14 Jul Test sleeper Nancy van de Ruit enthusiastic about SkinDream pillowcases against night sweats
The test phase of the SkinDream bedding products is an important part of the development process. In May, several test sleepers started testing the SkinBreeze pillowcases. Nancy van de Ruit, author of the book “De Overgang: meer dan een Hot Flash (The Menopause: more than a Hot Flash)” and owner of the Facebook community “Hot Flash & The Gang” was one of the test subjects. Read the story about Nancy and her sleeping experiences with the SkinDream pillowcases.
Doctors told me this wouldn’t happen, but it did…
In 2010, an operation unexpectedly resulted in the onset of Nancy’s menopause. She was 44 at the time. “The operation cost me one of my Fallopian tubes and my first question was if this would bring on the menopause. The doctors said that wouldn’t happen, but it did”. Nancy’s life changed dramatically and mainly consisted of hot flashes, concentration problems, muscle and joint problems, cardiac arrhythmia and sleeplessness.
Do you want to sleep as well as Nancy?
Night sweats to such an extent that I had to change several times a night…
During menopause, a large percentage of women suffer from hot flashes, and the overheating, cardiac arrhythmia and profuse sweating that go with it. Especially night sweats, a consequence of hot flashes, are a real pain. Nancy says: “When I get a hot flash during the night, beads of sweat literally run down my face and neck. The first few years into my menopause, I had to change my nightclothes several times a night because they were soaked. And I turned my clammy/wet pillow countless times in search of a dry spot”. Nancy purchased numerous pillows, matrasses and types of bedding, hoping to make her nights somewhat more bearable. Each purchase came with high expectations, but unfortunately none of the products had the desired effect. By now, Nancy is over the worst part. She describes it like this: “I’m now in the autumn of the menopause, but the hot flashes are still there”. Fortunately, no longer 4-5 times an hour, but when they come, they are intense.
It’s incomprehensible, but the pillowcase simply didn’t get wet…
Nancy has tested two versions of the SkinDream pillowcase for us. They are made of different materials, each having a different structure based on the SkinBreeze textile technology. Nancy says: “With the first pillowcase I was immediately struck by how cool and smooth to the touch it was. The spot you lie on adopts a pleasant temperature without getting heated. When I had my first fit of night sweats, I was about to turn my pillow as I was used to, but to my surprise the sweating didn’t really continue”. Night sweats have an intrinsic cause and cannot be entirely prevented. Nancy did have the impression, though, that the fit stagnated: “It’s incomprehensible, but the pillowcase simply didn’t get wet”. During the first test week, Nancy slept surprisingly well. She woke up far less because tossing and turning in search of a dry spot wasn’t necessary. Interested to learn more about Nancy’s experiences with the first pillowcase? Read her blog here.
Strangely enough, when I touched the pillowcase it was bone-dry…
The week afterwards, she tested the second SkinDream pillowcase. And even though this pillowcase also made Nancy sleep a lot better than she had in a long time, she did notice a difference compared to the first pillowcase: “This one was also cool, soft and smooth to the touch, but after a while it did get a bit heated and warmer”. Nancy also reported that upon turning her head in search of a cool spot, the outer fabric tended to stick to her face a little bit: “This gave me the impression, especially after a fit of sweating, that the pillowcase had to be damp. I then had the urge to turn the pillow making my sleep more restless. Strangely enough, however, when I touched the pillowcase it was bone-dry”. During her second test week Nancy slept somewhat less well than the week before, which is why the first pillowcase is clearly favourite. Nancy: “Maybe my lyrical experiences with the first pillowcase are to blame for that! My inordinate expectations had become quite unbeatable.” Interested to learn more about Nancy’s experiences with the second pillowcase? Read her blog here.
I am over the moon with the SkinDream pillowcases and wished they had been invented nine years earlier…
All in all, Nancy is very happy with her SkinDream pillowcase, since her night sweats have significantly abated. “I am over the moon with the SkinDream pillowcases and wished they had been invented nine years earlier. Hot flashes and night sweats are a genuine pain in the neck for women, causing ensuing complaints like memory and concentration defects, exhaustion and mood swings”. The number of times Nancy wakes up during the night since the use of the SkinBreeze pillowcase has dropped from 20 to 30 times a night to 5 to 10 times. That is progress indeed!
I want to help women make menopause a subject of discussion…
Often enough, for many women their change of life is still a taboo, even though it currently affects 1.6 million women in the Netherlands. Each woman experiences menopause differently. Whereas one has serious complaints, the other hardly notices anything. Many women are met by a wall of complete incomprehension in their environment, making the complaints only worse. Nancy wants to change this. “I want to help women make menopause a subject of discussion and have had countless talks to that end. These conversations made me start writing all these experiences down”. This turned out to be a success, after which her collection of short stories “Menopause, more than a Hot Flash” was published. In addition, Nancy founded the Facebook Community “Hot Flash & The Gang” where she shares her experiences with other women.
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