Greening your Sleep
Well . . . here is something that we have people asking us about all the time, so we thought we would add it to our blog......
What toxins should I worry about in my house? Today we will start with STEP 1.... Your bedroom. Since this is a place that you spend many hours a day, it is important to create a healthy environment. One of our favorite books and one that we will most likely quote often, is Homes That Heal, by Athena Thompson. Since reading this book, we have enrolled in a course called Bau-biologie. It is the study of how buildings affect our health and it has become extremely important to us. Eventually we will become certified but until then, we will provide information along the way that we are reading/learning about.
So! Back to your bedroom....if we all stopped and thought about the fact that every single item that we bring into the bedroom affects how we sleep, we would be overwhelmed. But it is absolutely true! Here are the shocking facts first:
1. Your mattress has more synthetic chemicals than a barrel of crude oil!
2. Most memory foam pillows have petroleum based chemicals.
3. Cotton production accounts for 10% of world pesticide use, and nearly 25% of world insecticide use.
4. Synthetic/cotton blends are usually treated with formaldehyde. (Oh and Fyi.... you can never wash out formaldehyde. More on that below)
5. Gases from formaldehyde can cause dizziness, nausea, fatigue and other symptoms (and we have our head on this!).
6. The average pillow increases 2 pounds in weight from the build-up of micro-toxins that occur naturally in every home. This means dust mites and their waste, mold spores, pollen and even pet dander....yuck!
Now, as much as we try to not shove the "green" way of life in people's faces, this is where we have to just say, "People, this is what we are sleeping on every single night!". And we wonder why the U.S. has the highest cancer and illness rate in the nation. Here are our top 5 tips of how to start the "slow" process in creating a healthier environment for you and your family....
1. If you can start with just one thing, start with new pillows. The healthiest choices for you are organic cotton fill, pure grow wool fill, or a mixture of both. Also make sure that you use organic cotton covers. Another thing to think about is all of those nasty hair & face products that we deposit onto our pillows every single night. Make sure to wash your pillowcases every week at least. Pure grow wool is also dust mite free....;) To view click here: http://www.freshandgreen.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4_53&products_id=543&osCsid=0a941a48c849ad79108d03da2480cd70
2. Now, this tip is great because it is free! One of the best things that you can do for a "restful" sleep is to remove all of the electrical devices from your nightstand. Just this one simple step made my husband sleep better after one night. He had, like many do, a cell phone, an alarm clock and a lamp all next to his side of the bed. These products produce what is called, EMR (electro magnetic radiation). If you can position the head of your bed away from the majority of plugged in devices and an exterior wall that may have the electric panel, AC unit, hot water heater, etc., then you will decrease the EMR activity and improve your chances for a restful sleep.
3. Try and buy a mattress made from natural materials, such as certified organic cotton, natural latex, or pure grow wool ( this is wool that has been sheared from clean sheep who were undipped, untreated, free-range animals, or a combination of both). You don't want a mattress with metal springs because this also conducts electricity and can interfere with EMR. Vacuum your mattress regularly to reduce dust mites. Also, try to either go without a bedskirt, or at least wash it regularly. This can also create yet another home for dust mites. Now, obviously mattresses are an expensive purchase so if this is not an option, then at least try to purchase an organic mattress cover that again is either certified organic cotton, or pure grow wool (dust mite-free).
4. Another free tip....... Open those windows! Fresh air is one of the most important things that you can do to clear out everyday pollutants that we generate in our homes that have no way to escape. When carbon dioxide levels rise, this is what can cause drowsiness, headaches and poor concentration. So, if you ever find yourself not being able to wake up in the morning, try this out and see if it helps a bit!
5. Here's a big one. Most kids bedroom furniture are made from pressed wood products. Particleboard is one of the "worst" and let me say that again, "worst" products for offgassing large amounts of formaldehyde. Here is the definition of formaldehyde or HCHO: A colorless gas at room temperature with an extremely pungent suffocating aroma. It is a highly reactive gas, classified as a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). The term volatile means that the compounds vaporize, i.e. become a gas at room temperature. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states that acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to formaldehyde in humans can result in respiratory symptoms, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Limited human studies have reported an association between formaldehyde exposure and lung and nasopharyngeal cancer. Animal inhalation studies have reported an increased incidence of nasal squamous cell cancer. EPA considers formaldehyde a probable human carcinogen. So, if you are buying furniture for a child's room, make sure to stay away from particleboard and if you already have some you might want to think about replacing it with a natural wood product if at all possible. To read more about formaldehyde from the EPA go to this link: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/formalde.html
Here are our tips....... Sweet Dreams!
What toxins should I worry about in my house? Today we will start with STEP 1.... Your bedroom. Since this is a place that you spend many hours a day, it is important to create a healthy environment. One of our favorite books and one that we will most likely quote often, is Homes That Heal, by Athena Thompson. Since reading this book, we have enrolled in a course called Bau-biologie. It is the study of how buildings affect our health and it has become extremely important to us. Eventually we will become certified but until then, we will provide information along the way that we are reading/learning about.
So! Back to your bedroom....if we all stopped and thought about the fact that every single item that we bring into the bedroom affects how we sleep, we would be overwhelmed. But it is absolutely true! Here are the shocking facts first:
1. Your mattress has more synthetic chemicals than a barrel of crude oil!
2. Most memory foam pillows have petroleum based chemicals.
3. Cotton production accounts for 10% of world pesticide use, and nearly 25% of world insecticide use.
4. Synthetic/cotton blends are usually treated with formaldehyde. (Oh and Fyi.... you can never wash out formaldehyde. More on that below)
5. Gases from formaldehyde can cause dizziness, nausea, fatigue and other symptoms (and we have our head on this!).
6. The average pillow increases 2 pounds in weight from the build-up of micro-toxins that occur naturally in every home. This means dust mites and their waste, mold spores, pollen and even pet dander....yuck!
Now, as much as we try to not shove the "green" way of life in people's faces, this is where we have to just say, "People, this is what we are sleeping on every single night!". And we wonder why the U.S. has the highest cancer and illness rate in the nation. Here are our top 5 tips of how to start the "slow" process in creating a healthier environment for you and your family....
1. If you can start with just one thing, start with new pillows. The healthiest choices for you are organic cotton fill, pure grow wool fill, or a mixture of both. Also make sure that you use organic cotton covers. Another thing to think about is all of those nasty hair & face products that we deposit onto our pillows every single night. Make sure to wash your pillowcases every week at least. Pure grow wool is also dust mite free....;) To view click here: http://www.freshandgreen.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=4_53&products_id=543&osCsid=0a941a48c849ad79108d03da2480cd70
2. Now, this tip is great because it is free! One of the best things that you can do for a "restful" sleep is to remove all of the electrical devices from your nightstand. Just this one simple step made my husband sleep better after one night. He had, like many do, a cell phone, an alarm clock and a lamp all next to his side of the bed. These products produce what is called, EMR (electro magnetic radiation). If you can position the head of your bed away from the majority of plugged in devices and an exterior wall that may have the electric panel, AC unit, hot water heater, etc., then you will decrease the EMR activity and improve your chances for a restful sleep.
3. Try and buy a mattress made from natural materials, such as certified organic cotton, natural latex, or pure grow wool ( this is wool that has been sheared from clean sheep who were undipped, untreated, free-range animals, or a combination of both). You don't want a mattress with metal springs because this also conducts electricity and can interfere with EMR. Vacuum your mattress regularly to reduce dust mites. Also, try to either go without a bedskirt, or at least wash it regularly. This can also create yet another home for dust mites. Now, obviously mattresses are an expensive purchase so if this is not an option, then at least try to purchase an organic mattress cover that again is either certified organic cotton, or pure grow wool (dust mite-free).
4. Another free tip....... Open those windows! Fresh air is one of the most important things that you can do to clear out everyday pollutants that we generate in our homes that have no way to escape. When carbon dioxide levels rise, this is what can cause drowsiness, headaches and poor concentration. So, if you ever find yourself not being able to wake up in the morning, try this out and see if it helps a bit!
5. Here's a big one. Most kids bedroom furniture are made from pressed wood products. Particleboard is one of the "worst" and let me say that again, "worst" products for offgassing large amounts of formaldehyde. Here is the definition of formaldehyde or HCHO: A colorless gas at room temperature with an extremely pungent suffocating aroma. It is a highly reactive gas, classified as a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). The term volatile means that the compounds vaporize, i.e. become a gas at room temperature. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states that acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to formaldehyde in humans can result in respiratory symptoms, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Limited human studies have reported an association between formaldehyde exposure and lung and nasopharyngeal cancer. Animal inhalation studies have reported an increased incidence of nasal squamous cell cancer. EPA considers formaldehyde a probable human carcinogen. So, if you are buying furniture for a child's room, make sure to stay away from particleboard and if you already have some you might want to think about replacing it with a natural wood product if at all possible. To read more about formaldehyde from the EPA go to this link: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/formalde.html
Here are our tips....... Sweet Dreams!
Labels: greening your sleep, restful sleep, toxic sleep
posted by posted by freshandgreen at at
4:43 PM
0 Comments
