Which type of mattress is good for your health?

You spend a third of your life on your mattress. That’s an awful lot of time pressed against something. So you really want to make sure that your mattress is healthy, because if there was a chance your clothes could set on fire, or cause breathing issues, or stop you from sleeping, you would want to know about it, and you would do something to change that.

Not all mattresses were created equal and some of them are really bad for your health. That might sound mad to you, because we expect that someone somewhere is in charge of making sure people don’t sell us dodgy mattresses, but unfortunately people do. You’ll need to do your own research if you want to make sure you’re buying a mattress that is good for you to sleep on.

Luckily, we can help. In this article, we’ll talk about the type of mattress that is good for your health.

Choose natural

Mother nature gives us everything we need when it comes to materials to make products from. Unfortunately, in today’s world of manufacturing, many of the products you buy will be unnatural. They’ll be made from potentially dangerous compounds of materials, in order to drive as much profit as possible for someone out there. Be careful. Deception is everywhere.

A good way to make sure you are buying a product that is not harmful to your health is to choose something that is authentically and genuinely made from natural materials.

The same is true when you are buying a mattress.

Until fairly recently, natural materials were used to make mattresses as standard, especially cotton. With the invention of foam and other synthetic materials, this incredible product was shunted aside in favour of cheaper products.

Well, we’re bringing it back, along with a number of other health boosting materials perfect for mattresses.

Cotton, horse hair and wool

Ely mattresses are made using three products, cotton, horse hair and wool. We carefully selected these products because of their amazing qualities and the benefits they bring to a mattress.

These include:

• Natural fire retardant properties: cotton, wool and horsehair are all naturally fire resistant. This not only means you are safer if your bed somehow catches fire, but also that we don’t have to use any awful chemicals on our mattresses to make them safe and compliant.
• Breathable: because these are natural materials, they have breathable qualities you can’t get from unnatural materials. Breathable materials are so important, especially when you sleep. This is because you likely sweat a lot, and breathable materials wick away moisture, which not only keeps your bed dry, but prevents it from becoming a breeding ground for mould, which can be detrimental to your health.
• Durable: mattresses are really important because they keep your body aligned whilst you sleep. Mattresses made from unnatural materials can deteriorate quickly, and you’ll lose your support. We chose horsehair, cotton and wool because they are durable materials and last a really long time.
• Naturally springy: have you ever seen a flat horse or sheep? That’s because their hair is naturally springy. In fact, horsehair is like tiny coils, and it takes an immense amount of pressure to straighten these out. This means your mattress will remain comfortable for a longer time.
• Naturally hypoallergenic: Unless you are specifically allergic to one of these products, you will find your allergy symptoms greatly reduced by an Ely mattress. This is because these materials are naturally hypoallergenic, which means they are great for people who cough and sneeze their way through life.

What not to buy

Above all else, we recommend you stay away from foam mattresses. They’re marketed as the height of luxury, but foam mattresses are extremely problematic.

Memory foam mattresses lose their shape when they are warm and bend, that’s the point of them. But this also means they can trap  heat and moisture, which makes for a damp and sweaty night of sleep.

Worse than that, foam mattresses contain isocyanates, which have been linked to irritation of the eye, nose, throat, and skin. They can also lead to chest tightness and asthma.

Try Ely

If you’re looking for a new mattress, we absolutely recommend you at least choose a natural one. When you’re shopping, be careful to make sure the mattress you buy is made 100% from natural materials, and doesn’t just contain them.

Of course, we would prefer you try Ely. Our mattresses are made entirely from natural materials and we are so confident you will love them we offer a thirty night sleep trial and a ten year warranty.

If you would like to know more about our materials, read about our thirteen layers.

If you’re ready to buy, please browse our online shop.