One of the best things you can do for your mind and body is to get a good night’s sleep every night. Good sleep helps your brain function properly, strengthens your immune system, stabilizes your mood, and improves your mental health.
Those with unhealthy sleep habits are sorely missing the benefits above. But there’s hope.
If you’re struggling with getting good sleep, the eco-friendly sleeping tools below can get you back on track. But first, let’s explore why proper sleep is so important and where sustainability fits into the equation.
Why Proper Sleep is So Important
Simply put, you need your beauty sleep. Here’s what can happen if you don’t get it:
- Low mood and energy
- Diminished cognitive function
- A lack of collagen production results in greyish skin
- Signs of premature ageing, such as wrinkles and dark circles
- Increased risk of developing mental health conditions like anxiety and depression
- Can develop a dry mouth that causes bad breath, tooth decay, and other oral health issues
Being mindful of sleep habits is the best way to ensure you avoid the above. This means decreasing your nighttime screen use, eating right, and managing your stress so that it’s easier to fall asleep.
It also means incorporating tools in your sleep environment that aid a good night’s rest, preferably sustainable tools.
Eco-Friendly Sleep Tools Are Best to Lean on for Help
Many of the things people use to sleep aren’t eco-friendly. For example, they use foam mattresses that contain toxic chemicals like benzene that ignite skin irritation and allergies. Their sheets are made with a polyester blend containing polyurethane that causes breathing troubles.
Even the paint used to set the mood in the room may even contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are linked to severe health problems like kidney failure and liver damage.
Replacing your sleep tools with sustainable alternatives can drastically improve your sleep quality. You won’t be using bedding and a mattress that irritates your skin or allergies, and synthetic paints won’t assault your breathing and keep you up.
The fact that making this transition to eco-friendly sleep tools betters the planet’s health is also worth mentioning. If you’re wondering which sustainable sleep products to start with, keep reading.
Get Started With These Eco-Friendly Sleep Tools
There’s an eco-friendly sleep tool out there for everyone. If you need help getting your search off on the right foot, start with one of these sustainable sleep tools.
An organic mattress
Synthetic mattresses can be incredibly harmful to you. For example, foam mattresses can contain toxins like isocyanates and naphthalene, while many latex mattresses are made with VOCs.
Inhaling and absorbing these toxins in your skin long term can lead to respiratory and skin issues. Get away from synthetic mattresses and instead opt for an organic one.
These mattresses are made with organic materials like bamboo, organic wool, and coconut husk. Materials like these promote breathability. They also don’t absorb harmful toxins that cause skin irritation, allergies, and breathing issues, allowing you to sleep better longer.
Sustainable bedding and pillows
Like mattresses, much of the bedding and pillows people use are made with materials that aren’t good for you or the environment. These materials include:
- Polyester
- Phthalates
- Toxic dyes
- Synthetic latex
- Synthetic polyurethane foam
- Flame retardants
Your body isn’t made to tolerate toxic materials. The last thing you want to do is wrap your body in sheets and lay your head on pillows with them every night. Choose bedding and pillows made from 100% natural fibers, like cotton, linen, silk, and wool.
These materials will allow your skin to breathe, keeping you comfortable and cool throughout the night. They also repel mold and dirt that can potentially disrupt your respiratory and immune system function.
Green decor and accessories
It isn’t just about your mattress, sheets, and pillows. Yes, these things are critical for falling asleep and staying asleep. But so are the accessories and decor you put in your bedroom. These are what help set the mood in your room for a good night’s rest.
What’s unfortunate about decor and accessories is that they’re likely made from things that aren’t sustainable, like wood and plastic. And you have way more of them in your room than you do mattresses, bedding, and pillows.
Focus on incorporating more green decor and accessories into your room. For example, add plants to your room to purify the air and fight radiation. Cactus, sunflowers, and spider plants are great houseplant choices.
You could also invest in sustainable accessories like lamps, artwork, baskets, and shelving made of eco-friendly materials like recycled textiles, cork, and bamboo.
Sleeping away from home? Here are a few products for that.
What about the times when you aren’t sleeping at home? You don’t want your commitment to sustainable sleep to waver because you’re not sleeping in your own bed. Eco-friendly sleep tools can extend to out-of-the-norm sleeping experiences.
For example, let’s say you’re an avid camper. Having the right nighttime gear is critical for sleeping comfortably while camping. Instead of opting for any old sleeping bag, pillow, and sleeping pad, purchase eco-friendly choices.
A sleeping bag made of repurposed fabric and filled with recycled polyester, a pillow filled with bamboo fibers, and an organic rollable mattress pad are much more environmentally friendly.
Sleeping sustainably is possible. Start with the eco-friendly sleep tools above. Your mind, body, and environment will thank you.
Image Source: Pexels.com.
