Memory foam toxicity?

[zenith]

Hi all,

Amazingly I couldn't find a relevant thread,
guess it's about time I started one anyway :p

I've been looking around for a new mattress and working my way through all the
marketing hoopla and "best nights sleep ever" spiels is quite a challenge. It also
seems the issue of potential toxicity is not something many manufacturers are
happy telling prospective customers about. Obviously that info could seriously
jeopardize the possibility of you parting with your cash.

Most spend a third of their lives in bed. After reading through the following I'm
sure there's many who may be ill and yet never consider their mattress or pillow
could be the cause. It primarily concerns memory foam but there's plenty about
bedding in general, and plenty more info on the net for those who are curious.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Can-Your-Mattress-Kill-You-76887.shtml

By the way, apparently you can't purchase an organic, flame retardant free
mattress in the US without a doctors note. Lucky someone's looking out for
you guys. ;)


Sweet Dreams,

[wynderer]

yep -- they're trying to kill most of the Humans off -- there are now quite a few products on the mass consumption market w/DU - saturated metal in them

[Arrowwind]

you could always make a mattress out of pine needles and cattail.

[Daft Ada]

That's interesting, we sleep on a memory foam bed, and what the person who wrote this says is almost identical to my nights sleep, I wake up feeling like I have been beaten up.

"After two and a half years of owning this bed my husband and I both started having back, neck and shoulder pains. Some mornings I would feel like my arms and shoulders were beaten up. It took hours for the pains to subside. It was a major undertaking just to turn over in the bed because each position I was in started to hurt. I felt like I was tossing and turning all night and waking up exhausted. I would say the last six months have taken its toll on both of us. We were out of town at a relative's house sleeping in their bed and awoke to no pains - that's when I started to realize it was our bed causing the pains."

[Earth Angel]

the PTB are protecting us to death it seems.......everything from our mattress and pillows to our vitamins,organic foods and natural remedies....its almost insane that they can do what they're doing and we still pay our taxes and let them run the show

[Fundy Gemini]

Thank you for this info!
I've ALWAYS wanted a memory-foam bed :-)
Guess now I can sleep better (pun intended haha) knowing I don't have one!

[ThePythonicCow]

For $2000 or $3000 (Queen size) you can get an organic mattress with all natural latex. I wonder if they are any better for not poisoning the sleeper.

(I'm keeping the ancient mattress I have :).)

[Carmody]

The softer a material, a synthetic, essentially a plastic, regarding a permanent type softness/stretch/flexibility... the higher the level of a specific type of chemical/oil that is required to keep it soft. This chemical cannot but leach out of the material. Like all plastics.

The first time I saw one, I knew it was not to be touched.

Something that is designed to have a 'knee' in it's softness (temperature sensitivity) is likely to be even worse at contact points, where temperature is highest. Meaning, contact points of the body.

It may be possible to buy a mattress set that is new, and air it for like a year, to outgass it. Or, for a time. This is the same reason I don't like new cars. The out-gassing of all the adhesives, sealants, and plastics/synthetics is a bit potent. Buy a used one.

[zenith]

I'm wondering if the off cream colour of the covers on memory foam products
is merely to match the stains from the slowly leaching polyurethane.

It's looking like the "natural" (do your homework) latex could be a good option.
It certainly seems to stand the test of time,

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[Carmody]

It is the combination of chemical materials, cooking methods, and ratios of of the given materials that creates a given plastic quality and it's associated lifetime. those aspects are the 'lore' of learning how to make a good plastic, and the attention paid to costs of materials vs resulting quality. Better quality materials (cost money) and the lore learned in the making, those are the primary points when it comes to the quality of a plastic.

These two rules are violated in the far east, most times. A combination of issues around lower cost materials not being up to snuff, and the lore is not learned or cared about (product lifespan OR any emergent health issues arising from newer/alternative base chemicals being used)

I have been accused of seemingly knowing everything at times, yes. Apologies. In this case I do know a bit (direct experience) about the manufacturing of plastics.

[Lisab]

Im looking into buying a new mattress and was considering the memory foam. Not now! Thanks Zenith. Maybe you've saved my life!!

[Arrowwind]

The problem with memory foam is that the cells in the foam loose resistance after sleeping on it for a couple of years. I had a memory foam pillow and had to trash it after 1.5 years as it no longer supported my neck sufficiently.

Now I have a different pillow that is made out of a gel that is shapped in small boxes. The overall shape of the pillow is the same as the memory foam pillow but it is gell box construction with an inch of some kind of foam over the top. In the wide side of the pillow that is suppose to go under your neck, internal in the pillow is an air pillow. You can adjust the firmness of this pillow for your own body type. This keeps your neck supported, and is especially good when laying on your side. These pillows cost about $100 each and I have had mine for about 9 or 10 years now. They are excellent. The gell is also nontoxic and hypoallergenic


They are called "Intelligel" and they also make beds as well as mattress toppers. I dont have a mattress as they are quite expensive but I thought I would try a mattress topper if I ever thought I needed one. http://www.intellibed.com/research/intelligel/

[Alie]

Having been in the home furnishings industry for many years, you have brought new info for me to consider. I would say to look into Talalay Latex. You can find information about it through a Google search.

[zenith]

Thanks Alie,

I don't think it's that accurate really. Apparently natural latex needs a certain amount (around 6%)
of material like ash, chalk, ??? to form a suitable foam. Thus anyone claiming to sell 100% natural
latex mattresses is at the very least ignorant of the process and ingredients.

I'm still considering options and latex is high on the list, it can however promote an allergic reaction
in certain people but luckily I'm not one of them.


RIP

[zenith]

The problem with memory foam is that the cells in the foam loose resistance after sleeping on it for a couple of years. I had a memory foam pillow and had to trash it after 1.5 years as it no longer supported my neck sufficiently.

Now I have a different pillow that is made out of a gel that is shapped in small boxes. The overall shape of the pillow is the same as the memory foam pillow but it is gell box construction with an inch of some kind of foam over the top. In the wide side of the pillow that is suppose to go under your neck, internal in the pillow is an air pillow. You can adjust the firmness of this pillow for your own body type. This keeps your neck supported, and is especially good when laying on your side. These pillows cost about $100 each and I have had mine for about 9 or 10 years now. They are excellent. The gell is also nontoxic and hypoallergenic


They are called "Intelligel" and they also make beds as well as mattress toppers. I dont have a mattress as they are quite expensive but I thought I would try a mattress topper if I ever thought I needed one. http://www.intellibed.com/research/intelligel/
Thanks Arrowind,

Interesting and informative site, and them pillows do look intriguing.

16047

Apparently they're also edible. I guess if you buy one and don't find
it comfortable you can always have it for dinner. :)

[genevieve]

Hi, zenith--

Good news!

A U.S. company named Bergad manufactures a wonderful memory foam that doesn't have all the nasty chemicals in it that are harmful to health. (Most memory foam is manufactured in China which, as you might imagine, uses the nasty stuff.)

I bought a 3" Queen-sized mattress pad, put it on top of an old high-density foam pad I'd had for a long time, and covered them both with a 100% organic cotton mattress cover.

As expected, my mattress pad had a faint odor at first, but I aired it out for a few days and that was the end of the odor.

The pads come in different densities and cell structures to accommodate different weights and body temperatures.

I just checked, and the current price for what I bought 3 years ago is $252.

My sweetheart and I have experienced ZERO ill effects on our bodies.

We sleep great (unless I snore) and can't imagine a better "mattress."

Get the lowdown at Bergad.com.

Sweet dreams!

Peace Love Joy & Harmony,
Genevieve

[scarletfire]

well I have to say this makes perfect sense, last year I bought a new mattress and have a two inch memory foam pad as extra cushion, I woke up the other day with sore pressure points and generalized aches, beginning to curse the sloppy quality in modern necessities as I was convinced my mattress was designed to maintain minimal life expectancy. I'm up on the computer at this very moment because I cant get comfortable enough to sleep, thanks for the info cause I am ripping off the memory foam. In retrospect, cant say I've been a bit more comfortable since using the foam, maybe now I can get some sleep. In a similar circumstance, my buddies who consume aspertame/splenda sweetened drinks also complain of generalized aches and body pain. Is it a coincidence that the condition of fibromyalgia strikes so many diet soda drinkers and has come on the scene after diet soft drinks have been a staple of western society for about a generation? Sometimes the effect of such chemicals/plastics/sweetners that are so common in our society turn out to have long term health and wellness consequences that don't make it on the charming commercials. This phonomenon is ignored and denied kind of like how potential for free energy is denied and ignored by the masses. If all consequences for using common chemicals were disclosed, the pharmaceutical/healthcare giants would quit profiting due to lack of illness and cancer. If disclosure of free energy were disclosed, oil giants would quit profiting. I know this is obvious to many avalonians but it is not obvious to most folks out there without a knack of connecting dots...and hate dot connectors who try and pull their head out of the sand. Every time my pay whines about her aches and pains, I remind her of her consumption of diet mtn dew....aspertame + brominated veg oil, what a combination.

[zenith]

Thanks genevieve,

I'm sure there's memory foams without any negative impact upon ones health and as you say many of
the problems are largely due to cheaper imported foams. However as scarletfire mentions above we're
really the test subjects for a lot of the chemicals used in general manufacturing nowadays and it may
take some time for complete effects to become apparent.

Each to their own of course but I'm going with a latex mattress from a local guy with the goods who
also happens to be a Chiropractor. It's comfy and although it's more than I initially wanted to spend
it will last for ages and I'll forget all about the cash anyway after I get some peaceful sleep. Looking
forward to it because I can't recall a pillow or mattress I've ever owned that's done my back any
favours.


Peace


PS: It seems some people take this whole bedding thing pretty seriously,
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Reminds me a little of this scene from Michael Clayton. :)
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