Your Bedding – The 401K for your health – Most of us know who we’re sleeping with, but do we know WHAT we’re sleeping with? Your head is on your pillow for many hours every day. Here’s how you can be more confident about what’s in it.
Most people think that 100% cotton is all they get when they buy it. However, thousands of flame retardants, dyes, smoothers, softeners, biocides, and other chemicals go into 100% cotton products. Among those can be toxic metals like chromium, which I’ve written about in previous columns and my book Discovering the Nature of Longevity.
The same applies to organically grown cotton. The label often won’t tell you what else is in it. This gets even more interesting with polyester and other synthetics, which often need other preservatives to prevent them from breaking down.
When your head is on your pillow, you’re often absorbing part of it into your skin and lungs due to microfibers and chemicals that rub off. The same goes for any night masks you use to keep out light.
Of course, there’s your mattress, which often off-gasses chemicals, especially when it’s new, and your body heats up the bed.
What you can do
As Consumer Reports often says, the term “natural” is meaningless for food. The same is true for your bedding, mattress, and clothing because there is no widely recognized standard for the term, and even where there are definitions, they often only cover the fabric, not the chemicals in it.
The cost of bedding often won’t tell you anything, either. Expensive bedsheets can have problems similar to those of cheaper ones. On the other hand, some people complain that reliably certified bedding is too costly. But before you buy into that simplistic thinking, compare it to the cost of being chronically sick. Consider that cancer rates are way up among millennials and Gen X compared to older generations. There is no smoking gun, but exposure to toxic chemicals is often suspected. Time to minimize that when you go to bed.
High-quality, certified healthy bedding is one place where you want to invest. Consider it a 401K for your health.
A few guidelines:
1. When it comes to bedding, don’t pinch pennies. Bedding is the closest thing to you for a third of your life and usually lasts a long time. A $250 difference in price for a certified healthier mattress translates into pennies a day over 5–10 years. Nonetheless, the cost won’t tell you everything. Don’t assume that being expensive is healthier; do your homework. Also, beware of used mattresses. You don’t know who’s been in them or what’s in them.
2. Wash new stuff and clean your mattress regularly. Regardless of what bedding you buy, wash it two or three times to get out the residues from processing and any contamination from the packaging. Mattresses tend to attract nasty things, largely because you sweat and shed hair and skin when you sleep. Check the manufacturer instructions as well as Consumer Reports for cleaning guides. Whatever you do, DON’T use toxic cleaners, and DON’T fumigate your mattress yourself. Consult a professional fumigator with certified safe ingredients and preferably go for heat treatment. Fumigation chemicals can have breathing consequences. Also, many people in the sub-tropics or regions with hot summers spend a lot of time in their hammocks (see mine in the author’s photo). While an outdoor hammock generally poses less off-gassing risk, it still rubs against your skin, especially when you’re in shorts and a t-shirt or a bathing suit. Hammocks frequently exposed to bare skin should be washed regularly.
3. Look for trustworthy certification labels. Not all certifications are the same and many have been fingered for Greenwashing (fake claims). I’ve included here two of the leading reliable certifications for fabrics: Cradle to Cradle and OEKO-TEX. You can also check Consumer Reports for labels that it recommends.
4. If you travel frequently or have an extensive stay, ask the hotel or Airbnb owner if they have any certifications for their bedding or mattresses and if the mattresses are vacuumed between guests.
5. If you have allergies, there are specific certifications for this. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), in partnership with Allergy Standards Limited (ASL), has developed one.
Examples of certifications for healthier & environmentally compatible products:
Cradle to Cradle Certified. This is one of the few to identify substances that are healthy for you and your environment, not just “less toxic.” It’s strict in kicking out the questionable stuff as a starting point. This is a link to the full list of certified products, and you can search for apparel, bedding, or textiles as filters.
OEKO-TEX buying guide. A detailed search function for certified products. You can search by product, type of material, and type of standard.
Consumer Reports has a mattress rating guide.
Healthier sheets (examples only and costs vary; some are on sale)
Independent ratings of bed linens:
If you want to support a truly great way of producing healthy organic cotton through the whole chain to your door while supporting local farmers to get fair prices, check out Raddis Cotton.
References
Sung, Hyuna, et al., “Differences in cancer rates among adults born between 1920 and 1990 in the USA: an analysis of population-based cancer registry data.” The Lancet Public Health 9.8 (2024): e583-e593.
Say no to ‘natural’ on food labels—Why Consumer Reports is launching a campaign to ban the ubiquitous term, Deborah Pike Olsen, June 16, 2014
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- About the author: Douglas Mulhall’s latest book, Discovering the Nature of Longevity: Restoring the Heart and Body by Targeting Hidden Stress, explores prevention and therapies for heavy metals contamination. The American Institute of Stress recommends it and carries a Foreword by the Chief author of the American Heart Association statement on toxic heavy metals. He co-develops award-winning certifications and standards for products globally and is a registered ISO expert on a global standard for declaring the contents of products.
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