Do You Sleep on a Healthy Bed?
by Eliana Jantz
The best way for me to begin to really address the "health" of your bed is to introduce you to the age-old wonders of pure wool.
I have been developing alternative sleep environments since 1980, using the best natural materials I could find, namely organic cotton and wool.
Through my business The Natural Bedroom, I soon came to the obvious conclusion that wool is superior to any other fiber, natural or synthetic, when it comes to creating a "healthy" bed.
Here's why:
- Wool handles moisture better than any other fiber. Completely mildew resistant, you, the sleeper, will always feel comfortable and never overly sweaty. There is no chance of mildew forming in the wool. (Mildew is one of the main irritants to the immune system, and people are often unaware of the presence of mildew in their bed).
- Wool responds to your body temperature changes instantly, always keeping you in the comfort zone. Never too hot nor too cold. This means wool will be comfortable in the winter as well as summer. For couples who share the same bed but require different conditions for optimal comfort, wool allows for it, by acclimating accordingly.
- Wool provides a wonderful resilient quality of support to your body. Again, it seems to cover the gamut of differing individual preferences, and is therefore a blessing to the couple sharing a bed. Wool can be a great relief for menopausal symptoms, as well as arthritic symptoms.
Wool has been a great friend to humanity for thousands of years the world over.
America lost its connection to wool when the industrial revolution introduced us wholesale to synthetics and their toxic counterparts. Europe never lost its appreciation for wool. Wool is their mainstay ingredient for quality bedding.
The wool I use is sheared locally and purchased directly from the woolgrowers. It is then washed and carded (combed into consistent layers batting). This very "pure" form of wool is used to make comforters and mattress toppers (or mini-mattresses), wool pads, wool comforters, and pillows, including neck-support pillows.
Untreated and unbleached cotton muslin surrounds the wool. There is no direct contact with the wool. You can completely surround yourself with the healing qualities of wool, top and bottom. I can guarantee that the improved quality of your sleep will be immediately obvious.
Do you have trouble sleeping? Whether you sleep on a water bed or a bed of feathers, sometimes we all have trouble getting to sleep. Here's a quick fix that may work for you: the sound of a Cat Purring with soothing classical music as you drift away. - Editors Now I would like to talk about the underlying mattress. This is what determines the quality of support. Most Americans have grown up sleeping on beds that are too soft and often it isn't until years later that this kind of support finally takes its toll and the body yearns for firm, solid support.
Spring mattresses (now filled with synthetic and toxic materials) are an American phenomenon. Europeans not only avoid boxsprings, but they also use significantly fewer innersprings. The spring mattress is in essence artificial support, and I consider it detrimental to good structural health.
Foam mattresses, the non-spring alternative, when placed on a solid base is a healthier form of support, but it does not breathe either, which leaves our skin stifled in its objective to detoxify and rebalance our whole system.
Good resting as a result of proper support will increase the normalcy of our biorhythms, our digestion, elimination, absorption, restoration, assimilation, immune and nerve system rebuilding.
I personally never liked the feel of the innerspring. As a child, I felt like I would roll off and fall on the floor, and so my choice was always the foam bed.
Finally, in 1980, I saw the first bed that I really liked. It was a hand-made, cotton-filled futon. It felt really friendly. I was so inspired I share-bought it for my sister's wedding.
Shortly afterward I moved from my home in Canada to northern California the land of the free and natural - but there was not a single cotton futon to be found. I searched for a clue on how to make these natural mattresses and was lucky to find someone who knew the traditional Japanese technique.
I started to give workshops so people could make their own natural mattresses, and I wrote how-to-manuals and materials and sold them by mail order. But the problem with cotton-filled mattresses (cotton futons) is that cotton has a tendency to mildew quite easily. Also, it dries too slowly.
Here is where the wool topper will help. The wool topper will remedy almost any situation, except the issue of mattress support quality.
If you are on a too soft mattress, obviously the wool topper will not remedy this situation. The simplest solution? A cotton futon or foam or latex mattress over a slatted wooden frame with a wool topper over it. This rather lightweight wool topper or pad can be easily aired and sunned - as the Europeans do - and moisture does not have a chance to settle in the underlying mattress.
So far, that is the best practical advice I can offer you.
You are welcome to visit our web site at Shepherd's Dream to learn more about our products and to learn how to get a brochure of the wool-filled bedding items we offer.
You can also call me, Eliana Jantz, at 1-800-966-5540 for a free consultation regarding your sleep needs. When you call during normal business hours, California time, please mention that you heard about Shepherd's Dream from Chet Day and Health & Beyond Weekly.
And, yes, you can always contact me via e-mail at jantz@sonic.net.
Finally, click here to see if your bed passes the healthy bed checklist.
Editor's note: Do you have sleepless nights? Can't seem to turn your brain off, get to sleep, or stay asleep?
If you'd like to start getting consistently good nights of sleep, we have an audio CD called NightTrain designed to help you fall into a restful, continuous sleep.
Here's what I experience with NightTrain: "The sleep I've been getting with NightTrain has been so good that for the first time in my life the alarm clock actually rips me out of sleep. Before I'd always been conscious in some form before it went off. Now, thanks to NightTrain, I'm deep in REM or stage 3 or 4 sleep before the alarm clock rings."
Click here to get your ticket and climb aboard the NightTrain express.
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