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Sleep Specialist Zac

The Sleep Specialists of Mattress Direct are here to help you get a better night's rest for less.

Zac is a sleep specialist that truly believes that comfort is subjective. That’s why he takes the time to make sure you find the most comfortable mattress to you. He became a sleep specialist to help his community sleep better so that they can live happy and fulfilling lives. Zac is St. Louis born and raised, supporting both the Blues and The Cardinals. He enjoys going to those games and Any event where he gets to spend time with his loved ones.

Personal Pillow: Zero Pillow 001
Favorite Movie: Pulp Fiction
Favorite Musical Group: The Platters
Favorite Board Game: Settlers of Catan
The Incredible Shrinking Bed!!!!
The Incredible Shrinking Bed!!!!

Is it just me or did this bed get smaller?!

Do you have to wear headgear and a mouth guard to protect yourself from your partner’s flailing sleeping self?
Does your mattress turn into the landing pad for your kids and/or pets?
Tired of waking up to your partners dragon breath right up on you in the morning?

Well……..IT’S TIME FOR A BIGGER BED!

That’s right! Stop settling for that old mattress that you've had since you went away to school and were fortunate enough to have an apartment (Those dorm room mattresses!!!! YIKES!!)

If your family is growing, gained a pet, or just need that extra elbow room….moving up to a King from a Queen is gonna help. It is becoming the most popular size and keeping couples happier during their night time slumber. You gain a whole 16” in width…(Queen is 60”X80” and King is 76” X 80”) While that doesn’t sound like much, it makes a world of difference.

It increases the motion separation in all the BeautyrestiComforts, and iComfort Hybrids. Yeah, you will feel even less of your partner moving or little Johnny/Janey belly flopping into the bed in the morning.

A lot of customers have been getting into a Dual King set up (2 Half King width mattresses with 2 Half King width motion bases). This is fine tuning your sleep at its finest! Both sleepers get to maximize their comfort without settling for each others preferences. Plus….NO FIGHTING OVER A REMOTE!!!

So call your local Mattress Direct and set up an appointment to get YOUR new BIGGER bed and get YOUR Best Rest for Less!

314-4DIRECT

314-434-7328

#SleepRules

Mind Blown: Headaches and Poor Sleep

If you suffer from migraines, you know the drill. Avoid caffeine and strong scents. Cross your fingers and hope the barometric pressure doesn’t change. Have some sumatriptan on hand. Keep the lights low and try hard not to throw up. Gulp.

More than half of all patients in sleep clinics have sleep disorders

Five million Americans had at least one migraine last month, and 30% of women suffer from migraines at some point during their lifetimes. There is also strong evidence that headaches tend to run in families.

Looking beyond hormones

Some migraine triggers, like hormonal shifts, are well known. One important but lesser known trigger is no shocker to us:  poor sleep. According to the American Migraine Association, “In specialty headache clinics, well over half of headache patients have chronic sleep problems.”  Which makes sense, because the same area of the brain that controls sleep also controls headaches and mood.  One telltale sign that sleep may be the culprit: waking up with a headache.

Disrupted sleep cycles

So what’s going on here? While it hasn’t been conclusively proven, it’s commonly thought that the lack of deep, restful sleep is a major factor in headaches. Poor sleep does more than leave us tired. It interferes with the night’s healthy sleep cycles, leaving them incomplete.

Quick recap:  Sleep isn’t just one long period of uneventful rest. Your brain cycles through different kinds of sleep with various functions for each.  The brain uses those cycles to cleanse, repair and refresh itself along with the rest of your body. Cycles repeat about four times a night through a progression of slow-wave sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. The first two are mostly for healing the body, while REM refreshes your emotions and memory.  But all the types of sleep rely on completed, repeated cycles to get their jobs done.

Headache sufferers often miss out on sleep cycles 3 and 4, the most restorative cycles of the night. That leaves us low on serotonin and dopamine, the brain’s feel-good chemicals, which can lead to depression and feeling pain more acutely.


According to Dr. Ben Smarr, neurobiologist and circadian rhythms specialist, when you don’t get enough restful sleep, “Not only are your brain’s transmitters not reset, but metabolic wastes aren’t fully cleaned. When your brain isn’t reset emotionally or intellectually, it works less efficiently. This makes everything in your day harder to manage, including pain.”


Here are a couple of specific sleep issues linked to headaches.

Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Does your partner say you snore? Do you already know you do? If you suffer from headaches in the morning on any consistent basis, snoring or sleep apnea could be a cause. Sleep apnea is nothing to mess around with; it can have some very serious health consequences. See a doctor.

Poor sleep habits

that people who get six hours or less of sleep have far more headaches. Too much sleep, i.e., 8.5 hours or more for adults, is no good either. An unstable sleep schedule will also lead to headaches. Go to bed at a consistent time, get the appropriate amount of sleep, darken your room, keep it cool and keep distractions to a minimum. For more advice on good sleep hygiene, click .

Btw

While we’re at it, an easy non-sleep-related thing you can do that may prevent migraines is to drink a little water at bedtime. Dehydration is a major cause of headache. Keep a glass of water on your nightstand and take a few sips if you wake up in the middle of the night.

Rolling out of bed with a headache stinks, frankly. If you’re like most people, you’d probably like to get off to a cheerful start each day. So try improving your sleep to see if it makes a difference. Other than insomnia and headaches, what have you got to lose?

Shop Local and Save

Sleep has become an even larger factor than ever before and not having the comfort or support in a time where you may be in bed for an abnormal amount can be detrimental to long term physical health. Now, more than ever it is important to have a bed that gives you a great night's sleep without waking you up sweating or with aches and pains. Mattress Direct is here to help anybody and everyone find their perfect bed for less. Being local means caring for the community especially during difficult times like right now. Even if you're unable to come in to a store or concerned about the current state of things, Mattress Direct has an incredibly easy and simple way of shopping around without even having to take a step in the store. You can shop online and are even able to pay with PayPal or Venmo for an online order and not have to worry about card information which makes the process quick and effortless. The best service and prices from people who live in your neighborhood!

Sleep Rules: Rule Number 1: Align Your Spine with a Perfect Pillow.

So, the quest for a perfect pillow is as daunting as The Holy Grail or the Davinci code. Or is it? I mean it’s just a pillow, right? Well, that overlooked article of bedding consists of 30% of your spine, BRO! I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s the truth. Then I remembered my old wrestling friends telling me that “if you control the head, you control the body.” I use to pass that on by because I couldn’t relate it to anything in my life at the time. I mean, I wasn’t shooting any double leg take downs or suplexing anybody at the time. But now it makes sense. If my head is not in proper alignment, NEITHER is my body! So that explained my years of neck, shoulder, and hip aches. IT WASN’T JUST THE MATTRESS!!!!

So how does one find an ever elusive “Perfect Pillow”? Well, go get fitted. Mattress Direct does this. They actual do this before you even lay down on your potential mattress. First, they take into accounts your sleeping position (side, back, stomach, any which way but loose) and choose the appropriate pillow for such position. Then have you lay down on a bed that is suitable for your request of comfort. No longer do you have to wander a store holding a pillow like an old boom box. That may bring you back to your break dancing days, but it will not bring you to Comfort Town. Comfort Town is when you have that one pillow, one pillow that rules them all. Lord of The Pillows style.

Come on by one of your friendly, neighborhood Mattress Directs and get fitted for that pillow Today. I mean, why wait till tomorrow when you aren’t sleeping any better and are in a foul mood. You don’t like that you, and the world will be better once you start following the Sleep Rules.

Exercise and Sleep

New Year’s Resolution time is in full swing and everyone is trying to get their routine down. You have to make a schedule that works best for you. Some people think that morning workouts are the only way to go and that working out at night actually hurts your sleep, but that is just not true. Working out is best whenever you can do it. If you are a morning person and find it easiest to wake up and go---then do it. If you have to work out after work that’s fine too whatever is best for your schedule that you can make a part of your weekly routine.

There’s always been this myth that you cannot work out four hours before you want to go to sleep, but that isn’t true for all. Very few people are affected by this. Most people can even find it easier to fall asleep after working out. Exercise overall improves sleep and allows people to rest more efficiently.

Typically, if you have trouble falling asleep after exercising it is because of temperature. Your core body temperature tends to rise after a vigorous workout and it also rises due to our natural circadian rhythm around the time you are trying to go to sleep. Lowering the temperature to 68 degrees and making sure you have the proper sleep environment is the key to success.

The proper sleep environment includes a dark quiet room, a mattress that is breathable (preferably in this case with cooling features such as cooling gel and/or breeze technology), cooling pillows, breathable sheets and a breathable mattress protector. Keeping you cool will allow you to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. When you are cool it also allows you to reach deeper stages of sleep faster as well.

So don’t worry if the only time in your schedule to work out is late at night. You can still get the proper sleep you need for your rest and recovery. Just make sure to stay cool.

The New Relax-O-Pedic X Series
The New Relax-O-Pedic X Series
The New Relax-O-Pedic X Series is available now.
Washington's Sleep Specialists

Conveniently located in Washington Crossing next to Super Market of Shoes and adjacent to the Schnucks Super Center at the corner of 100 and 47. Mattress Direct Washington showroom displays the entire Simmons Beautyrest and Serta iComfort catalog, as well as Campbell Mattresses which are proudly made in Missouri. Mattress Direct always guarantees the lowest price on every mattress on display. Don't pay retail. You save money when you order your Mattress Direct.Come in and let one of our dedicated Sleep Specialists help you find the mattress that best for the way you sleep.

Keeping your business local is more important than ever now. It's something I think about with all my daily purchases nowadays. Helping build your community & reinvesting in the my community has always clicked with me. But a lot of times only helps solve part of the equation. Having industry trained specialist that are here to help fit you & your specific needs is how you can focus on whats important while , saving the most on quality products & keeping your money local.

Marshall Home Living Room Furniture

Storeroom Manager : Ray -  [email protected]

Ray has been around the mattress industry for 20 years helping people find the perfect mattress for themselves. When not helping people get a great night's sleep Ray loves spending time with his wife especially listening to music and dancing with his two young girls.

With Mattress Direct Since : 2014

Personal Pillow : Bedgear Level 1

Favorite Mattress Beautyrest Black K Class Plush Pillow Top

Favorite Movie: True Romance

Mattress Direct

2064 Washington Crossing
Washington MO 63090
636-432-1920 click to call

Showroom Hours

Monday – Friday 10AM – 8PM
Saturday 10AM – 6PM
Sunday 11AM – 5PM

Marshal Homer Gray
Marshal Homer Gray

Marshal Homer Gray

When Homer was just a little boy growing up on the farm in Missouri, he learned early to value the little things.

I still remember, one Christmas on the farm, as he sat comfortably in his recliner in the corner of the living room, enjoying watching his grandchildren unwrapping holiday gifts. A sweat shirt, a toy, a book, a collectible horse figure. Something for each of us, and even then I knew that he was very proud of his family and that each of us had a gift beneath the tree. I've always been one for nostalgia, and so it was natural to me to ask him then, "Grandpa, when you were little, what would you ask for for Christmas?" He thought for a moment, and you could see the cherished memories reflecting in the corner of his eye, and he told us all. "One year, my dad carved me a wooden car with wheels that rolled...but most years, we were so excited to get new socks, and an orange." The holidays mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but since that Christmas on the farm, every Christmas, I buy a bag of oranges, and make sure to tell anyone who will listen, how excited Homer was to get an orange for Christmas when he was just a boy.

Marshal Homer Gray

Common Disruptors of Sleep
Common Disruptors of Sleep

Sleeping In A Hole

Ever wonder why your back is sore when you wake up from sleeping?
Feel like you got an eight hour back work out while you were sleeping? Can’t
relax in bed in the morning because the back pain makes you
uncomfortable? It is probably because you are sleeping in a trench! "If you
can fit three fingers between your lower back and the mattress, then it's not
giving enough support," says Karin Mahoney, director of the
Better Sleep Council. When your body doesn’t receive the proper support it needs while
you sleep, your back ends up doing all the work, hence the back pain when
you wake up. Mahoney recommends rotating the mattress by 180 degrees
every six months or so to keep the pressure even as the mattress is being
used. Sleep experts are always hesitant to recommend the perfect model,
material or brand of mattress, due to the fact that comfort is subjective and
therefore different per individual, but medium-firm has been shown in studies
and through patient reports to be comfortable for most people. Your body will
let you know when it is time for an upgrade when you regularly wake up with
stiffness, numbness and back pain! It is common practice to test-drive
mattresses at hotel chains before committing to a purchase, or working with
a distributor that has a comfort guarantee to truly test out the mattress. For
the shopper that shops on averages, according the industry data, queen-
sized innersprings are the most popular in the U.S. but the new gel
mattresses are said to be a comfortable and low stress alternative.

Pillow Height

A pillow is essential to a good night’s sleep and waking up feeling
energetic! This is when it really matters if you are a back, side, or stomach
sleeper. The purpose of a pillow is to properly align the spine but if you don’t
get the right fit for the pillow you could be doing more harm than good. For
the stomach sleepers, you have to make sure your pillow isn’t too thick. If
you get a pillow that is too thick it will push your head back! Not only will this
be extremely uncomfortable but it could also cause some knots in your neck.
For the back sleepers, a medium sized pillow seems to be best. If you go too
thin you won’t have the proper support for your head and neck but if you go
too thick your chin will be touching your chest. You will know when you found
the right level when your head isn’t being forced into an awkward angle.
Last but not least, the side sleepers. The typical side sleeper seems to have a
fairly large profile and space to fill when they are on their side. This is when a
thick pillow comes into play. Thick pillows can typically fill the big gap
efficiently, providing the amount of support side sleepers crave. A well sized
pillow can save you from weeks of unwarranted neck and shoulder pain.

Breathe Easy

The optimal way to breathe in general is through the nose, says Nancy
Collop, MD, president of the
American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Our noses
warm the air and filter out dirt and other particles. When sleeping, especially
when on the back, breathing passageways can start to be partially
obstructed either by your tongue or objects around you. When an air
passage is blocked, the typical response is to open the mouth creating
another air passage. Breathing through the mouth, especially while sleeping,
can lead to snoring, throat irritation, intense dry mouth and even abnormal
respiration and sleep apnea. This is when adjustable bases become
medically advantageous. That’s right; they aren’t just for sitting up in bed to
see the TV better! With a slight lift of the head, typically referred to as a
pillow tilt, you can help open up the breathing pathways which allow you to
use your nose, stop the snoring, and most importantly, sleep throughout the
night.

Too Hot In Here?

The body actually uses temperature to help us get tired and prepare us
for sleep. Cold temperatures make us drowsy, and a falling core body
temperature helps us get to sleep faster. If you want to fall asleep faster and
more efficient, try and help this process along. You can do this by turning
down the heat and keeping your bedroom cool (ideally, around 60 to 68
degrees). Opening the windows also helps bring in fresh, oxygen-rich air
(unless you live near a freeway), which can contribute to a healthy sleep
cycle. Most importantly, it is good to know that there is a certain period of
REM sleep during which your internal heating and cooling systems change
and you become more sensitive to the temperature of the air around you. If
you wake up at this point it may interrupt the point in your sleep cycle where
you are actually gaining energy.
Luckily, technology has advanced in the mattress industry and most mattresses have some sort of way to orientate
your temperature. These gel foams or phase change materials won’t make
you cold but they do keep you at one sleeping temperature so that you don’t
awake to any temperature changes and can sleep fully throughout the night.
A Cool Bed Just Isn’t Cool Enough!
Even if you sleep on a cooler mattress, in a cold room, you may still
wake up soaked in sweat. This is commonly due to your sheets or even your
pajamas underperforming. Luckily, the mattress industry has advanced in
stride when it comes to heat. Several new technologies and products address
the problem of night sweats and overheating, such as: cooling mattress
protectors, performance protectors and sheets that are made from wicking
fabrics, and even pillows with cooling technology.

Tossing And Turning?

If you get mad at your significant other every time they get in and out
of bed for waking you up, stop getting mad at them and get mad at your
mattress. The mattress jiggles are a problem of the past nowadays with most
decent mattresses being made with independently pocketed coils. With the
coils no longer being connected through a steal rod, they act independently
of one another, minimizing the movement between you and your partner.
Memory foam is also known to help with this type of dynamic response! If
you really need to tackle that mattress movement, your best bet is a little of
both worlds; a hybrid!
For more Sleep Solutions visit the Showroom nearest you, or start at solutions.