Sanctuaries for Sleep

Sanctuaries for Sleep

Toxin-free Mattresses Promote the Sweetest, Safest Dreams

 By Linda Sechrist

If children are to close their eyes, dream their dreams and let their imaginations take them on adventures never before told, as the poet Rebecca J. Burns suggests in Dream Your Dreams, they need a sanctuary of their own for sleeping. One of its keyelements should be a toxin-free mattress that provides a safe place for restorative rest.

 Wynken, Blynken and Nod were probably sleeping on organic mattresses and wrapped in organic cotton sheets when they dreamed of sailing amongst the stars. While no poisonous chemicals lurk within mattresses in the fantasy world of nursery rhymes, the real world is a different story:  Traditional mattresses may contain about a pound of boric acid, a flame-retardant pesticide used to kill roaches. While it may be hard to believe that we spend one-third of our lives sleeping on the 30 or more chemicals typically found in traditional mattresses, it’s equally as challenging to comprehend the numerous other toxins that our bodies have to tolerate in food, clothing, cleaning products and even the mattresses we sleep on. Unfortunately, the majority of individuals today don’t discover this until they begin experiencing health issues, such as allergies. Only when they begin to investigate some of the invisible causes, such as chemical sensitivities, which generally build up over a period of time, do they discover the chemicals used to manufacture mattresses.

 The pure wool used in certified organic mattresses is naturally flame-retardant and the natural rubber is anti-microbial and mold- and mildew-resistant. Neither rubber nor wool attracts dust mites, an added benefit for anyone suffering from allergies.

 Although many bedding products may be referred to as organic, consumers need to look for proper certification to ensure that a purchase is not organically produced in one place and artificially processed in another. In an industry where ‘greenwashing’ occurs, third-party certification is essential. The only assurances we have that the stringent standards for organic certification have been upheld in the production of a mattress or any bedding products are the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Oeko-Tex Standard 100, and GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) certification for low VOC emissions. Certificates of Sustainable Textiles specify that no pesticides be allowed in fields where cotton grows or sheep graze.

 A night spent enjoying the support and softness of a natural rubber mattress topped with natural wool and cotton is the next best thing to sleeping on a cloud—a healthy, heavenly rest that even Wynken, Blynken and Nod could dream on.

 Linda Sechrist is a managing editor for Natural Awakenings Magazine, a freelance writer, and the Director of the Upstate Green Central Station.