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The Challenge of Daylight Saving Time – PrimaLoft® items for a good night’s sleep

Twice a year I am pretty cranky for a week, due to lack of sleep from Daylight Saving Time (DST). As someone who doesn’t always have a regular, healthy sleep pattern consisting of 8-hour slumbers (with just enough REM and non-REM), DST just disturbs my already-tenuous circadian rhythm. I know I’m not the only one. How much yawning do we hear in the office during this week, along with the “Daylight Saving always makes me sleepy …” comment?

Originally started as a fuel-saving effort in Germany during WWI, the schedule of DST has gone through numerous changes since, mostly relating to some kind of energy-conservation effort, or concern over children endangering themselves while walking to school on dark, cold winter mornings. The U.S. alone has tweaked the length of the DST period in 1966, ’74, ’75, ’76, and ’87 and most recently in 2005 – all for some kind of energy-related reason. Kind of ironic, as it seems to lessen human energy reserves.

Well, until the powers-that-be do something about this importunate issue, we can focus on the bright side – extra outdoor playtime in the evenings! We can also use comfortable PrimaLoft®-filled products to ease us into Dreamland. There are tons of affordable products on the Downlite website; the one that caught my eye is the PrimaLoft® Hotel Comforter.

The “hotel style” PrimaLoft® comforter is “used exclusively for some of the best properties in the world.” Despite my irregular sleeping habits, every time I have stayed in a fancy hotel I sleep like a baby in those seemingly infinite king-sized beds, beneath cloudlike comforters. This must be the secret! It looks super silky and comfy, and with sewn-through construction, there is no shifting. The best part of these products is that they are easy to care for: both are machine washable and dryable and re-fluff nicely.

To round out my good night sleep arsenal, I choose a special side sleeper pillow. The PrimaLoft® Comfort Pillow by Garnet Hill, was touted by the Wall Street Journal as the “best overall down-free pillow you can buy.” The two-inch gusseted side panels offer ideal neck support for side sleepers, like myself.

Look for the version of Garnet Hill PrimaLoft® Pillows that is right for you. Soft versions work great for stomach and side sleepers, and the firm version is ideal for back and side sleepers. The PrimaLoft® pillows are machine washable and dryable as well (see individual care instructions). Now that we’ve resolved the DST lack of sleep dilemma, at least for the now, go enjoy that extra hour of evening light for outdoor fun.

– Christine Rasmussen