Creating an ideal sleep environment - Why your pillow and mattress could be wrecking your sleep

[JamesGatz]

I thought it would be useful to have a thread on creating an ideal sleep environment - I will list some useful practices that I know and hopefully others can further input

I think anxiety and panic attacks are quiet common for people to deal with while trying to sleep for some of the following reasons

1) Being in total darkness is stressful/serotonergic

Being in a dark room is stressful in itself and I find that being in total darkness to be very serotonergic - so I think having a light on in your room even if dimmed will help tremendously. I think this is one of the main reasons Night Lights are very popular

2) Most mattresses (and pillows) are very estrogenic and can cause insomnia

Why is Polyester used in mattresses? | John Ryan By Design

Polyester is the most commonly used mattress material. We explain what to expect and what to watch out for with a polyester mattress. Read more...

johnryanbydesign.co.uk

To me - from what I can see online it would seem about 99% of mattresses have elements of polyester in it which is very estrogenic - even for pillows - the vast majority of pillows I see are completely polyester fill

If your mattress is entry-level or not that expensive then it is extremely likely that it is made up of almost entirely polyester or mostly polyester but even the pricier ones still have a good amount of it from what I can see

Given the effects that estradiol has on serotonin and the fact that estradiol is linked with insomnia - your mattress and pillow can very likely be destroying your sleep

I was dealing with this issue a lot - my solution was I bought a 3-inch wool comforter to put on top of the mattress and this seemed to completely counter-act the estrogenic effects of the mattress - I also bought a cotton pillow with wool filling.

I did the same for my parents who don't really peat other than the supplements, incandescent light I gave them and their health and sleep quality vastly improved - I think this is a huge issue that tends to get overlooked

If you get estrogenic from touching your mattress and pillow or even as soon as you lay on your bed and if you find that you suffer from hair loss at night and wake up with your pillow filled with hair - I would definitely at the very least do what I did to ensure your sleep and metabolism stays intact at night.

Solutions (this is anecdotal):

- You can buy a new mattress but these are quiet expensive if you plan on getting one that is metabolism-friendly so what I did instead was:

- buy a comforter that is made-up of metabolic-friendly material (see below) to separate your body from the polyester mattress

- buy a pillow that is made up of material that is metabolism-friendly (see below)

I paid around $200 for both a good comforter and pillow together so it's not very expensive and definitely worth it.
-
For a DHT-friendly sleep environment I would opt for wool and cotton mattress comforters - wool seems to be very DHT-friendly

For a Progesterone-friendly sleep environment I would opt for down mattress and pillow - down seems to rise progesterone quiet high for me so if you are a man I would get wool instead.

3) Sleeping on the left side of your body

If you notice when you lay on your right side - you will experience symptoms of digestive upset or GERD - the contents of your digestive tract are likely to irritate the opening of the esophaugus

4) Sleeping on an incline

- I find that incline bed therapy helps tremendously in reducing the pressure on my shoulders and hips when my bed is flat - I do genuinely think that sleeping in this position is a lot easier on the body and you can build a relatively cheap set-up at home

 

[YourUniverse]

Thanks for writing this up.

Adding to your second point re: synthetic vs natural fibres. When Ive eaten some fermentable fibres, I feel warmer than usual and this makes sleep more difficult. Since I had a long history of this, sleep became a big problem due to temperature and so I looked for 'cool' bed sheet fibres, which actually helped. Microfibre sheets were the coolest. Unfortunately, Ray elucidated that synthetic fibres house mold with nocturnal sweat. Natural fibres like cotton have been my go-to since.

Another thing that helps is bright early morning light, not necessarily vitamin D, although adequate vitamin D is very important as well. I dont know if bright incandescent can do what sunlight does for the dark winter mornings, maybe someone else can help with that.

In esoteric circles, silk is supposed to do something beneficial (silk is another natural fibre). I dont know exactly what.

Do you notice when youve been stressed out, hypoglycemic, and then eat a big carb-rich meal - afterwards, you get sleepy? This is because the stress temporarily exhausted you but masked the feeling of exhaustion (tired but wired, usually agitated and aggressive), and the carbohydrates allowed the stress to turn off, and so you finally felt that exhaustion. I think a big part of sleeping well at the end of the day, is to not let this scenario occur during the day. Niacinamide with regular carbohydrate during the day helps sleep at night. I think glycine at some time during the day, helps with sleep at night too.

If there are any breathing troubles, such as apnea, or nerve pains or muscle tension, give thiamine and magnesium a shot. With time, and regular carbohydrate, and good thyroid, magnesium will not need be a regular supplement. I find thiamine helpful all the time, for carbon dioxide production (oxygenating tissues). If breathing is still troublesome, take note of what youre eating throughout the day and especially evening, and how close to sleep your meals occur. I find spacing the last meal at least 2 hours before sleep helpful.

Lastly I do think theres some merit to a little bit of physical exertion during the day. Some muscle stimulation promotes the building of mitochondria, some breath work promotes alpha waves, and both relieve tension.

 

[Perry Staltic]

Being in a dark room is stressful in itself and I find that being in total darkness to be very serotonergic

Do you sleep with your eyes open or something?

 

[aniciete]

Doesn’t Peat say sleeping during darkness mitigates the stressfulness?

 

[Vesi]

I sleep best with woolen blanket and pillow. I should also buy woolen mattress pad, but those cost a lot, and tbh i have forgot it.

With polyester blanket i sweat, toss blanket off during my sleep, wake to being cold, pull blanket over me, repeat. Doesn't happen with wool.

 

[stressless]

4) Sleeping on an incline

- I find that incline bed therapy helps tremendously in reducing the pressure on my shoulders and hips when my bed is flat - I do genuinely think that sleeping in this position is a lot easier on the body and you can build a relatively cheap set-up at home​

How much of an incline would you reccomend?

 

[JamesGatz]

Another thing that helps is bright early morning light, not necessarily vitamin D, although adequate vitamin D is very important as well. I dont know if bright incandescent can do what sunlight does for the dark winter mornings, maybe someone else can help with that.


Do you notice when youve been stressed out, hypoglycemic, and then eat a big carb-rich meal - afterwards, you get sleepy? This is because the stress temporarily exhausted you but masked the feeling of exhaustion (tired but wired, usually agitated and aggressive), and the carbohydrates allowed the stress to turn off, and so you finally felt that exhaustion. I think a big part of sleeping well at the end of the day, is to not let this scenario occur during the day. Niacinamide with regular carbohydrate during the day helps sleep at night. I think glycine at some time during the day, helps with sleep at night too.

I definitely agree - these were some excellent points - I remember a time I lived in an apartment in a room with no windows and I would sleep 10 hours and wake up tired versus with a room with windows its more like 7 and im ready to get out of bed

I sleep best with woolen blanket and pillow. I should also buy woolen mattress pad, but those cost a lot, and tbh i have forgot it.

With polyester blanket i sweat, toss blanket off during my sleep, wake to being cold, pull blanket over me, repeat. Doesn't happen with wool.

Ah yes, I have the same exact setup with a wool pad - the thing I like about wool is I feel it actually helps control my temperature - helps me feel warm in cold weather and generally cool in warmer weather, it's a very interesting effect

How much of an incline would you reccomend?

I kind of just wing it - mine might be about 20-30 degrees off the floor - I feel you know its right if you can comfortably sleep on the side with a lot less tension on the hips and shoulders - when I sleep flat its hard to sleep on my side because my hips hurt

 

[miquelangeles]

Do you sleep with your eyes open or something?

There are extra-retinal photoreceptors which regulate physiology. And we probably evolved to sleep by the fire exposed to orange/red/infrared.

 

[Kayaker]

There are extra-retinal photoreceptors which regulate physiology. And we probably evolved to sleep by the fire exposed to orange/red/infrared.

Ah, yes. The good 'ol days of lanterns and candlelight. Maybe with a house made of stone as well.

 

[ironfist]

A while ago I was studying if sleeping at a reverse angle would make you wrinkle less (more blood to the face, less wrinkles). What I learned was the best sleeping angle is positive, but I forgot which amount. I think you were guided to raise your bed 10 inches or something at the front. They said much research was done by nasa and it's how they figured it out.

 

[EvanHinkle]

I never see anyone mention futons, but I have slept on a futon mattress for the last 15 years, (with a brief foray on a foam mattress until I could convince my wife to be to try a futon). When I say futon mattress, I mean futon mattress only, (no frame, mattress is on the floor). It is the best sleep I’ve ever had.

Whenever I’m away from home I prefer a couple blankets on the floor over an innerspring mattress. I can’t sleep on a typical mattress. I overheat, and my back kills me. I’ll toss and turn all night!

My futon mattress is organic unbleached cotton, latex, and wool topped. The best part is, they’re not terribly expensive, (I mean relatively speaking). I just replaced one my wife and I had for seven years and the new one cost about 700 dollars US. Not cheap, but no frame, no box spring or slats. 700 for an incredible toxin free sleep experience is really good when you consider say the Swiss bed, or other “natural” alternatives.

A close second is a stack of Mexican, cotton woven svaroopa blankets. My old yoga teacher in college ditched her bed and started sleeping on a stack of these yoga blankets, (maybe 20 blankets stacked on top of one another). That was a comfortable “bed!”

 

[FoodForeal]

Living shouldn't be this difficult.

 

[Cloudhands]

I thought it would be useful to have a thread on creating an ideal sleep environment - I will list some useful practices that I know and hopefully others can further input

I think anxiety and panic attacks are quiet common for people to deal with while trying to sleep for some of the following reasons

1) Being in total darkness is stressful/serotonergic

Being in a dark room is stressful in itself and I find that being in total darkness to be very serotonergic - so I think having a light on in your room even if dimmed will help tremendously. I think this is one of the main reasons Night Lights are very popular

View attachment 33496


2) Most mattresses (and pillows) are very estrogenic and can cause insomnia

Why is Polyester used in mattresses? | John Ryan By Design

Polyester is the most commonly used mattress material. We explain what to expect and what to watch out for with a polyester mattress. Read more...

johnryanbydesign.co.uk

To me - from what I can see online it would seem about 99% of mattresses have elements of polyester in it which is very estrogenic - even for pillows - the vast majority of pillows I see are completely polyester fill

If your mattress is entry-level or not that expensive then it is extremely likely that it is made up of almost entirely polyester or mostly polyester but even the pricier ones still have a good amount of it from what I can see

Given the effects that estradiol has on serotonin and the fact that estradiol is linked with insomnia - your mattress and pillow can very likely be destroying your sleep

I was dealing with this issue a lot - my solution was I bought a 3-inch wool comforter to put on top of the mattress and this seemed to completely counter-act the estrogenic effects of the mattress - I also bought a cotton pillow with wool filling.

I did the same for my parents who don't really peat other than the supplements, incandescent light I gave them and their health and sleep quality vastly improved - I think this is a huge issue that tends to get overlooked

If you get estrogenic from touching your mattress and pillow or even as soon as you lay on your bed and if you find that you suffer from hair loss at night and wake up with your pillow filled with hair - I would definitely at the very least do what I did to ensure your sleep and metabolism stays intact at night.

Solutions (this is anecdotal):

- You can buy a new mattress but these are quiet expensive if you plan on getting one that is metabolism-friendly so what I did instead was:

- buy a comforter that is made-up of metabolic-friendly material (see below) to separate your body from the polyester mattress

- buy a pillow that is made up of material that is metabolism-friendly (see below)

I paid around $200 for both a good comforter and pillow together so it's not very expensive and definitely worth it.
-
For a DHT-friendly sleep environment I would opt for wool and cotton mattress comforters - wool seems to be very DHT-friendly

For a Progesterone-friendly sleep environment I would opt for down mattress and pillow - down seems to rise progesterone quiet high for me so if you are a man I would get wool instead.


View attachment 33500

3) Sleeping on the left side of your body

If you notice when you lay on your right side - you will experience symptoms of digestive upset or GERD - the contents of your digestive tract are likely to irritate the opening of the esophaugus

View attachment 33503

View attachment 33502

4) Sleeping on an incline

- I find that incline bed therapy helps tremendously in reducing the pressure on my shoulders and hips when my bed is flat - I do genuinely think that sleeping in this position is a lot easier on the body and you can build a relatively cheap set-up at home

View attachment 33505​

hey man can you link us to your pillow and mattress topper?

 

[JamesGatz]

hey man can you link us to your pillow and mattress topper?

Yep:

Classic Wool Comforter - Medium

Our Classic medium comforters are made with British wool and 200 thread count cotton. Guaranteed to give you a cozy and peaceful night's sleep, this temperature regulating comforter is naturally hypoallergenic, completely sustainable and 100% natural.<BR><BR>The Classic Medium Comforter is...

www.thewoolroom.com

Classic Wool Pillow

A great value 100% natural wool pillow. Hypoallergenic, dust mite free and great temperature control and moisture management to help you sleep. The outer cover is 100% cotton, and the filling is pure British wool.<br><br>

www.thewoolroom.com

Those are the ones I have - price isn't that cheap but 110% worth it - whenever I take it off I get unbelievably stressed sitting on my bed - I've never been balding but sitting on a polyester mattress actually makes me lose a few strands - I suspect this one change would make a significant difference to people suffering from hair loss on this forum - I stopped sleeping on a pillow

They also have washable ones that are a little more I haven't tried but yea if you get those I would not throw them in a washing machine and minimize cleaning sessions - my mother threw it in a washing machine and it lost quiet a bit of weight so I got to get a new one and be extra careful

This is also anecdotal but I believe that comforter helped me grow quiet a bit as well - from all the clothing I've tried - Wool does something extraordinary to my androgen profile and I feel like especially since people are on their beds for 8 hours a day around it would make an extraordinary difference to exchange an estrogenic environment for an androgenic one

 

[JamesGatz]

Also I would like to add to this thread that currently I sleep on my back - I think it's difficult to sleep on your side if you have a wider body so my sleeping preferences have changed over-time. I also sleep with no pillow from a recommendation from someone else on the forum and I feel better like this too

 

[Ben.]

Living shouldn't be this difficult.

Yep. However, the modern plastic and biochemical world with it's unavoidable rise of chronic illness made it that... difficult.

 

[JamesGatz]

I'm including an experiment I've been doing that feels incredible:

Right now I'm stacking the wool comforter on top of a layer of aluminum foil - my sleep took big leaps forward when I did this:

- I needed a lot less sleep to feel well rested

- It was really easy to jump out of bed in the morning - none of that estrogenic grogginess from the polyester mattress

in general my sleep feels incredible - I wake up with a lot of energy

In my view it should be 6 inches+ separating your body from your polyester mattress - with at least one of those layers being very electrically conductive (such as aluminum foil) - combined with a wool comforter on top and the effects are on another level

This is my current set-up on top of my polyester mattress - sometimes I add another layer of a wool blanket over the foil layer

 

[Cloudhands]

I'm including an experiment I've been doing that feels incredible:

Right now I'm stacking the wool comforter on top of a layer of aluminum foil - my sleep took big leaps forward when I did this:

- I needed a lot less sleep to feel well rested

- It was really easy to jump out of bed in the morning - none of that estrogenic grogginess from the polyester mattress

in general my sleep feels incredible - I wake up with a lot of energy

In my view it should be 6 inches+ separating your body from your polyester mattress - with at least one of those layers being very electrically conductive (such as aluminum foil) - combined with a wool comforter on top and the effects are on another level

This is my current set-up on top of my polyester mattress - sometimes I add another layer of a wool blanket over the foil layer

View attachment 38095

Should the aluminum be grounded? It would conduct EMF I assume.

 

[JamesGatz]

Should the aluminum be grounded? It would conduct EMF I assume.

I don't ground it but I also don't have any electronic devices near my bed - before I go to sleep I place them in this type of Faraday cage set-up in another room - I saw a video on YouTube that said it's not necessary to ground foil but these days I go based off of feel

Going based off of feel - I personally don't think it's an issue if the devices are shut off and locked away - recently I've really been getting keen on sensing stressors especially EMF and I only experience positive effects doing this experiment

 

[miquelangeles]

I'm including an experiment I've been doing that feels incredible:

Right now I'm stacking the wool comforter on top of a layer of aluminum foil - my sleep took big leaps forward when I did this:

- I needed a lot less sleep to feel well rested

- It was really easy to jump out of bed in the morning - none of that estrogenic grogginess from the polyester mattress

in general my sleep feels incredible - I wake up with a lot of energy

In my view it should be 6 inches+ separating your body from your polyester mattress - with at least one of those layers being very electrically conductive (such as aluminum foil) - combined with a wool comforter on top and the effects are on another level

This is my current set-up on top of my polyester mattress - sometimes I add another layer of a wool blanket over the foil layer

View attachment 38095

@JamesGatz
I’ve been trying similar stuff with interesting results.
Most people will laugh at this, but it’s very real and measurable.
My a-ha moment was when experimenting with expensive HiFi equipment.
Any power cords, signal cables or speaker cables will have a profound influence on the sound, in other words on the electric fields carrying the signal.
The sound will be different if your speaker cables are laying on the floor or if they are raised several inches, or if it’s a wooden floor, ceramic tiles, natural carpet, synthetic carpet - the sound will be different each time.
The sleeving material of the cables whether it’s PVC, PTFE, cotton, silk etc will have a marked influence on the sound.
I the same way, whatever materials you wear or sleep on will have an effect on your bioelectricity.
And not just that, but any conductive material such as copper, silver aluminum etc will influence your bioelectricity even when inches apart from your body and not in contact.
I’ve seen in another thread you are experimenting with DIY jewelry. I’ve been doing the same with copper items especially bracelets and coils of different types. Ever since I started wearing copper my synchronicities have increased I get one almost every day.