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Healthy BedroomsA third of your life revolves around the bedroom – why wouldn’t you want the healthiest and most peaceful environment for those eight hours? True rest and relaxation in a safe, healthy bedroom can result in improved physical and mental health, enhanced energy throughout the day, and escape from the stress and cloudy energy that accompany rest that is not truly restful. Click on the links below for information on the how and the why of making your bedroom a healing sanctuary from the challenges of the day-to-day world. Select a Link to learn more about a specific topic: At Eco-Terric, we understand that the centerpiece of every healthy bedroom is a healthy bed. State-of-the-art sleep technology is found not in treated foam, metal frames or toxicity, but in healthy materials, thoughtful design and unsurpassed comfort. Look for nontoxic materials, including untreated maple frames, organic cotton and organic wool, and chemical-free, pure latex. In addition to the materials used in constructing a healthy bed, look for options that provide true support for the spine. Split-pad and wood slat construction allow unsurpassed flexibility for lumbar and knee support. Avoid cumbersome covers, which tend to trap dust mites that can cause many sleepless nights all by themselves. Also, don’t underestimate the role that positioning your bed can play in creating a healthy and productive sleep space. Click here for more information on the best location for your bed. We recommend Natura beds and sleep systems – they provide unsurpassed comfort and unimpeachably healthy sleep options. Click here for more information and to browse our green and healthy sleeping options. > TOP Almost as important as what your bed is made out of, is where you place it in your bedroom. Here are some suggestions, derived from the ancient traditions of feng shui, as seen in "The Healthy Home," by Jackie Craven.
> TOPWe recommend the following steps to create a sleeping oasis in your very own home:
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These tiny organisms are found in mattresses and bedding and can cause itching, sneezing, runny noses, skin rashes and more – all of which disrupt peaceful sleep. Dust mites are legion and can’t be completely eradicated, but a few sensible strategies can minimize them. Fighting moisture in the bed by using organic wool elements in mattresses and bedding can help, as can using wood frame or wicker chairs, as opposed to upholstered furniture. Other useful suggestions are keeping most clutter and unnecessary items out of the bedroom, keeping surfaces dust-free, washing bedding often in hot water and hanging out to dry on a sunny day and avoiding wall-to-wall carpeting. You may also try a natural dust mite cleansing spray made from Neem oil. The spray is applied to mattresses, pillows and upholstery and re-applied after 4-6 weeks. This treatment effectively removes dust mite infestation for up to a year. > TOP Electric fields, Body Voltage and Stress in the Bedroom (This section reprinted courtesy of Larry Gust, BBEC, Gust Environmental www.healbuildings.com) Your bedroom should be a healing place not a stressful place. Sleep is the time when your body's defenses are lowered, while your body focuses on healing and rejuvenation. Providing your immune system with the appropriate sleeping environment to allow maximum effectiveness in repairing the body keeps you healthier, and helps you fight off illnesses more rapidly. The stress caused by the electric fields produced by electricity supply wiring in most bedrooms is a greater threat to your health, sleeping and healing than are those very visible high voltage transmission lines you see running through some neighborhoods. You probably wouldn't build or buy a house near high voltage transmission lines because you would have an innate sense of unease about the electromagnetic risk your family might face. What most people do not understand is that the typical wiring in the bedroom walls, ceiling and floor along with lamps, clocks and extension cords create Electric Fields 10 to 500 times the ideal level. You probably wouldn't build or buy a house near high voltage transmission lines because you would have an innate sense of unease about the electromagnetic risk your family might face. What most people do not understand is that the typical wiring in the bedroom walls, ceiling and floor along with lamps, clocks and extension cords create Electric Fields 10 to 500 times the ideal level. Think about it --your walls encircle you with unseen live electric wires that give off electric fields that charge your body every time you lay down to sleep. The experience of Building Biologists has demonstrated that high body voltage in the bed can cause both long term healing problems as well as short term problems. Short term problems include difficulty getting to sleep, difficulty remaining asleep for six to eight hours, muscle pain, heightened allergy response during the day, increased daytime nervousness, bed wetting in children and lack of refreshing sleep. If you do wake up feeling tired rather than refreshed, your sleeping environment could be at fault. Courtesy of Larry Gust, BBEC, Gust Environmental www.healbuildings.com
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Organic wool offers many benefits both for you and the environment. For You: Organic wool creates an unsurpassed, luxurious and healthy sleep environment. During the night, the average person can lose up to a pint of moisture. Wool fibers absorb and store moisture, and also trap pockets of air that regulate temperature in every season and climate. Also, organic wool is completely chemical-free, avoiding pesticides and dyes that can irritate and endanger sleepers. For The Environment: Organic wool is harvested in environments free from toxic pesticides that are damaging to humans, fish and amphibians, and which can potentially cause groundwater contamination. Pesticides used in sheep dips have also consistently been linked to nervous system damage in exposed workers. Additionally, growth-promoting antibiotics used on sheep may leach into groundwater, including drinking water, which could compromise the effectiveness of such medicines for humans. For further information: Sleeping well and organic wool > TOP Organic cotton is good for the environment, good for farmers and good for you. GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: Cotton is one of the most intensively sprayed field crops in the world. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that more than 53 million pounds of pesticides and 1.6 billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were applied to cotton fields in 1996. Organic cotton is grown without chemical agents (fields must be free of synthetic chemicals for three years before they are certified), and so minimizes damage to soil, water and air. GOOD FOR FARMERS: On chemical-use cotton farms, farmers are constantly exposed to synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, endangering them and their families. In developing countries, poor, untrained and ill-equipped farmers are often forced to deal with the most hazardous of chemical agricultural agents. Organic farms are chemical fertilizer- and pesticide-free, keeping their soil and water protected and usable for longer periods of time. GOOD FOR YOU: 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. Many organic cotton products are also free of irritating or damaging colors and dyes. Additionally, you acquire the peace of mind associated with being a part of a global solution toward sustainability. > TOP |
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