3 Ways Your Mattress May Be Harming Your Health While You Sleep

At the end of the day, do you love collapsing into bed? Maybe, like most people, you see your bed as a safe place to rest and refresh your body. But, there’s something you probably don’t realize.

Though quality sleep is the foundation of good health, if the mattress you’re sleeping on is releasing toxic chemicals, not supporting quality sleep, and providing improper support, then it is holding you back from achieving the health, and healing, you want.

The Surprising Truth About What’s In Most Mattresses

Don’t think your mattress is toxic? Think again. Because you’d be surprised how much there is to learn about the mattress industry, and how toxic most beds are, even some mattresses that describe themselves as “natural” or “eco-friendly” or other unregulated terms.

And here are two factors you probably haven’t considered: First, aches and pains may seem common as you age, but these concerns are often due to an unsupportive mattress. Even most new mattresses don’t provide the right support!

And second, a mattress can greatly affect the quality of your sleep. When you toss and turn all night, your mattress isn’t comfortable in the way it needs to be, and you’re preventing yourself from achieving deep sleep, where restorative healing happens. Also, if you don’t get enough quality deep sleep, you might find yourself getting sick more often. Definitely not something you want these days!

You might think mattresses are generally safe. Surely some organization or government body is regulating them and making sure they aren’t harming people. We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed, after all!

Unfortunately, that’s not true. In his book, Sleep Safe in a Toxic World, Walt Badger likens the regulations around mattresses to that of cigarettes in the 1930s: “Completely unregulated and everyone thinks they’re safe.”

The truth is, most mattresses are loaded with harmful chemicals that can pollute the air you breathe, and harm your body. Plus, mattress companies are not required by law to tell you what they put in their products.

Do You Know What’s In Your Mattress? Most People Don’t

Once upon a time, mattresses were made with only truly natural materials, like feathers, horsehair, and wool. And then, synthetic materials began to be created. Now, most beds are a mix of synthetic ingredients, plastics, along with some natural materials.

When you start reading about the toxicity of conventional mattresses (and yes, I’m talking about some popular ones, too), you can become overwhelmed, and disheartened. You might begin to wonder, is it even possible to truly have a clean, healthy, supportive mattress that doesn’t cause you pain?

Yes, it is. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned from diving into the research and speaking to an expert. First, let me give you an overview of ways your mattress may be harming you.

3 Ways Mattresses May Be Harming Your Health

#1 — Your Mattress May Be Releasing Harmful Chemicals That Can Have Serious Impacts on Your Health

These are only some of the harmful ingredients that may be used in the mattress you sleep on every night.

Volatile Organic Compounds — Short and Long-Term Health Effects

Most mattresses release a mix of tiny gaseous chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The harmful substances come mainly from plastics and chemicals used in flame retardants, foam (including memory foam), and adhesives used to make mattresses.

Health effects from VOC exposure can be minor to severe and are seen at “very low levels of exposure” (1) in many epidemiological studies. Effects may include headaches, loss of coordination, eye, nose, and throat irritation, as well as damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system, from long-term exposure. (2) Some VOCs have even been associated with increased cancer risk. Even worse, your body heat appears to increase VOC emissions, potentially increasing the harm. (3)

Here are some examples of VOCs that could be in your mattress:

• Formaldehyde. This known carcinogen is often used in glues to hold mattress layers together. It also causes skin irritations and respiratory challenges. (4)
• Acetaldehyde. This probable carcinogen is used in the creation of other chemicals. Short-term effects include irritation of the eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. (5)
• Benzene. There’s “no safe level of exposure to benzene,” (6) as it’s been linked to increased risks of acute myeloid leukemia and other diseases.

Flame Retardants — A Cheap Solution with Damaging Results

Harmful chemical flame retardants are an inexpensive way to meet the federal flammability requirements. They don’t fully bond to materials, so they’re released over time. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to lifelong health problems.

Some of the most common chemical flame retardants used are:

• Antimony. This toxic heavy metal can cause eye, heart, and lung problems. It’s also a possible human carcinogen. (7)
• Halogenated Flame Retardants (HFRs). These chemicals are linked to severe problems that can span generations, such as delaying reproductive development and neurobehavioral changes, (8) disrupting thyroid hormones, (9) and potentially harming sperm across two generations, (10) as well as harming the brain and nerve function. (11)
• Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). These were once widely used; however, they were banned in the United States in 2004. Exposure is linked to learning, (12) memory and developmental problems, as well as endocrine disruption and cancer in both animal and epidemiological studies. If you have an older mattress, PBDEs may still be a concern for you.

Alternatives do exist, like the healthy bed company I’ll tell you about later in this article uses, but these alternatives are more expensive and time-consuming to produce, so they’re not commonly used.

Synthetic Latex — A Petroleum Product with Serious Consequences

Synthetic latex is a petroleum product that’s full of toxic chemicals that off-gas. It’s way cheaper to produce than natural latex. That’s why more companies are using it.

The two petroleum-based compounds in synthetic latex are styrene and butadiene. Styrene can have some serious consequences, (13) such as headaches, fatigue, depression, effects on the central nervous system, and an increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma. And then, butadiene harms the nervous system, irritates the eyes and skin, and may cause cancer. (14)

#2 — Your Mattress May Be Causing or Contributing to Pain

Adequate spine support is a must for mattresses, but it’s not something that’s talked about enough. In fact, most back pain is simply a misaligned spine from an unsupportive mattress.

If you have back or neck pain, joint pain, or other pain, your mattress may not be providing you with the support your body needs. A mattress that’s too soft or too firm can both be problems. Plus, some commonly used materials, like foam, collapse over time. The solution? I’ll talk about it later in this article when I tell you about my favorite healthy, non-toxic mattress.

#3 — Your Mattress May Be Preventing You from Reaching Deep, Restorative Sleep

To achieve deep, restorative sleep, (15) you need to complete all four stages of sleep. However, each time you toss and turn, you can interrupt the third and fourth stages. Doing so prevents your body from fully achieving the detoxifying, rejuvenating, brain- and body-protecting, and healing tasks it performs during these later stages.

Unfortunately, almost all mattresses put enough pressure on the body to require movement in your sleep. What’s the solution? A bed that’s comfortable and gives your body the proper support. I’ll tell you how this is possible later in this article.

The Problem with Most Organic Mattresses

Maybe you think you’re making the best choice for your health with an organic mattress. After all, this sounds like a smart decision.

However, the thing about many organic mattresses is that they can be uncomfortable. And worse than that, they may not provide the support your body needs. The result? Back pain, a sore neck, shoulders, hips, and other complaints.

Organic mattresses are typically made from cotton, wool, latex, or a combination of these materials. Therefore, they tend to be too firm and less comfortable. Not to mention the harm that may be caused by not providing the proper spinal alignment and support.

Plus, organic mattresses aren’t cheap. You might have to suffer pain and discomfort, or it may take years to experience issues, and then you’re stuck with a bed that’s unhealthy for you.

Greenwashing is Common in the Mattress Industry

Similar to the food industry, the words “natural” and “healthy” are thrown around in marketing without any real meaning. This happens in the mattress industry, too, to make you think a mattress is healthier or better for the environment than it is. Many beds labeled as “natural” still have many of the same harmful chemicals that other beds do.

One example of greenwashing in mattresses is companies that claim their mattress uses “plant-based foams.” (16) However, they only use a small percentage of plant oil, maybe 5-20%. And then, the rest is still polyurethane (plastic) foam.

Our Experience with Mattresses

There are TWO things that have most deeply affected my body’s inability to heal: 1) poor sleep habits, and 2) toxicity. If you’re like us, you may have wondered if you’ve wasted your money and a good night’s sleep on a toxic mattress.

When we first started researching beds, we were FLOORED at how much there was to learn about the mattress industry and its toxic beds! (it’s quite overwhelming) When you’re sleeping on a toxic mattress, you’re squandering what could be the most healing time of your day.

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