Good nights and sleep
“ Our homes are places for rest, retreat and rejuvenation.”
If designed and furnished simply and thoughtfully, they can help us restore our natural balance and connection with nature. But for most of us, creating a healthy home environment is often unfamiliar and sometimes overwhelming. Where do we begin? The key is in the most important room of the house: the bedroom.
The bedroom is where you relax and unwind. Transforming the bedroom into a healthy, environmentally clean and comfortable retreat is one ofthe most important steps we can take to improving our overall health and well-being. For those who have allergies, asthma, chemical sensitivities or frequent colds and flu, a healthy, natural bedroom can give you relief and a big boost to your immune system. When you consider that we spend a third of our lives in bed, investing in a healthy mattress and bedding, and performing a few simple tasks—such as keeping the room cool and well ventilated, removing electronics, and blocking light from the windows—makes perfect sense for our health and happiness.
Health Effects
During the night, we shed metabolic waste, detoxify, and regenerate. Unimpeded, this wondrous, complex process promotes better immunity and vigor so that we can better handle pollutants during the day. Because we are physically most vulnerable at night, however, contaminants commonly found in bedrooms, such as toxic chemicals, dust mites and low levels of mold in beds and bedding can have serious short and long-term effects. Common symptoms include chronic sinus problems, feeling "stuffed up", sneezing and runny nose, sleeping poorly and waking up with fatigue, headaches, foggy thinking, joint pain and skin irritations.
Start with the Bed
The most important piece of furniture in the home is the bed. For one third of our lives, our entire body is in direct contact with the materials we sleep in and on. And we inhale, at very close range, whatever is in those materials: dust mites and mold in synthetic mattresses that trap moisture, toxic chemicals from fire retardants, particularly those found in foams and battings, synthetic chemicals found in glues, fabric treatments, and dyes, and pesticide residues in conventional wool and cotton battings. But there's good news. Healthy, beautiful, comfortable beds and bedding made from organic, natural materials are available from Obasan.
Mattresses and bed systems at Obasan are made with high quality, organic wool batting—organic wool is naturally fire retardant—wicks and dries moisture away from the body. One hundred percent pure wool is also naturally dust mite resistant, and cushions the body. Since the average body loses about a pint of vapor into the bed every night, it's important that the battings used in beds and bedding efficiently and effectively wick and dry, so that conditions favorable for mold and dust mites are eliminated. Obasan beds are also made with 100% organic cotton. Grown and processed without toxic chemicals, organic cotton is free from synthetic poisons that could be absorbed into the bloodstream by contact with the user's skin, and they’re also free of irritating or damaging colors and dyes. Conventional cotton is one of the most intensively sprayed field crops in the world, damaging both the environment and the farmers exposed to the synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
“ Choosing organic cotton is good for the environment, good for farmers, and good for you.”
Like the organic cotton and pure wool, the natural rubber in natural beds is absorbent and resilent, contributing to excellent heat and moisture regulation. High-quality 100% natural rubber is the ideal alternative to metal coils, which can become magnetized in the presence of an electrical environment, creating a subtle type of DC electromagnetic field. The rubber in the Obasan mattresses is harvested by tapping the milk (sap) of Hevea brasiliensis (the common rubber tree). No herbicides are used in these operations because sheep graze the plantations and control growth.
All Obasan foundations and box springs are hand-constructed in the Obasan plant from seasoned, untreated and carefully selected natural spruce, insuring your home environment is protected from the toxic off-gassing that accompanies the use of harsh chemicals. By purchasing from sustainable companies such as Obasan, you help promote small farm operations and industries that use renewable resources and create less impact throughout the life cycle of the manufactured products. After all, human and planetary health are integrally connected.
Here are six easy ways to get your bedroom aligned with the needs of your body, mind and spirit:
Natural Comfort: Since in your lifetime you’ll spend more than 200,000 hours in bed, changing to an organic mattress and organic bedding is the simplest way to remove chemical exposure from a third of your life.
Leave the Daily Grind Behind: Too much brain stimulation affects sleep, especially when gathered late at night or before sleep.
Gentle on the Eyes: Light should be natural and gentle in a healthy bedroom. Control or eliminate all digital displays, standby lights, streetlights, nightlights which are all sleep disrupting sources of light.
Quiet Rest: Soundproofing the bedroom and eliminating noise is the best way to create quiet.
Keep it Cool: Temperature plays an important and often overlooked part in restful sleep. Throughout different sleep phases, the body’s temperature changes naturally. Lowering the thermosat and using comforters or blankets to keep comfortable will not only save energy but allow a restful sleep aligned with your body’s natural temperature rhythms.
Air it Out: Make every effort to eliminate chemicals, toxins, allergens, dust and contaminants. Eliminate contaminants by keeping the bedroom tidy andclutter-free. Old draperies, furniture and carpets should be removed. Consider buying a portable air filter to keep in the bedroom.
Sweet Dreams. Safe Dreams.