How I Found a Non-Toxic Mattress for the Best Sleep

You guys know me well, I try and find non-toxic products to use in my life and get rid of as many chemicals as possible. Some things are easy to transition and others are hard. For me, a really hard one was a healthy mattress. It’s a huge purchase, first of all, and one that you don’t take lightly. It deserves a lot of research and time to find the right one. One that was equally healthy as well as supportive for your spine… hello chiropractor in me!

Why a Healthy (and Supportive) Mattress is Important

Think about how much time you spend on your mattress. 7-8 hours a night. Did you know that is about 56 hours per week. It’s important to choose a mattress without toxins. And our sleep is so important and has a lot to do with our overall health and wellness.

When I was looking for a healthy mattress I found a lot of them that were healthy but not the most supportive for your body. They may have healthy materials but you wake up feeling like your spine probably wasn’t in the best position all night.

When we got married we used Phil’s mattress he had. It was a nice one and was only a handful of years old. We didn’t have it in our budget to get a new mattress and that one worked just fine. It had years to off-gas (release toxins) and we were fine using what we had and what we could afford.

Fast forward to when we bought our home. We needed a guest bed and decided to put our queen sized mattress we had been using into the guest room and upgrade to a king sized bed for our room.

The hunt for a great mattress was on.

1. Conventional Mattresses Contain Many Harmful Chemicals

The vast majority of mattresses you buy at a store and even online are full of harmful chemicals. Remember when I said we spend about 8 hours a night in our beds? That means you are exposed to 8 hours of toxins per day. Knowing you have this major source of toxic stress that you can get rid of, why don’t you? We all can sleep without toxins interrupting our sleep (as well as our cell health and hormone balance).

Dr. Mercola states, ” As of July 1, 2007, all U.S. mattresses are required to be highly flame retardant, to the extent that they won’t catch on fire if exposed to a blow torch. This means that the manufacturers are dousing them with highly toxic flame-retardant chemicals like polybrominated diphenyl ether, better known as PBDE, which do NOT have to be disclosed in any way.” They often contain:

• Boric acid, a toxic respiratory irritant used to kill roaches
• Antimony, a metal that may be more toxic than mercury
• Formaldehyde, which causes cancer

Unless your mattress company states they have a natural flame retardant that isn’t a chemical, one or many of these chemicals are in your mattress.

2. A Mattress Needs to be Supportive to your Spine and Body too

Like I said before, it’s the chiropractor in me who knows the benefit to a good supportive mattress. It’s almost as important as a non-toxic mattress. You are spending 8 hours a night on it, like I said before. Make sure it’s benefitting your body

You want a mattress that supports the natural curvature in your spine. One that’s not too hard and one that’s not too soft. I think a too-soft mattress is one of the worst things for your back and comfort levels. An old mattress that is all worn out is also hard on your muscles and joints.

You want a mattress that supports your body evenly and the different pressure points that sleep and different sleep positions bring. You also want a mattress that has a lot of durability and won’t break down over a few years, which is common with a lot of the mattresses now.

intelliBED Mattress: Our Mattress of Choice

After a lot of research and reviewing many companies, we went with an intelliBED. And we got a king size too (which we love so much, especially with a baby coming). The intelliBED is both non-toxic and supportive. I have to tell you, and this is no joke, it is the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on. I look forward to sleeping in my own bed and get the most supportive and restful sleep.

Here’s a few reasons why we chose intelliBED:
• This company has found a replacement material for foam to cushion the body called Intelli-Gel.
• Intelli-Gel was created by engineers to provide the body with the most pressure relief possible (up to 80%
more) and is great for your spine.
• My experience is that Intelli-Gel reduces the amount you toss and turn, allowing you to stay in the deep
healing stages of sleep longer.
• It provides better alignment support to the body than any other mattress I’ve looked at, which is necessary to
hold adjustments.
• Unlike beds that use a lot of foam, intelliBEDs provide consistent support and are guaranteed for 30 years.
Who wouldn’t love not having to purchase a new bed every few years?
• They don’t use any toxic materials in the build out of their beds or any chemical fire retardants, which is incredibly important.
You can still receive a 10% discount for mentioning my name or using this code: DrMeghanBirt42. IntelliBED offers a 60-day 100% money back guarantee, including free return shipping. They want you to be able to sleep on it and make sure you love it before you buy it.

And it takes up to 30 days to get used to the new mattress. It took us about 10 days to get used to it and get great sleep. The Intelli-Gel evens out the pressure points on your body and it feels a little different at first. But after that adjustment period, you’re sleeping like a baby, and that is so good!

To learn more, call (888) 435-2339 or use their Schedule Consult tool (website below) where you schedule an appointment to speak with one of their Sleep Wellness Advisors. Their Advisors can help explain their technology and which intelliBED will work best for you. You can also go online www.intellibed.com/schedule 

What if I can’t afford a New Mattress?

Ok, let’s address cost, because cost is a factor in these big decisions. Our health is important but I know we have to be wise with our spending and save up for big purchases. There’s a price tag for a healthy mattress, but remember you’re spending 1/3 of your life on it.

If you’re worried about your toxic mattress, start saving for it. The best thing now is what you are going to do with the information you know about. Take action, but it’s ok if it takes some time before you buy your mattress. Choose to make it a priority by saving for it. We bought ours in January of 2015 and we had been saving for a few months. It was one of our favorite purchases ever and was definitely a priority over anything else to get for our house. We may not have a rug in our living room or our closets decked out in storage solutions, but we do have a safe and supportive mattress that is going to more than pay for itself in your health over the next years.

Remember… your health is worth investing in!

References

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/11/is-your-mattress-making-you-sick.aspx