Cotton
Our search for organic cotton took us to the Cañete valleys at the feet of the Peruvian Andes. The area is famous for its pima cotton, which is a long fibre that lends itself well into weaving and yields a very fine fabric. The cotton is harvested by hand in the traditional co-operative manner that has been followed for centuries in the Cañate area. This means it‘s the cleanest, purest, most resilient cotton fibre available and is fair-trade certified. It’s harvested without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or any other harsh chemicals. The great part about farming organic cotton is that the work environment is healthier, both for workers and the area in which the cotton is grown. Water and land surrounding the cotton plantations aren’t poisoned with chemicals and pesticides. The farmers we work with care about their employees as much as they care about the land. Organic cotton is durable, flexible and porous. These qualities help with body heat and moisture control, leaving you dry and cozy. They also help prevent overheating throughout the night, which can interrupt the sleep cycle.
Non-Organic Cotton Cotton grown in a conventional fashion is saturated with pesticides and herbicides. It then absorbs all the chemicals that modern fertilizers deposit in the soil. When it is machine picked, it can also pickup impurities such as oil, leaves and dirt. The surrounding land and water sources become contaminated with chemicals and pesticides, which affects the health of nearby communities.
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Farm owner showing Jean, Obasan Founder, the quality of the organic wool fibres.
[ ORGANIC SLEEP ]
The best bed is made from the best materials
Organic Wool
While searching for the purest organic wool we traveled with a man named Diego, who has been traveling to the sheep farms of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina for the last 30 years. He developed an expertise in wool quality and in knowing the right wool to buy for specific products. We saw how the sheep were sheared, how wool is stored, sorted and how their organic program works. His experience helped us find the best possible wool for our products. The type of sheep used in Obasan products provides a wool fiber that is thicker and more resilient to its shape. These qualities are great for mattresses, pillows and comforters since they retain their shape longer than other types of wool. The raw fleece is processed into a high quality end product through careful sorting, washing and drying. The wool is washed without detergents, chemicals, chlorine or bleach – just hot water and natural soap. No oils or bonding agents are used during the process, which means the wool remains 100% organic. Thankfully, the wool fiber produced retains 1-2% of its lanolin oil, which is a completely natural dust-mite repellant. Organic wool fibres are porous and can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture. This lets the mattress breathe and enhances sweat and heat control. Similar to organic cotton, organic wool helps keep you dry and comfortable throughout the night. Most importantly, organic wool is a natural fire retardant, which helps delay combustion in the event of a fire.
Non-Organic Wool Regular wool is treated with chemicals, washed with normal soaps, stripped of its natural lanolin and bleached with more chemicals. It’s also frequently treated with chemicals to help make the wool easier to wash.
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Jean, Obasan Founder, looking at freshly harvested organic rubber milk from our certified organic rubber tree plantation in Sri Lanka.
[ ORGANIC SLEEP ]
The best bed is made from the best materials
Organic Rubber
We knew we found the right organic rubber supplier when we arrived on the grounds of the plantation in Sri Lanka. The employees took great pride in showing us how they make their products pure. The extra steps taken to create a sustainable production environment for their product was impressive. The organic rubber used is made from 100% rubber milk from the Hevea tree, which is free of pesticides, herbicides and any other chemicals typically used to grow rubber trees. Once the milk is harvested, it’s poured in tanks where the milk stabilizes as it matures. This process takes about 30 days. Rubber milk coagulates extremely quickly and has high fluctuation of PH levels. That’s why it’s crucial to let it mature for a month so that milk cells are more stable, which makes a better, longer lasting product. Once the tree stops providing rubber, it’s cut and used as wood to build furniture. What’s leftover is used as firewood to heat up the ovens and drying station in the rubber core manufacturing facility. That way, there is no waste and the rubber tree is fully used. They also make sure the water used for the process is drinkable post-production by using an in-house filtering facility. Organic rubber is extremely resilient and moulds to your body, which means your mattress will relieve pressure while keeping your spine aligned. Also, your mattress will keep its shape for years to come.
Non-Organic Rubber The plantations where natural rubber is cultivated often use pesticides, herbicides and chemicals to control and kill parasites in addition to using chemicals to help stabilize the rubber. The big difference between natural and organic rubber is that natural rubber can be mixed with synthetic rubber and still be labeled as natural. Certified Organic rubber not only ensures that we use pure organic rubber, but also that the entire process, from planting rubber trees to rinsing the rubber core is chemical-free.
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[ C U STO M I Z E D S L E E P ]
I t ’ s a l l a b o u t y o u . A n d y o u r p a r t n e r.
It’s all about you. And your partner.
Finding the best materials is one thing, but using them well is another. We found the best materials and we use them to make sure you and your partner get a great sleep.
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[ C U STO M I Z E D S L E E P ]
I t ’ s a l l a b o u t y o u . A n d y o u r p a r t n e r.
Everyone’s Different
This means that everyone sleeps differently, too. We take everything into consideration; your height, weight, and predominant sleeping position to customize a mattress that is perfect for you.
Made for Two A mattress made for two shouldn’t be designed for one. We craft the perfect mattress for both of you, without compromise. Each side is customized to you and your partner’s needs, making it the best it can be for both of you.
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Fetal
Freefaller
Soldier
Log
[ C U STO M I Z E D S L E E P ]
I t ’ s a l l a b o u t y o u . A n d y o u r p a r t n e r.
Different Sleeping Positions
Once asleep, you end up staying in one specific position for the majority of the night. This is known as your predominant sleeping position. We take this into consideration for both you and your partner to properly adjust each core of your mattress to the position you’re in night after night. Not to worry if you and your partner sleep differently, it’s the very reason our mattresses are customized specifically to both you and your partner.
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[ C U STO M I Z E D S L E E P ]
I t ’ s a l l a b o u t y o u . A n d y o u r p a r t n e r.
Body Weight Distribution
A properly customized mattress supports every part of your body, no matter how your body weight is distributed. The sections of your mattress are adjusted to provide the perfect support for you and your partner.
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[ C U STO M I Z E D S L E E P ]
I t ’ s a l l a b o u t y o u . A n d y o u r p a r t n e r.
Spinal Alignment
An important part of customizing a mattress to your specific needs is ensuring proper spinal alignment. Whether you sleep on your back or side, the spine needs to be aligned to help avoid back and shoulder problems as well as alleviate problems caused by the wrong mattress. A customized Obasan mattress helps relieve pressure points that interrupt sleep and ensures that the spine remains well aligned throughout the night.
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A Word from Our Founder
Even a small effort to make your sleep life better has big benefits. We’re committed to helping people approach sleep in the same way we approach crafting our mattresses. With more knowledge about how to get the best quality sleep, you’ll find uninterrupted sleep night after night. All of this because we know that when you sleep well, you live well. Now, so can you.
Jean, Founder of Obasan
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THANK YOU
1-155 Colonnade Road S. Ottawa, ON K2E 7K1 Canada Tel: 613-727-5337 Toll free: 1-877-762-2726 info@obasan.ca
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