The effect of anti-itch fiber on the quality of sleeping

For humans, sleeping has a role of restoring mind and body, and is an important function for recovery from fatigue. In recent years, more focus has been put on the quality of sleep rather than the quantity of sleep, and it has been found that the bedding and sleeping garments could disturb the quality of sleep.　There are many factors disturbing sleep, and itching during sleep deteriorates the quality of sleeping. Patients with atopic dermatitis are particularly suffering from poor sleep due to itching. Based on the results of our research so far, we have found that weak-acidic polyester, which possesses weak-acidic groups, suppresses itching due to atopic dermatitis. In this study, we adapt weak-acidic polyester to sleeping garments which contact directly with skin and aim to investigate whether the quality of sleeping is improved by suppressing itchiness during sleep. The sleeping garments were prepared with the weak-acidic polyester and untreated polyester fabrics. We asked 7 females with atopic dermatitis in their twenties and 7 healthy females in their twenties as subjects to wear the prepared sleeping garments at home. The quality of sleep was assessed by an electroencephalograph and the Athens insomnia scale, and the degree of itching was scored on a scale of 100 according to the visual analog scale (VAS). Sleep is specified by REM sleep and non-REM sleep according to brain activity at sleep. In REM sleep, the brain is still actively working and memory is organized and established. In non-REM sleep, the cerebrum is considered to be resting and is important for recovery from fatigue of the brain and body. Good sleep is determined by the amount of non-rem sleep. The wear tests confirmed that the weak-acidic polyester scored a higher rate of non-REM sleep than that of the untreated polyester in summer season. All the subjects wearing the weak-acidic polyester had a lower degree of itchiness and a higher proportion of non-REM sleep, confirming the effect of weak-acidic polyester.