To the editor:
Re: "Wide awake," Feb. 10.
The article by Rebekah Funk is comprehensive, but I would like to add information to the issue of quality of sleep. There is growing scientific evidence that the physical environment has an influence on the quality of sleep.
Just the fact that a healthy body changes position from 15 to 65 times during sleep indicates there are more factors involved than psychological conditions, physiological conditions and working habits.
Recent Dutch experiments demonstrated that a mere 0.4 Celsius change of skin temperature profoundly alters the duration of REM (rapid-eye movement) stage of sleep thus affecting the quality of sleep. It seems that the design of the bed, properties of bedding materials and the temperature control of the bedroom matter.
Thomas Bonac, Vancouver
