I would like to briefly explain to you why a good sleep is so important for our health. When we are young and healthy, our body can handle a lot. It is flexible, full of energy and can adapt very easily. So, we can sleep anywhere, even under unfavorable conditions. As we get older the reserves dwindle, and we become much more sensitive.

Our body is an extremely complex creation and everything is interconnected. So, my explanations are simplified and scientifically incomplete. But you can certainly put them into perspective.

Today we know that cell regeneration takes place during the deep sleep phase. If the regeneration could take place 100%, there would be no aging and no illnesses. This is not (yet) possible as there are many factors that influence our sleep: nutrition, drinking, light, noise, thoughts, the moon, etc. It is clear that a good sleep improves our quality of life enormously. The deep sleep only lasts 10 minutes in a sleep cycle of 90 minutes, though. So, the regeneration will not be improved by sleeping longer, but by sleeping better. But how can we know our sleep quality, we are asleep after all. If we don't sleep as well as we used to, we can tell. But when we feel good and sleep well, we usually don't ask ourselves whether we could sleep even better.

Some factors that affect the quality of our sleep can be controlled, some cannot. One of the most important factors is physical relaxation. Regeneration can only take place when the body is relaxed. This means that we should be able to let go of all the muscles when we are lying in bed. Then we would not need any muscle to adapt to the mattress or to counteract the pressure. Also, we should never be too warm or too cold.

We pay far too little attention to these factors. If we no longer feel comfortable in a position, we move without asking ourselves why. Only if we are constantly turning around and feeling uncomfortable, do we feel the need to change something.

Four essential aspects for a good and comfortable sleep 

•     Form:           Support of all sleeping positions and body shapes

•    Comfort:       Pressure relief and movement

•    Climate:        Temperature and humidity

•    Materials:     Natural or synthetic materials

Form / comfort
All bed systems that we know of, including air, water, box spring and whatever else they are called, are weight-dependent. This means that they all work through elasticity. When we lie on it, the bed gives way. The deeper we sink in, the stronger is the counter pressure. However, our body does not form a straight line, but contains lots of very different shapes. Most people are wider in the shoulder and pelvic area than in the waist area.

If we are in a lateral sleeping position, we sink in deeper in the shoulder and pelvis area than in the lumbar area. As a result, there is more pressure on the pelvis and shoulder area. This creates a tension that we instinctively and automatically balance out with our muscles.
Every pressure on the body activates the muscles. When I speak of muscles, I don't just mean our skeletal muscles, but also the connective tissue / fascia, etc.

Since our daily routines often contain little variety, we often perform very one-sided movements. A preschooler can’t sit still for a minute and they actually dance more than they walk when they are moving around. Compared to them, many of us move very little. When we're not doing a movement, we're not using the muscles. If we are not using these muscles, they regress. Many muscles are affected.

So, how can we reactivate tense or regressed muscles? Only through relaxation and exercise. The most efficient method is a massage. The muscle gets moved, straightened and stretched. We can do this ourselves or support it with the right exercises. But this takes a lot of time and discipline and can also be painful. So, wouldn’t it be wonderful if this could happen while we are asleep? Guess what, it actually can! I’m happy to come back to this later.

Due to our one-sided movements, walking on hard floors, etc., many of us have a lot of physical tension. For most of us this is quite normal and we just live with it.

However, every muscle would be needed for real regeneration during sleep. The nutrients are transported to the cells via the arterial bloodstream. Each cell renewal creates waste. The waste should then be returned via the venous blood circulation and the blood should then be cleansed of it by the kidneys and the liver, and then be supplied with new oxygen in the lungs. There is no pump in the venous blood circulation, though. The «venous blood» is transported by suction from the heart and primarily by the muscles. If the muscles are not fully working or inactive, the waste products are deposited.

Now we can imagine that it would be very important to activate the muscles. We often hear about that. A lot of us exercise consciously and do sport which is very beneficial for our health. Unfortunately, even very athletic people have an imbalance between active and inactive muscles. We therefore need active help in order to completely relax while sleeping and thus enable the muscles to regenerate.

Since all bed systems are weight-dependent and based on elasticity, there is an unbelievable number of bed systems, all of which are located somewhere between «a board» and «a hammock». The center of gravity of every person is the buttocks / pelvis. The head and the foot area are lighter. So, the softer and more comfortable the mattress is, the more we automatically find us in «a hammock». Our basic need is to stretch so that the muscles can relax and regenerate. But this is not possible in «the hammock» because the body is compressed.

Here, too, the market presents a very simple solution. Since neither too hard nor too soft is good, the bed system must be adjusted to the body. So, every bed system has different zones. A little softer in the shoulder and pelvis area, a little firmer in the head and waist area.

However, the zoned bed system does not take into account that every person has a unique body shape. Every bed system would have to be adapted to this individual shape. But even if this were done, it would not be of any help, since the sleeper does not remain in a fixed position, but moves. Sometimes sleeping on the side, sometimes on the back, sometimes on the stomach. So, we also adapt to a zoned bed system, again by means of elasticity.

The Flow-Sleeping bed system is the only one in the world that automatically gives active support to every user, regardless of size, shape and weight. The body is automatically balanced by 9 scale elements via a belt within a straight frame. The finest pressure on a scale element compensates for the one next to it. It is the only bed system that offers effective support. The scales do not care if there is a child weighing 20 kg or a man weighing 150 kg on it. They simply level out the form. Only the comfort element, the mattress, should be adapted to the weight.

Climate / materials
We call the space between the mattress and the duvet «bed cave». When the bed cave has reached a temperature of approx. 30°C, we feel good. So, we should be able to sleep best at this room temperature without a blanket, shouldn't we? Why can many people not do this? During the day, when we don't move a lot, most of us feel wonderful at 30°C. When we go to sleep, however, we want a cool 20°C and then like to cover ourselves with a duvet so that we warm up. Though not logical, it actually is the best for our regeneration. In order to warm up the bed cave to a comfortable temperature, we have to generate this warmth through our muscles. If we could lie completely relaxed in the bed and release every muscle so that it could produce heat, we would feel completely at ease. By producing heat, we activate and regenerate our muscles during sleep! That's why we sleep better when it's cooler in the bedroom. We then automatically produce more heat.

As soon as the bed cave is warmed up to a comfortable temperature, the body heat radiation is activated. If the mattress is airtight or waterproof, we quickly get too warm and the moisture cannot escape either. Every night we evaporate 0.5–1 liter of moisture in the form of water vapor. Evaporation begins at 30°C.

Our body consists of approx. 70% liquid and has a temperature of approx. 36°C. Evaporation is very important for our regeneration / cleansing. The moisture should not stay on the skin, but should be able to evaporate effectively. It is therefore important that the humidity in our bed cave is low. You can measure this with a hygrometer under the covers in the morning when you wake up. In most cases the humidity is too high, i.e. between 70 and 90%. We find damp warmth at 30-35°C uncomfortable. At the same temperature and a humidity of less than 60%, however, we feel very comfortable. The high humidity is the ideal climate for fungi and the cause of many allergies. Mites also love warmth and humidity of over 70%. When we have a dry bed cave, all these troublemakers can be avoided.

The most commonly used materials for bed systems, duvets, etc. are artificial and therefore moisture-repellent and insulating. It would be important that these materials were breathable and regulating. Like our natural latex mattresses.

The natural latex mattresses are point-elastic, breathable and regulating. The modern “baking process”, which is used for the production of the natural latex cores, ensures an open-pored cell structure and thus good ventilation. In addition to the good energy balance, this renewable raw material has another sustainability bonus. The high permanent elasticity ensures an effective, long shelf life. Wherever we lie down on it, the heat and moisture can easily escape. Since the heat escapes, we cannot be too warm and are allowed to produce heat all the time, which is optimal for our regeneration. The greater part of our body is free upwards and the warmth and moisture rise upwards. 70% of the regulation takes place through the duvet. Again, most of the materials on the market are moisture-repellent and insulating. The materials we use for our duvets, e.g. a fine hair blanket, remove moisture from the room and thus generate a feel-good atmosphere. Of course, our range also includes duvets made from plant materials. Again, the most important aspect is regulation, not isolation.

The FlowSleeping bed system consists of natural, sustainable materials.