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Jewel, Carpenter Co. offer tips on better sleep

Singer promotes ‘Sleep Better. Dream Bigger' campaign

David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 28, 2009

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Ear plugs. A sleep mask. A cold room. And nothing too exciting on TV.

Those are some of singer and songwriter Jewel's sleep tips, which she shares with readers of Carpenter Co.'s SleepBetter.org Web site, in which the cushioning products giant talks about the importance of better sleep to better health.

Jewel performing for Sleep Better campaign

Jewel performs in Stephenville, Texas, as the “Sleep Better” campaign comes to an end. More than 500 residents attended the performance.

Carpenter executives Dan Schecter, left, and Ed Malechek check a topper in the showroom the company set up in an historic house in Stephenville, Texas, for its “Sleep Better. Dream Bigger” campaign.

Carpenter recently teamed up with Jewel to help tout the company's "Sleep Better. Dream Bigger" campaign, part of Carpenter's ongoing efforts to promote better sleep. The latest campaign was centered in this small (population: 17,000) Texas town, which happens to be Jewel's home. She lives on a 2,000-acre ranch outside the town with bull-riding champion Ty Murray, her husband, who, Jewel reports, "sleeps like a baby."

Dan Schecter, vice president of sales and marketing for consumer products for Carpenter, asked Jewel to support the better sleep campaign when he learned that her new CD, "Lullaby," was about to be released.

"Jewel has mentioned that both Carpenter Co. and what she was doing with her album were a great fit; both were helping Americans get a better night's sleep," Schecter said.

Jewel wrote the songs on her new CD during difficult periods of her life.

"When I was homeless, I was afraid to fall asleep on the street, so writing lullabies was a mechanical way to make myself relax," Jewel said in an interview with SleepBetter.org that is posted on that Web site. "‘Lullaby' is a mood album for folks to unwind to at night after a long day at work, but I've heard a lot of folks are using the CD during traffic hour, too!"

Jewel said her partnership with Carpenter was an enjoyable one. It helped her share sleep tips with her fans, she said, and it also is helping her fellow residents of Stephenville sleep a little easier at night.

The campaign enabled Stephenville residents to take a test designed by Carpenter that reveals their Zzzz scores, giving them insight on their sleep.

"Those Zzzz scores made people think more about how they are sleeping," Jewel said in an interview with Furniture/Today. And her fellow Stephenville residents loved Carpenter's IsoCool pillows, which feature Outlast technology, which adapts to the body's changing temperatures. "Those IsoCool pillows were a real hit," Jewel said. "I got one, too."

Her wide-ranging travels have given the singer insights on the importance of a good night's sleep. "Insomnia," she said, "is the common cold of musicians."

She admits to periods of insomnia at home and on the road. "It's something musicians talk about a lot," she said in a question-and-answer session with SleepBetter.org.

Her are some of the highlights of that interview:

What she does before falling asleep: "I'm probably the opposite of most other people. My business is words and phrasing. Listening to music is kind of like going to the office for me. When I read, I tend to get more stimulated. And I can't watch anything popular on TV, without trying to critique the writing, so I try to watch things that are formulaic, like ‘Forensic Files.' Nothing like a little murder and blood evidence to fall asleep."

On her use of ear plugs: "It's funny, I live on a 2,000-acre ranch and there's no noise. But I sleep with ear plugs and a mask. Yeah, I know. Really sexy. But I can actually hear the refrigerator clicking on. I'm so sensitive to sound I even have to unplug the TV. I can hear an electrical hum even when it's not on. It's nuts."

On how much she sleeps each night: "It just really varies. My ideal amount is eight hours, but my schedule changes every day. Sometimes it's maybe four, and I'm lucky to get that."

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