Scientists at a South West university have said a Plymouth firm’s specially designed mattress can improve people’s health - while they sleep.
A three-year study by boffins at Plymouth Marjon University concluded that sleeping on a Squirrel VeSTIM mattress improves blood flow and can help people suffering from heart and circulation problems.
The beds, invented by Plymouth firm Squirrel Medical Ltd, cause subtle movement during sleep, increasing blood flow around the body.
The average person will have slept on mattresses for a total of 20 years by the age of 60, and sleeping on a “normal” mattress reduces blood flow around the body.
Gary Baker, of Squirrel Medical, and part of the research team, said: “Humans are not designed to sleep on soft style mattresses, but we do because they’re comfortable and we’re accustomed to using them. We’ve demonstrated that they impede blood flow and can affect our long-term health.
“We’ve also shown that those same mattresses, when coupled with the Squirrel VeSTIM system, can significantly improve blood flow and health.”
VeSTIMs are handmade divan beds that combine traditional craftsmanship with a scientific algorithm to stimulate blood vessels within skin tissue.
This is called vascular endothelial stimulation (VeSTIMs) and scientific studies have shown that following eight weeks use of this mattress, resting blood flow increased by an average of 336%.
The Marjon research recruited 10 healthy people, four men and six women, to sleep on an “active” mattress for eight weeks. The study concluded that active mattress use can improve endothelial function.
After an eight-week programme of sleeping on a VeSTIM mattress, every participant who took part in the study had an increase in blood flow.
But the study concluded that future research is now required to explore the potential of active mattress use in the treatment and management of diseases and conditions.
This could include heart diseases: the biggest cause of death worldwide. Until now, the methods to prevent these diseases have been focused on exercise and diet. The research monitored cardiovascular health by measuring blood flow, blood pressure and the repair of damaged blood vessels.
It focused on measuring the function of the Endothelium, which lines all blood vessels. Problems here can lead to multiple disorders including diabetes, deep vein thrombosis, heart failure and skin damage. Participants experienced an average improvement in endothelial function of 197% during the eight week programme.
A common circulatory disorder is cold feet. After the Squirrel VeSTIM® programme, participants reported having warmer feet whilst in bed. The measurements confirmed an increase of 3.5°C, at the big toe, in the laboratory, just hours later. This showed that more blood was flowing to the edges of the body.
An increase in blood flow during sleep is also a major discovery for the sports industry, the research said. The majority of athletes focus on improving their fitness, which coincides with an increase in cardiovascular health. Participants, who were all healthy, showed an average blood flow increase of 336%.
Professor Saul Bloxham, Marjon director of the School of Sport, Health and Wellbeing, said: “These findings have potential for far reaching applications into sport, health and wellbeing.
“Further research should be conducted into the use of Squirrel VeSTIM mattress to explore its exciting potential to improve sport performance by enhancing speed, strength and other aspects of exercising the body.
“The dramatic increases in blood flow and endothelial function could also help treat and prevent diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, leg ulcers and cardiovascular disease. We’re very excited about the impact the Squirrel VeSTIM mattress could have on transforming people's lives.”
Squirrel Medical was formed by brothers Rick and Gary Baker, in 2003. Since 2013 Squirrel Medical has been 50% owned by Renray Healthcare.
The mattress research is the latest work from the Marjon Health and Wellbeing team which seeks to transform lives through supporting healthy lifestyle and run a range of public health clinics at Marjon and across the city.
