How to Choose a Non-Toxic Mattress AND Why You Need One!

Post updated May 2021.

Organix Bed is the amazing non-toxic mattresses I have in all of our bedrooms. Manufactured by the Intellibed brand, they upgraded their Intellibed with an organic cover and rebranded it to the Organix Bed. The two beds are the same otherwise, and are our absolute safer non-toxic mattresses.

Before we start… I have to say, this is the MOST comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on! It’s not only non-toxic and made of safe materials, but it has tremendously improved my sleep.

A few years ago, I was visiting my parents when a new mattress was delivered for their guest room. I could not believe the chemical stench that filled the house. It was so bad that I asked them to put the mattress outside until we headed back home.

I hadn’t thought much about what was in mattresses before then. I purchased mine far before I had any awareness of harmful chemicals in our products. I am sure it smelled the same way, but I just didn’t notice. But maybe it didn’t? Because mattresses that were made before 2007 should NOT have been sprayed with PBDE’s (flame retardants).

While I was pregnant, I started researching and I came across a study from New Zealand linking SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) to chemicals in mattresses (more on this later in the post). So, we splurged and got Indyanna an expensive, organic mattress for her crib. But, I kept wondering about what was in our old mattress. I constantly felt worried about what Indyanna was ingesting when she slept in our bed. (source)

Upgrading our mattress has been on my mind for several years now, but it took us awhile to actually get it done. It felt like so much to navigate at first. Do we get an organic mattress? Do we get a used mattress? Do we get a non-toxic mattress?

It’s an investment after all. I wanted to do my research and find the best option, so we could use it for many years to come. Fast forward, 3.5 years and I’ve finalllly found what I believe to be the best option on the market.

And Indyanna agrees! 🙂

I am excited to share my findings with you!

So, what took me so long to purchase a non-toxic mattress? Couldn’t I have just googled organic mattresses and found one?

I had a strict criteria I was looking for:

✓ Safe Materials
✓ Proper Back Support
✓ Promotes Restorative Sleep

Safe Materials: Did you know that most mattresses are loaded with toxic chemicals?

First, I want to share some information about why I think choosing a safe mattress is so important.

The chemical used in mattresses have been linked to asthma, allergies, and even cancer.

Here are the top toxic offenders:

• Polyurethane foam (a petroleum-based material that emits volatile organic compounds that can cause respiratory problems and skin irritation)
• Formaldehyde (long term exposure has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of cancer of the nose and accessory sinuses, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer, and lung cancer in humans)
• Flame retardants (linked to thyroid disruption, memory and learning problems, delayed mental and physical development, lower IQ, advanced puberty and reduced fertility)
• Boric Acid (a toxic chemical frequently used as a roach killer)
• Antimony (a chemical similar to arsenic)

To add fuel to the fire, all mattresses are required to contain enough fire retardant to withstand a 2 foot wide blowtorch open flame for 70 seconds!

And these flame retardants are considered a trade secret. Since they are considered a trade secret, we don’t know how many toxic chemicals are in these concoctions or if they are safe.

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A team of environmental engineers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin found that infants are exposed to high levels of chemical emissions from crib mattresses while they sleep. The researchers also found that body heat increases emissions. (source)

It’s not like we are just getting a little bit of exposure to these chemicals. We spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping. It’s basically a full time job + overtime. It’s even worse for children, as they sleep more than adults.

Reducing exposure to these chemicals is especially important for women that are pregnant or plan to get pregnant soon.

Chronic exposure to chemicals causes them to accumulate in the body and present themselves in the blood stream, breast milk and umbilical cord blood.

Infants and toddlers spend anywhere from 12-18 hours sleeping, so their exposure to chemical off-gassing from mattresses is greatly increased. In addition, babies and children are more vulnerable to chemical exposure because their organs and body systems are not fully developed and, in relation to body weight, they are ingesting more toxic chemicals than adults.

Furthermore, a leading theory on the cause of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) links it to the chemicals in off-gassing mattresses, as well as fungal growth within the mattress, interfering with respiratory function and causing nerve damage. As a result of this theory, New Zealand introduced a program to encourage the practice of “mattress wrapping” – covering infants’ mattresses with multiple layers of non-toxic materials. Since this awareness campaign was introduced, New Zealand has experienced a significant decrease of SIDs cases. (Source)

I also want to share a personal story about toxins in mattresses. One of my worst bouts of health issues, which for me have almost always come as severe headaches and lethargy, was when I bought a brand new name-brand memory foam pillow. This was close to 10 years ago, so I didn’t make the connection at the time. Looking back now, the timing was on point. Pillows are especially problematic because we have our faces buried in them for 8 hours a day. This is before kids and a demanding career, so I was often sleeping 10 hours a night!

I came to learn that memory foam is one of the top offenders. Besides the flame retardants, memory foam is treated with harsh chemicals to get it into that squishy, marshmallow texture that it’s so famous for. (source)

There are memory foam companies in law suits for allegedly putting formaldehyde in their product. Another concern from the second largest mattress manufacturer is mold in their products. (source)

Does your non-toxic mattress provide proper back support?

As I started digging in, it was clear that safety was important. But, the next question I had was… the mattress might be organic and non-toxic, BUT does it provide proper back support?

That organic mattress we splurged on for Indyanna is SO uncomfortable. It’s as hard as a rock and it doesn’t offer proper support. So, I had to splurge again and buy an organic wool mattress topper (you don’t even want to know what that cost) to make the bed bearable to sleep in.

I decided that I wasn’t just looking for an organic mattress, I was looking for one made from safe, non-toxic materials that will provide proper back support. When I started this health journey, I was of the mindset that everything my family came in contact with should be organic and natural. I still feel that way about food. As far as other products in our life, I really want the balance of safe and effective.

This is when I finally found Organix Bed.

They use a a patented gel-matrix that reduces pressure on our hips and shoulders, helping us increase the amount of time we can stay comfortably in deep, restorative sleep.

➜Organix Bed Prevents Back Pain:  Most mattresses are made primarily with foam, which will sag up to 25% after two years, offering poor alignment support and sleeping posture. Organix Bed’s Intelli-Gel  column buckling technology has ZERO sag, maintaining optimal alignment and spine support while you’re sleeping.

➜ Organix Bed Eliminates Tossing and Turning: By reducing pressure points up to 80% compared with typical foam mattresses which can contour to your body but once compressed create painful pressure points during sleep.

Using a medical grade pressure mapping system, they recently recorded what happened when the same person laid down on four types of mattress. Anything over blue signifies enough pressure to cause an individual to need to move within five minutes.

Basically, if you are frequently tossing and turning, then chances are that you are not getting enough of the deepest, most restorative sleep that our bodies need. I used to majorly toss and turn. I’ve been sleeping on our Organix Bed mattress for about 5 years and I can say that I toss and turn far less.

Here is a break down of how the gel technology works:

 

How Organix Bed promotes restorative sleep

As I mentioned above, the Organix Bed reduces the amount we toss and turn. In turn, the gel technology increases the amount of time we are in deep, restorative sleep.

In this short video, Dr. Robert Troell, a Stanford educated surgeon who is also board-certified in sleep medicine, explains how this works.

 

Organix Bed also Provides Toxin Free Sleep: It only uses materials that won’t off-gas, a toxic process where chemicals inside and outside the mattress emit fumes that you breathe in and absorb through your skin. Which is a widespread problem because most foam mattresses contain toxic chemicals from foam fillers, adhesives, flame retardants and waterproofing.

Organix Bed’s Intelli-Gel is made with food-grade mineral oil and no toxic compounds. Instead of a chemical concoction of fire retardants, Organix Bed uses a silica based fire blocker with a modacrylic fiber and no bio available chemicals. It basically goes on the bed like a sock.

The Organix Bed has no smell! I was so surprised when our brand new mattress was delivered and I could not smell a thing. My sense of smell is so strong, I smell chemicals on new clothes. I don’t even really like going into big box stores because I can smell everything off-gassing. I couldn’t smell anything on this bed. That, in itself, gave me a peace of mind.

What has Organix Bed done for me?

We’ve been sleeping on our Organix Bed mattress for 5 years. In this time frame, my back and neck pain has drastically reduced and my sleep quality has significantly improved. I feel much more rested. It’s hard to say for sure, but I think the Organix Bed has also improved my adrenal issues. I haven’t been retested yet, but I certainly feel better, since my sleep has improved.

Buying a new mattress is certainly an investment, but it’s one that I believe is worth it. Research indicates that sleep is as important to our health as nutrition. We sleep more than we work or do anything else.

Any questions? Leave a comment below!