Bucky Questions and Answers

There is some useful information on Bucky's website that I thought would be worth sharing. Some people who enjoy Bucky products don't know a lot about how they're made or how eco friendly they are so I thought I'd post an abbreviated version of the FAQ's for your reading pleasure and educational benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers) about Bucky's Wonderful Products:

What's inside my Bucky?
Bucky uses only natural grain fillings in its pillows. Your pillow may be filled with whole buckwheat, buckwheat hulls, millet hulls, flax seeds or other botanicals.

Can I microwave my Bucky?
Bucky’s travel, kids, and bed pillows are designed to provide unsurpassed comfort without heating, and can not be microwaved.
Bucky’s spa and gift items, which includes the Neckwrap, Bodywrap, Heartwarmer, HotWaterBottle, Serena, Eyelove and the kids' Woopsise are designed for hot and cold therapy. They contain whole buckwheat seeds, without zippers or metal parts and can be safely microwaved. However, please do not heat the aromatherapy sachets. The essential oils used to scent the sachet can cause the Hottie to burn in the microwave. For best results, tuck the aromatherapy sachet into the Hottie after it is heated.
*Please read and carefully follow all heating/chilling instructions.

Are buckwheat hulls hypo-allergenic?
Yes! Less than .016% of people have a reaction to buckwheat hull pillows. That's 1 in 6000.

How do I clean my Bucky?
Read and carefully follow the care instructions found on packaging or on the care label sewn to the pillow. NEVER wash any grain or grain hull filling.

Does Bucky use buckwheat hulls that are sprayed with pesticides?
Bucky’s buckwheat hulls are pesticide and herbicide free, as these are not needed when farming buckwheat. No chemicals or radiation are used in the cleaning of the hulls.

Why does Bucky use buckwheat hulls?
Buckwheat hulls are lightweight and durable and adjust easily to fit the contours of your body. Their unique triangular shape allows the hulls to lock together to provide firm, even, restful support. Buckwheat hulls allow constant air circulation through the pillow, keeping you cool and dry. Those with allergies to feathers or synthetics will appreciate buckwheat's hypo-allergenic nature. Unlike other pillow fillings, buckwheat hulls (and millet hulls!) do not compress under pressure which reduces stress on your head and neck. Best of all, buckwheat is natural AND environmentally friendly.

Why does Bucky use millet hulls?
Millet is best known as bird seed in America, but this tiny, nutritious grain is eaten daily by many cultures. Milling millet releases the half-spherical hulls from the seed. The hulls are smooth and durable, able to support the weight of your head without losing shape. They're quiet and slightly heat conserving. Like buckwheat, millet is hypo-allergenic. Millet hulls are also rich in silicic acid which, when released through body heat, can soothe muscle pain, stimulate the metabolism and improve the immune system.

Will the fillings break down?
Buckwheat hulls, millet hulls, and flax seeds are durable and will give years of exquisite comfort with normal use of your pillow.

Dim the lights please

It seems like everyday there's something in the news about sleep. Here are some great tips from Monday's San Francisco Chronicle. I especially like the one about avoiding bright light up to 3 hours before going to bed -- that means no more late evening workouts at the gym for me if I want to fall asleep easily.
Stanford's Dr. Clete Kushida, president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who has worked in the field of sleep research since 1977, offers these tips to a better night's sleep:

Maintain a regular schedule, getting to bed and rising at the same time as consistently as possible each day, selecting the number of hours of sleep that make you feel best, whether it's seven hours or 10.

Use bright light within five minutes of waking, for 30 minutes, to synchronize your internal clock.

Avoid bright light two to three hours before bedtime, which delays sleep onset. If you read, get just enough light to read and avoid halogen.

Avoid remaining in bed if you can't sleep. After 20 minutes, if you can't sleep or fall back asleep, go into another room and do something else until you feel drowsy.

Avoid reading or watching TV in bed (especially thriller novels or action shows) unless it makes you drowsy.

Avoid napping, unless you nap every day at the same time for the same amount of time or you are tired and about to get behind the wheel of a car.Read the whole article here.
To learn more about insomnia, you can read Stanford Professor Dr. Rachel Manber's paper here.

Bucky Hotties Body Wraps: Moist heat for the winter blues

If it's cold where you are, Bucky body wraps are the answer. Moist heat radiates from the buckwheat warmed in the microwave, and these wraps save you money on your heating bills this winter too. What more could you ask for?

From Connie, soon to be owner of a Bucky buckwheat body wrap:

Thanks very much! We were in Soldotna at Christmas time, and the only Buckys I could find were the ones you can't put in the microwave. What's up with that?! I have the neck pillow, and it's grand. Grandma is 82 now, and when it's -22 in Alaska, you need all the heat you can get!

Bucky's 40 Blinks Sleep Mask Rated #1

Bucky's 40 Blinks Rated #1:
Top Products to Block Light and Noise

The secret is out!!! Bucky's great little 40 Blinks Sleep Mask was recently rated #1 by Good Housekeeping. Bucky 40 Blinks sleep mask earned the highest score for its contoured shape (which let testers blink comfortably) and its adjustable velcro strap.


Read the whole article here.

Blocking out light and noise is essential for a good night's sleep; many uncontrollable elements like light and noise can keep you awake at night. So Good Housekeeping also rated contoured masks and flush to the face masks with soft padded lining as top of the line products that will get you counting sheep in no time.

Sleep masks have been the biggest sleep saver of all for me. Now all I have to do is lay my head on the pillow, drown out streeet noise with earplugs, and slip my sleep mask over my head, and I'm asleep in no time flat.

10 Reasons Not to Skimp on Sleep

This is a great article from U.S News and World Report published October 16, 2008 summarizing ten reasons why good sleep is important for your health.

By Sarah Baldauf
Posted October 16, 2008

You may literally have to add it to your to-do list, but scheduling a good night's sleep could be one of the smartest health priorities you set. It's not just daytime drowsiness you risk when shortchanging yourself on your seven to eight hours. Possible health consequences of getting too little or poor sleep can involve the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and nervous systems. In addition to letting life get in the way of good sleep, between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from a chronic sleep disorder—insomnia or sleep apnea, say—that affects daily functioning and impinges on health. Consider the research:

1) Less may mean more. For people who sleep under seven hours a night, the fewer zzzz's they get, the more obese they tend to be, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. This may relate to the discovery that insufficient sleep appears to tip hunger hormones out of whack. Leptin, which suppresses appetite, is lowered; ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, gets a boost.

2) You're more apt to make bad food choices. A study published this week in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people with obstructive sleep apnea or other severely disordered breathing while asleep ate a diet higher in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat. Women were especially affected.

3) Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, its precursor, may become more likely. A 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people getting five or fewer hours of sleep each night were 2.5 times more likely to be diabetic, while those with six hours or fewer were 1.7 times more likely.

4) The ticker is put at risk. A 2003 study found that heart attacks were 45 percent more likely in women who slept for five or fewer hours per night than in those who got more.

5) Blood pressure may increase. Obstructive sleep apnea, for example, has been associated with chronically elevated daytime blood pressure, and the more severe the disorder, the more significant the hypertension, suggests the 2006 IOM report. Obesity plays a role in both disorders, so losing weight can ease associated health risks.

6) Auto accidents rise. As stated in a 2007 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, nearly 20 percent of serious car crash injuries involve a sleepy driver—and that's independent of alcohol use.

7) Balance is off. Older folks who have trouble getting to sleep, who wake up at night, or are drowsy during the day could be 2 to 4.5 times more likely to sustain a fall, found a 2007 study in the Journal of Gerontology.

8) You may be more prone to depression. Adults who chronically operate on fumes report more mental distress, depression, and alcohol use. Adolescents suffer, too: One survey of high school students found similarly high rates of these issues. Middle schoolers, too, report more symptoms of depression and lower self-esteem.

9) Kids may suffer more behavior problems. Research from an April issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children who are plagued by insomnia, short duration of sleeping, or disordered breathing with obesity, for example, are more likely to have behavioral issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

10) Death's doorstep may be nearer. Those who get five hours or less per night have approximately 15 percent greater risk of dying—regardless of the cause—according to three large population-based studies published in the journals Sleep and the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Related News
3 Ways to Get Better Sleep and Improve Your Health
Kids and Sleep: They Need More
The Athlete's Legal Performance Aid: Sleep

Bedroom Makeovers for Better Sleep

Makeover mania continues to sweep our country. It seems everyone is looking for ways to enhance their living space. As the makeover trend grows, it seems the bedroom is often neglected in lieu of updating more "public" areas of the home. However, the bedroom environment has a major impact on the quality and quantity of sleep. Improving it should be a top priority!

The bedroom should be the most luxurious and personal space in your home - a soothing oasis that is conducive to relaxation and indulgent comfort. And creating a personal sleep sanctuary that will meet your needs for rest and rejuvenation is easier than you may think.

I have been working on making my bedroom more serene and inviting. I plan to post some pictures as soon as I get a little further along. The experts are right, for the sleep-obsessed and sleep-challenged, the sleep environment makes all the difference in the world -- whether you the restful, rejuvenating sleep you need and deserve, or wake up after a fitful night feeling tired and out of sorts.

While I was working on making my bedroom environment more relaxing I found some great resources for bedroom makeovers.