Sleep is essential to a long and healthy life. Not only does a good night’s sleep help to ensure that you wake up more alert in the morning, but it provides you with a range of additional benefits, from helping to maintain a healthy heart to reducing depression and anxiety.
When it comes to a good night’s sleep, your mattress is arguably the most essential ingredient in helping to ensure that you are able to drift off into a peaceful slumber. If you have ever slept on a tired or lumpy mattress, then you will know just how uncomfortable they can be and just how restless a night you will have.
Nowadays, we are confronted with a plethora of mattress options to choose from, from various shapes and sizes, to the materials used in the construction. In order to keep manufacturing costs down, most large scale mattresses manufacturers will use a variety of different man-made synthetic materials, such as traditional petroleum-based foams and polyester fabrics.
However, as we all become more aware of our impact on the environment and look to live a greener, more sustainable life, there has been a significant rise in the use of natural, non-toxic mattresses.
What is a natural mattress?
A natural mattress is exactly as the name suggests. It is a bedding option that is made entirely from non-toxic, organic and natural materials. This means that the mattress is free from any potentially harmful chemicals, whilst they are known for their breathability, helping to keep you warm in the colder winter months alongside helping to wick sweat away to keep you cool in the summer.
Typically made from a combination of coir, organic wool and cotton, alongside natural latex, these mattresses are perfect for sufferers of various allergies as well as those living with asthma and other respiratory diseases.
The problem with traditional mattresses
Traditional petroleum-based foam mattresses are amongst some of the most common mattress options out there. There can be no denying that materials such as memory foam can give you a comfy night’s sleep; however, it also has a number of significant disadvantages:
Dangerous to your health
The use of petroleum-based foams has been commonplace since the 1960s and it is known to emit various compounds that can cause respiratory issues as well as causing skin irritation.
Alongside the materials used in the construction of the mattress itself, manufacturers then utilise chemical additives that are designed to provide the bed with fire-retardant properties. The sprays contain Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), which can be carcinogenic and can trigger various allergies.
Harmful to the environment
Alongside being harmful to your health, traditional petroleum-based mattresses are also harmful to the environment. The mattresses are made using crude oil, which is produced in oil refineries. These regularly pollute the environment with toxic emissions and fumes.
It is not just the crude oil that can be harmful, though. Non-organic cotton is produced using destructive farming techniques and cotton pesticides, which can run off into local crops and rivers, polluting the environment, and significantly impacting wildlife.
25% of all insecticides used in the world come from the conventional cotton market, as do 10% of the world’s pesticides. Unfortunately, these crops are often grown in some of the most impoverished parts of the world, where people find themselves with very little regulatory protection.
Harmful to the farmers
The non-organic cotton industry is not only harmful to the planet, but it also negatively impacts the farmers who grow it. For many small farmers in developing countries, growing cotton is an enticing prospect, but a lack of suitable equipment and knowledge on how to handle pesticides makes it very dangerous.
Pesticides are not the only factor causing issues for farmers and those living in the rural communities. The dyeing and bleaching processes for cotton use vast amounts of hazardous chemicals, which can be harmful to human health, their livestock, wildlife and the environment. In addition to the health risks, farmers in developing countries can find themselves only able to sell their produce at such a low rate, far below the minimum needed to live, forcing them to work long hours seven days a week.
The benefits of a natural mattress
A natural, non-toxic mattress is able to help reduce your impact on the environment and can provide you with a host of unique benefits:
Better for your health
By choosing a natural organic mattress it will ensure that you are able to sleep on materials that are completely natural and contain no additional chemicals, pesticides, or insecticides. This makes them very useful for people suffering from allergies and health issues.
Here at Snoozel Green, to ensure our mattresses are fire retardant, we blend a small amount of graphite into our latex to give it a natural protection. In addition, our top layer of wool also helps to provide further fire protection without needing to spray the mattress with harmful chemicals.
Equally, many organic materials are naturally resistant to mould and bacteria, as well as being repellent to dust mites, offering relief to many allergy sufferers.
Increase your comfort
Alongside being better for your health, non-toxic mattresses are also able to provide a far comfier night’s sleep. The natural materials offer an unrivalled level of breathability, which helps to ensure the bed has incredible thermo-regulating properties. This means that during the hot summer months, it will help to keep you cool, whilst those cold winter nights will be a thing of the past as your mattress helps to keep you warm and snug.
Our Snoozel Green natural mattresses feature an extra 5cm layer of latex around its sides, which is designed to help keep everything securely in place and create a firm edge. This edge to edge support removes any drop off feeling toward the side of the mattress, which helps to take the level of comfort even further, and ensures you will enjoy the best night’s sleep possible.
Better for the environment
By using eco-friendly materials, like the natural latex, GOTS 100 organic certified cotton and sheep wool that you will find at Snoozel Green, you will be reducing your impact on the environment. These environmentally friendly materials are biodegradable, and the lack of pesticides whilst growing the cotton ensures that there is no harmful runoff into other crops, rivers and the water table.
Treating farmers friendly
Purchasing a mattress made using organic cotton and wool farming techniques also means that you are helping to support the farmers who produce it. Organic farming ensures that workers are not only paid a fair wage, but they are also not exposed to harmful pesticides and chemicals otherwise utilised in mass cotton production.
How we can help
Here at Snoozel Green, it is our mission to help our customers enjoy a natural night’s sleep. We want to provide them with an affordable premium natural mattress that is not only beneficial for their health but also reduces their impact on the environment.
Our unique organic mattress is made by hand in Sri Lanka from natural materials, and we guarantee that there are no toxic chemicals or petroleum-based foams used in the construction.
We are so confident that you will enjoy your sleep when using our Snoozel Green mattress that we offer a 101-night trial, meaning if you are not happy with it, our team will collect it free of charge.
Want to find out more about the Snoozel Green Mattress? Check it out here!