info@saminasleep.com
As a naturopathic doctor that focuses his practice on environmental medicine and healthy clean living,
I came across a very interesting phenomenon in practice. I have seen that there’s a very small number
of patients in my practice that seem to be extremely sensitive to the materials that their mattresses and
pillows are made of. Even though this is a small number of patients (perhaps less than 10% of my
patients), it’s still very significant as these patients have been experiencing a collection of “strange and
undiagnosed” symptoms that ended up being caused by their everyday exposure to their mattresses.
Over many years, they have seen multiple doctors, running lots of tests, and even done MRIs, in their
attempt to find out what is causing their symptoms that do not seem to be improving with attempted
treatment over the last few months or years.
The collection of symptoms that my patients report, which I believe to be related to their exposure to
VOCs from their mattresses or pillows are fatigue, balance issues/dizziness (especially in the
morning), brain fog or poor concentration, headache in the morning, and along with the more rare
symptom of numbness and tingling either in their hands, feet, or face. The reason that I feel these are
coming from their mattress and pillow is that 1) their symptoms started shortly after they purchased them. 2) Their symptoms match those of low chronic ongoing exposure to solvent/VOCs/off-gassing.
3) Their symptoms improved once they tried sleeping on a mattress that does not off-gas petroleum-based solvents VOCs. These symptoms and the improvements have been seen specifically with
regards to some memory foam-based mattresses and pillows and their subsequent removal.
One question I get asked often is “Why does my partner have no symptoms while sleeping on the
same mattress that I appear to be reactive to?”
Without going into a lot of detail here, the simplest answer is that we are individuals and have very
different genetics and different total body burdens of toxicants and toxins. Everyone responds
differently to chemicals – from chemical cleaners to pharmaceuticals, to alcohol. Depending on how
well we can clear a specific category of toxicants/toxins (due to your individual genetic profile – for
example our glutathione-s-transferase detoxification profile and our methylation profile), and how high
of a total body burden we’ve acquired based on our hobbies, diets, jobs, and lifestyle, we will all
respond very differently to chemicals. Thus, the same exact exposure to a chemical compound will
cause one person to experience no symptoms, while in another person it may manifest with very
significant and life-altering symptoms.
Seeing the improvement in my patients’ health has inspired me to purchase an organic, clean, and
non-off gassing mattress for myself, specifically one made from natural rubber, latex foam. I have been
sleeping on one for years now, enjoying a cleaner sleeping experience and sleeping better overall.
It wasn’t until recently that I have had a chance to upgrade my bed to a Samina mattress & bed frame.
I decided to invest in my health a bit more, especially considering all the research showing how
important good quality sleep is for prevention of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and
dementia/cognitive function.
When the crew from Samina came to my condo to install the bed, I was very pleasantly surprised by
the quality of the inclined bedframe and how It fits together so simply and without the use of any metal,
using a lock and key latch design. Also, with how easy it was to change from a 3 degrees incline to 5
or 7-degree incline if I ever decided to increase the incline (I started and stayed with 3 degrees for
now). It was obvious that a lot of care was taken in designing not only the bedframe but in every layer of the mattress, from the wooden panels for back support, organic latex foam, to the merino wool
layer.
To keep things short and simple, I was happy with the improvement that I experience in my sleep from
this upgrade to the Samina bed from my previous organic latex mattress. Both are great options for
improving the quality of my sleep and reducing my risk of developing any symptoms/future health
concerns and I can comfortably recommend anyone who is interested in optimizing their health to
look into upgrading to a Samina bed if they have the option to.
Dr. Aviad Elgez, ND
Vitamin D & Your Sleep: What’s the Connection?
by Eliana Raver
With all the summer warnings on avoiding harmful UV rays, it’s easy to forget that a little sun can be a good thing. Exposure to sunlight provides up to 90% of our Vitamin D[i]; an irreplaceable, life-sustaining vitamin that has a profound effect on all facets of our health.
We all know Vitamin D is essential, but we’ve only started discovering its far-reaching effect on all body systems. The relationship between Vitamin D and sleep is a relatively new area of research. Its connection to a healthy sleep cycles has yet to be fully understood, but the results we have so far are startling. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information
“…several large sample epidemiology studies found that dietary intake of vitamin D was related to midpoint of sleep, sleep duration, and maintaining sleep.”
In addition, their statistics showed that as Vitamin D levels rose, people’s risk for sleep disorders dropped significantly. That itself is an overwhelming discovery, but Vitamin D does more than simply lower the risk. It has been shown to work synergistically with the immune system to fight against harmful inflammation, improving symptoms in several cases of sleep apnea[ii]. Hence tapping people into healthy sleep cycles.
Beyond that, Medical News Today shared that taking Vitamin D to support sleep has further secondary effects. Research shows that a healthy sleep cycle and Vitamin D levels together may help reduce chronic pain:
“Following a review of published research on the relationship between vitamin D, sleep, and pain, researchers propose that vitamin D supplementation, together with good sleep hygiene, may offer an effective way to manage pain in conditions such as arthritis, chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, and menstrual cramps.”
These findings correlate to an American study of veterans suffering chronic pain that assessed their reaction to high doses of Vitamin D. The researchers found that higher levels led to better sleep and reduced pain-without any side effects. Considering the valuable role Vitamin D plays in fighting inflammation, these results make perfect sense.
We may not fully understand all the ways Vitamin D protects and supports our bodies, but what we do know for sure is that it is an amazing help to promote both healing within the body and restful and pain free sleep cycles. In fact, Dr. Mercola considers Vitamin D the most effective cancer prevention vitamin.
So, are you ready to go outside now? All the benefits Vitamin D provides are a wonderful reason to soak up the sunshine this summer. Enjoy your summertime, reduce inflammation in the body and sleep well, too!
While you apply natural, non-toxic sunscreen at the beach or pool this summer, you might want to consider that what you sleep on is just as important as what you put on your skin. The average mattress is a hotbed of harmful petrochemicals, and achieving healthy sleep is actually something that will support your wellness 24 hours a day. Read more about petrochemicals here, and we invite you to explore SAMINA’s organic, master-crafted sleep systems today.
[i] “Sleep, Sunshine, and Vitamin D.” The Royal Women’s Hospital, www.thewomens.org.au/health-information/periods/healthy-periods/sleep-sunshine-vitamin-d. Accessed July 16, 2019.
[ii] “The role of vitamin D in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome”, Breathe, ERS Publications, (Kostas Archontogeorgis, Evangelia Nena, Nikolaos Papanas, Paschalis Steiropoulos) breathe.ersjournals.com/content/14/3/206. Accessed July 16, 2019.