Ergonomics in bed design: the effect of spinal alignment on sleep parameters

Abstract

This study combines concepts of bed design and sleep registrations to investigate how quality of spine support affects the manifestation of sleep in healthy subjects. Altogether, 17 normal sleepers (nine males, eight females; age 24.3±7.1 years) participated in an anthropometric screening, prior to the actual sleep experiments, during which personalised sleep system settings were determined according to individual body measures. Sleep systems (i.e. mattress and supporting structure) with an adjustable stiffness distribution were used. Subjects spent three nights of 8 h in bed in the sleep laboratory in a counterbalanced order (adaptation, personalised support and sagging support). During these nights, polysomnography was performed. Subjective sleep data were gathered by means of questionnaires. Results show that individual posture preferences are a determinant factor in the extent that subjects experience a negative effect while sleeping on a sagging sleep system. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: This study investigated how spine support affects sleep in healthy subjects, finding that the relationship between bedding and sleep quality is affected by individual anthropometry and sleep posture. In particular, results indicate that a sagging sleep system negatively affects sleep quality for people sleeping in a prone or lateral posture.

Sleep, Health, and Society

“…234–236 Although data on beds and other sleeping surfaces are relatively scarce, an uncomfortable sleeping environment may also reduce sleep ability. 237–239 …”

Effect of pillow height on the biomechanics of the head-neck complex: investigation of the cranio-cervical pressure and cervical spine alignment

“…Pillow height affects comfort and sleeping quality, and was identified as one of the critical factors influencing spinal alignment (Her et al, 2014; Verhaert et al, 2011). However, selecting the correct pillow height can be difficult.…”

“…Users generally rank higher comfort for softer pillows (Hurwitz et al, 2009), though the perception of comfort may change after a period of adaptation (Gordon, Grimmer-Somers & Trott, 2011). In fact, a firm pillow that may initially seem less comfortable is helpful to stabilize the spine and reduce undesirable spinal distortion (Sacco et al, 2015; Verhaert et al, 2011). …”

Addressing sleep disturbances: An opportunity to prevent cardiometabolic disease?

“…Another way to conceptualize insufficient sleep is as a domain of health behaviour. Insufficient sleep shares many characteristics with other behaviours, such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity, in that the reasons for insufficient sleep involve beliefs and attitudes (Carney & Edinger, 2006; Grandner et al, 2013b, 2014b; Smith et al, 2004; Yang et al, 2011), home and work demands (Basner & Dinges, 2009; Basner et al, 2007; Grandner et al, 2014b), and environmental constraints (Barclay et al, 2012; Buxton et al, 2012; Grandner et al, 2014b; McCall et al, 2012; Roenneberg et al, 2013; Verhaert et al, 2011; Yoder et al, 2012). …”