Good Night, Sleep Tight--Or Not?

Are you getting the sleep you need? We spend one-third of our lives asleep. From infancy to adulthood, the amount of sleep we get largely determines our happiness, health, and well-being. In fact, sleep deprivation can be more harmful than most people think. It carries both short and long-term consequences that can negatively impact one’s quality of life. Human beings are the only mammals who willingly delay sleep, so this is a unique issue for us. Let’s begin by identifying whether you might be sleep-deprived--it’s more common that most people realize--then we will outline possible consequences, and finally, we’ll offer solutions to help you achieve a better night’s sleep.

Are You Sleep Deprived? If it takes you less than five minutes to fall asleep at night, you may be suffering from sleep deprivation. Most healthy adults should take 10-15 minutes to fall asleep. In fact, if you regularly fall asleep within five minutes of your head hitting the pillow, it’s likely that you are severely sleep deprived and may even be suffering from a sleep disorder. Are you finding that your brain is functioning at full capacity? Sleep-deprived individuals show more impulsive behavior, less creative thought and words, forgetfulness, and increased clumsiness. You may also feel hungrier throughout the day as your lack of sleep affects two key hormones in your body, leptin and ghrelin, both of which help regulate appetite.

Possible Consequences Many of the warning signs of sleep deprivation are also things that impact your everyday quality of life. Coming down with illnesses more often could be a sign, and this is something that not only negatively impacts how you feel, but also leads to more missed work and deadlines. Losing sleep affects not only your physical health but your mental well-being also, as you may find yourself more emotional about little things. Lack of sleep impacts the functioning of your amygdala, the part of your brain that regulates emotions and processes fear and anxiety. Studies have shown that individuals suffering from lack of sleep have decreased functioning and communication from the amygdala to the rest of the brain, leaving them unable to determine appropriate emotional responses to a range of negative events. Short-term effects include memory impairment, decreased performance, and possible automobile injury. Long-term effects can be more serious and include high blood pressure, obesity, depression, ADD, and more. In fact, studies have shown an increasing mortality rate for those who report getting less than six or seven hours of sleep a night.

Making a Change for More Restful Nights The fact is that a better night’s sleep will happen when you are comfortable. A person’s individual comfort includes many factors, including the temperature of the room, proper air circulation, the right amount of covers or blankets, and a supportive mattress.

At Bel Furniture, we recognize that comfort means different things to different people, and this is why we’re pleased to offer a wide variety of mattresses through the Bel Mattress Company. We carry all sizes, from twin to king, and selections for all levels of comfort, from firm to memory foam. We even beds that have an adjustable foundation. Our Presidents Day Sale features a special buy one, get one free deal on Sealy Gel Posturepedic Mattresses. This is a fantastic chance to get new mattresses for the whole family, ensuring everyone is happy, healthy, and performing to the best of their abilities.

The sale is for a limited time only, so come in to shop today. You can also shop online 24/7 with our clickable insert.

Choosing Items to Complement Furniture

When you buy new furniture, whether it’s to furnish a new home or to revamp the style of your current home, the decision-making process doesn’t end there. Now you have to decide how you will decorate around the new pieces, including accessories, paint colors, area rugs, and more. It can be a daunting task, but there are tricks that can help you achieve the perfect look for your style. The Couch The couch is the single most important design element in your living room, as it is the piece of furniture around which you will build the rest of the space. It also serves as the focal point. Choosing a couch depends on many elements, including the size and layout of the room. What works for one place may not work for another. Versatile and stylish, a black leather couch is a classic choice, popular for good reason. This one from Bel is crisp, cool, and modern. Before deciding what to pair with it, begin by identifying what sort of style statement suits you best. Are you bold and modern, daring and edgy? Choose accent colors and pieces that work with the black to make a cool statement. Red and orange pop against a black sofa.


Maybe black works for you because it’s classic and it’s as much of a statement as you want to make. Going with light grays, blues, or greens can help soften the bold effect of a black couch.

Emily Henderson recommends starting with your favorite color and building everything else around this. She suggests pinpointing your go-to color, the one you gravitate toward when it comes to clothes and accessories. Once you do this, you can select more colors that will complement the base color. Just as with choosing colors for a black sofa, you can go as bold or subtle as you like.

Remember the color wheel that shows you what colors are warm and which are cool? She suggests incorporating both to achieve a balanced look. In general, cool tones are calming while warm tones are more exciting.

The final step is to choose an accent color that offsets the main color choice. This will help ensure the room has personality and doesn’t look too bland or monotone.

Final Touches The final pieces of the puzzle, the last remaining decisions that stand between you and a completely decorated room, are smaller items such as throw pillows, decorative items, and area rugs.

The rug is often the element that ties the entire room together, so it’s an important choice. One of the things you must consider when purchasing a rug is the size of a room. Bel offers rugs in various sizes and designs, making it easy for you to find the perfect fit.

Throw pillows are a vital part of accessorizing a room. They can completely change the personality of a couch. Go for at least two colors that match the color scheme. If you have an area rug that incorporates multiple colors in the room, pillows can help you draw out the colors you want to highlight. Finally, be careful with how many decorative items and knickknacks you use around a room. Stick with things that have special meaning to you, as we can accumulate many items over the years and they make easy targets for collecting dust. Purge some items from your collection now and then to make sure your home isn’t too cluttered.

Spring Furniture: New Arrivals!

The arrival of spring brings with it the desire to start fresh and new. At Bel Furniture, we understand the need to spruce up a home with a new season, and we’re excited to show off our latest arrivals to help our customers achieve this goal. We invite you to breathe fresh life into your home with one of our gorgeous new pieces of furniture.

For the living room, we have several nice options.
This mirrored accent cabinet gives any room a bright
and fresh look, offering uniqueness while remaining 
versatile enough to blend with a variety of colors and styles.






This sofa/ottoman set evokes the spirit of spring with its bright, neutral tone and ability to coordinate well with a variety of bright accessories. Its soft, microsuede fiber fabric invites guests to sit down and stay awhile. Planning to host a gathering now that the weather is getting nicer? You’ll have plenty of seating space with this sofa, and it will be a treat to show off your gorgeous new furniture.

In the kitchen/dining area, we carry a lot of great options that will give your home the updated look it needs. We have a wide selection of marble top table sets that add a touch of elegance to your home. This 5-piece dinette set

In bedroom furniture, we have a lot of fun new items for children. We have bedroom sets in styles catering to boys and girls, such as our twin bed with a basketball headboard and our hot pink tufted bed with trundle. Sleepovers this spring will be more exciting with furniture that they will love to show off to their friends. For adults, we have a fresh spin on contemporary elegance with this bedroom set, available in King or Queen. A circular pattern adds a pleasing visual touch to the top of all the pieces. The theme is carried through the rest of the design with the drawer knobs and the pattern on the back of the headboard.

These are just a few examples of some of the fantastic new items we’ve gotten. Each week, we add more stock, so we invite you to stop in and shop at any one of our Bel locationsor shop online, 24/7