Okay listen up folks how badly do you feel if you go several days we insufficient sleep? Well according to recent research you may well actually be suffering more than you think. Apparently missing out on sleep can cause the brain to stop producing new cells. Bear this in mind the next time you are out shopping and you are hoping to buy new beds and accessories etc.

It has always been the situation when you're looking for a new bed where the bed shop salesman for want of a better description gives you the hard sell on quite why the bed is so important and why sleep is so important but now it would appear that research albeit by accident would appear to support the bed salesman's claim

The above research was carried out by a team from Princeton University who found the lack of sleep affects the hippocampus; this for uninitiated is the region of the brain involved in forming brain cells.

Okay, okay, I know that the work was carried out on rats but scientists reckon that this particular study could mirror accurately what happens with human beings.

The long and short of it means that when we are out either buying a new bed or replacing our old one etc, we really should take the process seriously.

It is difficult I know, for most freethinking men when they're being led around the shops by their loved one's to take this sort of transaction seriously but we should.

So the next time your wife, girlfriend, partner, whatever, stops to talk to you about adjustable beds and accessories, memory foam mattress toppers adjustable bed linens even, get serious and pay attention because it matters.

There are also a small number of basic tips you can observe to ensure that you get a better night's sleep. Firstly it is always advisable if you keep regular hours. This means going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time. This helps to program your body into understanding and getting better sleep.

Another useful habit to get into is to create a suitably restful sleep environment. Your bedroom should be kept for rest sleep (and relaxation if you know what I mean?) and should be neither too hot nor too cold and it always helps if you can keep it as quiet and dark as possible.

Finally I found out recently that apparently the month of March in the United Kingdom is National Bed Month. The promotion surrounding this is Get the seven year itch. Apparently the idea they recommend is that you should be buying a new bed every seven to 10 years.

That however is only a recommended interval and according to experts people should be looking out for signs of wear and tear long before that. It could be by the time your bed is seven years old it is past its best.

The last thing you should remember and now this is a salutary thought. When you bought your last car, I bet you didn't buy it without having test drive and doing a fair amount of research. Is it not amazing that you don't do a similar amount of research when it comes to buying a bed and yet you spend more time in your bed you do in your car!