Little is as important to your health as a good night’s sleep, but at The Ultimate Green Store, “good” just isn’t good enough. That’s why we do everything we can to promote and provide a great night’s sleep. To live a healthier and more balanced life, to live every day with everything you’ve got, it’s important you don’t just sleep and sleep well—it’s important you sleep healthy. Achieving a healthy night’s sleep starts with eliminating toxic chemicals from your bed. Here are 5 Steps to doing that.

Go Organic With Your Mattress

The first step to a healthy bed starts with the mattress. Your body will thank you for buying an organic mattress or a mattress that’s made in an eco-friendly way that reduces exposure to a number of chemicals found in conventional mattresses.

No Off-Gassing – When you lay your head down on a conventional mattress, you breathe in a lot of dangerous “off-gasses” throughout the night. Off-gassing is the process of a material emitting gas or gasses as a result of chemical processing. These chemicals have carcinogenic properties, get inhaled, and can also settle into house dust that floats around your home. Organic mattresses don’t have any chemicals which off-gas, which means you can breathe easy and sleep easy throughout the night.

Naturally Flame Retardant – Conventional mattresses, which are designed to be flame retardant, are ridden with toxic chemicals. The primary filling material used in most mattresses is polyurethane foam. This is what is often called memory foam, “biobased,” or “soybean” foam. Polyurethane foam is a highly flammable petroleum-based material. In fact, the National Association of State Fire Marshals refers to polyurethane foam as “solid gasoline.” This is why polyurethane foam is typically treated or wrapped with fire retardant chemicals—chemicals some manufacturers may not even disclose. Organic mattresses, however, are naturally flame resistant due to a few factors. First, the materials used themselves are naturally more flame resistant. For example, organic cotton batting, wool batting, plant-based PLA batting along with any steel used (such as steel innersprings) are naturally more flame resistant. When exposed to flames, these materials tend to smolder rather than quickly and rapidly burst into flames. Second, innovative design construction can also reduce an organic mattress’s vulnerability to flames. What this means is that, if there’s a fire, there is more critical time to escape.

Allergy friendly – Give your respiratory system a break. As a benefit of being chemical-free, many organic and eco-friendly mattresses are hypo-allergenic, which means that if you’re prone to allergic reactions, you won’t have to worry about breathing in harmful pesticides and other chemicals.

Durable – When compared to synthetic mattresses, organic mattresses are far more durable. Synthetic mattresses are less durable because the pesticides and chemical processing strip the material of its natural defenses. In terms of foam mattresses, they also often sink and lose their structural integrity.
Support & Comfort – The days of sacrificing one for the other are over. The natural textiles used and the thoughtful design of an organic mattress promote comfort and provide the necessary support many adult sleepers require.

An Organic Mattress Protector Matters

Just as important as the bed you’re sleeping on, a mattress protector plays an important role in a healthy night’s sleep. Not only does it defend against stains and liquid spills that would otherwise cause mold, it also fights off dust mites, microbes, and other bacteria. As you have probably guessed by now, an organic mattress protector also does all of that but without all the dangerous chemicals that synthetic protectors are notorious for. And that’s the real catch here: everything is provided naturally and without all the chemical treatments and over-processing. To add to the list of superpowers, organic mattress protectors are allergy friendly.

  

Wrap Yourself and Your Bed in Organic Sheets

Don’t just stop with the mattress and the protector. Wrap your bed in something that’s as friendly to the environment as it is to you—wrap your bed in organic cotton and bamboo sheets from The Ultimate Green Store. Our branded line of sheets by Ultimate Green meet the strict processing standards and adhere to ecological and social criteria set by The Global Organic Textile Standard (known as GOTS). But, what’s more, our sheets are also USDA certified and European Union Certified organic. Now that’s chemical and cruelty-free comfort you can sleep easy on.
Choosing the right sheets can be a bit difficult, especially when shopping online. If you’re wondering how to choose the right sheets for your bed, here are a few bonus tips:

Find the material that’s right for you. Organic Sateen sheets tend to be soft and drapy. Organic Percale sheets have a crisper cool feel (much like the sheets often used in high end hotel rooms). Organic flannel sheets are, naturally, great for the colder months. Eco-friendly bamboo sheets are soft and also have a cooler feel and are great for those who run hot at night.

There’s Nothing Better Than An Organic Wool Mattress Topper

We have a problem, but we think it’s a good problem to have. We can’t get enough of wool, we admit it. It’s hard not to love something that’s naturally dust mite resistant, a natural temperature regulator, and unbelievably comfortable. So now that that’s out in the open, let’s get right down to it: if you want the feeling of sleeping in a cloud, a wool topper is a great investment and we have plenty to choose from!

Some of our favorite wool mattress topper benefits include:

Additional protection – An organic wool mattress topper provides more protection for your mattress.

Huggable comfort – Because why not make your already comfortable bed even more comfortable? If you can’t buy a new mattress or you’re finding a new mattress not as comfortable as you thought it would be, an organic wool mattress topper can turn your uncomfortable mattress into something bearable and even enjoyable.

For those with health issues – A mattress topper can be great for people with joint problems who need a softer feel as well as people who have health issues such as fibromyalgia.

Choose A Healthy Organic Pillow That Meets Your Needs

We all sleep differently, but plenty of people love to hug and squeeze their pillow at night. No matter how you sleep, the pillow (or pillows) you use end up right against or close to your mouth and nose through which you breath. With so many different pillow options out there, we took the time to break things down a bit to help you decide what’s best for you.

Latex Pillows – We promise, latex pillows aren’t as uncomfortable as they sound. In fact, they’re incredibly cushy, but we love that they’re hypoallergenic all on their own. Latex pillows are also long lasting and provide firm yet flexible support around the head and neck. Plus, latex naturally absorbs moisture to regulate heat and inhibit mold and mildew growth.

Wool – With a wool-filled pillow, turning your pillow over in the middle of the night to keep your head cool is a thing of the past. Wool pillows feature natural moisture wicking properties to keep your head cool and comfortable. It has also been indicated that those who sleep with a wool-filled pillow experience deep REM sleep for longer. Which really just means wool pillows help you sleep better for longer. Again, we also want to bring up the fact that wool is naturally resistant to dust mites–an added benefit for allergy sufferers.

Plant-based PLA Filled Pillows – What is PLA? PLA is a plant-based biodegradable material derived from plant sources, such as cornstarch or sugarcane. The PLA filled pillows we carry are encased in organic cotton and, unlike wool pillows, have the added benefit of being washable. This is a great choice for kids who may need to have their pillows washed often.

To browse through all the different types of organic cotton, wool, and latex bedding products we carry, please view our online bedding catalog.