Since I started building Attitude Organic, I have realised that I need to be at the top of my game. Serving others, educating myself about health and sustainable lifestyle while being an entrepreneur is extremely demanding. I went through all sorts of phases during that journey including extreme fatigue, stress, anxiety and of course joy and proud!
I recognized a few months ago that one thing was key to my performance and my wellbeing: my sleep and by extension my bedroom! I do not compromise on sleep and my bedroom is a temple. Believe it or not, I never lay on my bed with my outside clothes! I highly value my sleep quantity and quality so I make sure my environment healthy. You would be surprised to know your bedroom is not as clean and relaxing as you may think.
As you know, my health is not my only focus. I equally think about the impacts of my choices on the environment and that is true for my bedroom decoration too. To be honest with you, it is a bit trickier than for other rooms of aspects of our everyday life. I love thrifting and believe it is one of the more sustainable options we have but who would want to buy a pre-loved mattress or duvet? Not me!
I wrote this article with health, environmental impact and comfort in mind, hoping it will give you some ideas to make a healthy and eco-friendly bedroom! So keep reading!
1. The Air Of Your Bedroom Could Be Naughty
Have you heard of the “sick building syndrome”? While reviewing the literature about air quality, I saw that expression coming back often. It seems the Indoor air quality of your home could be very toxic due to your building and its ventilation system but also your choices as a person. If you do not own your flat (like me), your actions regarding the building and ventilation systems are unfortunately limited.
However, you choose what you bring into your flat! When you create your love and cosy bubble, you decorate and bring furniture that bring Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as the following.
Benzene that we find in inks, detergents, dyes, oil, plastic, gasoline and irritates the skin and the eyes. It also causes dermatitis, inflammation, blistering, headaches, nausea, dizziness….
Formaldehyde that comes from grocery bags, paper towels, facial tissues, household cleaning agents… This chemical also causes irritation, dermatitis and headaches.
On top of VOCs, we let pesticides enter our intimacy through various fabrics and materials. Synthetics sheets and poor-quality bedding accessories are made from tons of irritants chemicals.
To limit the VOCs and pesticides coming into your room you may take a few simple actions.
Open your windows to let some fresh air in. It might sound obvious, but it is very tempting to keep the warmth in in winter.
Buy some plants. Low light requiring house plants improve air quality by removing traces of organic pollutants from buildings.
Choose non toxic home cleaners or make your own so you do not add any chemicals where your sleep. The next step is to eliminate chemicals at the source.
2. Your Mattress And Sheets Could Make You Sick
Remember all those VOCs and pesticides we talked about? Your synthetic mattress and sheets bring them in. However, luckily, some brands make our health and sleep quality a priority.
Ely Mattress, a natural mattress brand based in London specialized in giving “you asleep-boosting, pressure-relieving mattress that provides the best sleep night after night”.
The brand only uses natural and non-toxic material unlike foam mattresses that contain petroleum-based polyurethane foams, memory foams, chemical flame retardants, or adhesives between the natural mattress layers.
They handcraft mattresses that ensure luxury, healthy, cost effective and accessible sleep.
What I love about them? They go the extra mile to satisfy their customer. Based on scientific researches, choosing the best mattress for you requires trying it for longer than just in the store. Ely Mattress offers FREE 30 nights experience for you to sleep the dream which I found to be very important.
3. Poor Bedding Choices Are Polluting. A No Go For AN Eco-Friendly Room
Did you know that 6 million mattresses end up in the landfill per year in the UK alone? That is a number communicated by Ely Mattress and I was shocked when I read it. Considering the amount of chemicals contained in traditional mattresses, it is a terrible source of pollution. Besides, they are not biodegradable. As a solution, Ely Mattress recycles your old mattresses without using volatile chemicals, flames, and gases when you buy one from the brand.
I highly suggest that you also look into the materials of your sheets to reduce your environmental impact and build your eco-friendly bedroom. Organic cotton is an excellent option because they do not have toxic dyes, softeners or finishes that make them artificially soft or harmful for the skin and the environment. Coyuchi is a brand I have been following for a while and I love their products and values.
According to the Textile Exchange, organic cotton makes a major impact: Textile Exchange, organic cotton makes a major impact
- 46% reduced global warming potential
- 70% less acidification potential
- 26% reduced eutrophication potential (soil erosion)
- 91% reduced blue water consumption
- 62% reduced primary energy demand
You may read more about the benefits of organic cotton on the blog
4. Declutter For A Healthy And Eco-Friendly Bedroom
Marie Kondo and Minimalism are not only a thing, their concepts are based on science. According to Trina N. Dao published by the College of Science and Health, clutter reduces well being and impacts the overall life satisfaction of a person. So, if you want to be happier and healthier, please declutter! It will also avoid some dust and extra VOCs in your eco-friendly bedroom.
Once you decluttered, make sure you do not purchase anything you do not need to keep your place as minimal as possible. The most efficient way to be sustainable remains to limit your consumption. There is no need to buy a green alternative to something you do not need in the first place.
I personally like to keep my decoration to the bare minimum because I love the head space it gives me. All I want is some bright sunlight in the morning. Nothing worth a cup of coffee with some natural light, it brings me the joy I need in the morning to go through the day positively. But I can understand that some people need to buy decoration. In that case, consider buying second hand first.
5. You Could Be At The Top Of Your Conscious Game In Your Eco-Freindly Bedroom!
I must admit, simply because the chances are that if you are in your rom, you are asleep. And while asleep, you do “nothing” so you don’t use any resource nor energy.
I don’t know about you but I can’t handle the cold and the only way for me to live by 18°C is under my duvet. So how about you give it a try and reduce the heater at night? It is an easy way to make a more eco-friendly bedroom so go!
While doing my research to write that article, I also ready MANY blog posts suggesting you to change your lightening for LEDs. In theory they seem pretty great! They consume 75% less energy and last 25 times longer than their traditional counterparts.
However, they are blue light and it is now proven to mess with your sleeping pattern. I would then recommend you avoid it in your bedroom. The idea might be unpopular, but I am not ready yet to compromise on my sleep quality. I will focus on lowering temperature and stick to minimalism.
6. Creating An Ambiance Is Not Only A Cliché For A Happy Sex Life!
Even if you are single, your night routine must look like in romcoms! It is one of the best changes you can make for your health. Indeed, it is scientifically proven hundreds of times that our sleep affects our health, our ability to function and our quality of life. Poor sleep and lack of sleep increase risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and infections.
In contrary good sleep helps learning, improves performance, creativity and memory and preserves your mental health. Therefore, it is important that you implement the basics for a resting sleep.
First, relax before bed. Take a good book and ditch the screens and their blue lights. They will only cause stress anyway. Besides, you don’t want to email your boss at 11pm anyway, do you?
As explained above, choose a good lighting that will not excite you. I love orange lightening on my night table.
Make your bed dreamy, soft, comfortable and the place you sleep an eco-friendly bedroom. I believe you should look for Ely Mattress and Coyuchi.
Also, keep the room cold. Not only to reduce your energy consumption but because it also improves sleep quality.
Finally, Diffuse essential oils. I highly recommend lavender to relax and calm down.
Final thoughts…
I have that little ritual where I go to bed, night mode phone, diffusing lavender, playing relaxing music and journaling. That ticks many of the boxes and I love it. Now that I am aware that a mattress choice can have such a big impact, trust me, next time I change it, I will make a better choice ?
Now, let’s talk about you. Do you have any other tips to make a healthy and eco-friendly bedroom? I am Always looking for new ways to improve my health and sustainable commitment.
In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.
However, all the opinions and ideas in that blog post are mine and I would never recommend anyting I do not trust myself.
Cover photo by Yasmine Boheas on Unsplash
