How to make your sleep time more eco-friendly
Many of us take sleeping for granted without realising how vital it is to our health, well-being and productivity. Or that how we sleep can impact the environment. However, with the average person sleeping around 26 years in their lifetime, it is well worth knowing how to make your sleep time more eco-friendly.
This blog will show you how to make a few simple changes to become more eco-friendly and make the least impact on the environment over your 26 years of slumber.
Duvets and Bedding
Sheets, blankets and duvets can hugely affect the environment and how you sleep due to the material they are made from. Choosing natural fabrics and using multiple layers, which can be added, or removed, as the weather warms and cools, is an excellent way to stay warm without overheating. Multiple layers can also reduce the need for heating during the night, which is better for the environment.
Choosing a duvet made from a material like organic bamboo, which is sustainable and can improve the soil as it grows, is an excellent eco-friendly option. Bamboo is inhospitable to bacterial and dust mites, which can cause irritation during sleeping and disturb sleep. These unique properties make bamboo hypoallergenic and an ideal choice for allergy sufferers. The Bamboo Duvet from Panda London is an excellent example of a duvet which is eco-friendly, guilt-free for animal lovers and perfect for snuggling under whatever the weather.
An eco-friendly mattress
You and your mattress will be spending a while together, so choosing a mattress that will give you support, aid a restful night’s sleep, and be kind to the environment is essential.
Many mattresses are made from materials that cannot be recycled, are harmful to the environment and are not breathable. This can cause overheating, which is the main reason people give for waking during the night; when choosing a mattress, look for a breathable, sustainably sourced material which can be recycled at the end of its lifetime, such as bamboo.
Pillows
Many pillows can be harmful to the environment due to the materials they are made from and the material used for stuffing, such as polyester. The process of creating these materials can create toxic chemicals which are harmful to people, animals and the environment. Washing them can release microfibres which pollute the streams, rivers and the ocean.
Choosing a supportive pillow that will last and is made from natural, sustainable materials is the best option for the environment and you.
Time to switch off
Using energy-saving light bulbs in lamps for reading before sleep, instead of the main room light, will help you to relax and save electricity.
Turning off phones, tablets and laptops is a great way to save energy, be eco-friendly and help you wind down ready for a restful night’s sleep.
Add a touch of greenery
Plants are naturally eco-friendly and do a great job of purifying the air by absorbing the carbon dioxide we breathe out. They will even do this during the night while you are sleeping! Adding a few plants to your room can create a restful space, which is good for you and the environment.
Sleeping is vital to us all and takes up quite a large chunk of our lifetime. So making just a few changes to your bedroom and sleep habits, like choosing a bamboo duvet instead of a polyester duvet, can help you become more eco-friendly and even give you a better night’s sleep. Over time the small changes you make can have a more considerable impact on the world around us, and if we all work together, these small changes can have an enormous effect on our planet.