The average person spends 26 years in bed over the course of their lifetime! That's a lot. Considering how much you might be absorbing from your mattress during all of that time might make you think twice about what kind of materials are involved in making your mattress. Here are some of the problems with conventional mattresses: 1. Polyurethane (PU) Foams Most conventional mattresses are made with polyurethane (PU) foam. (Memory foam is almost always made out of PU.) First, this is a petroleum-derivative, which means it's not natural or sustainable. Second, PU foams emit toxins like 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (a carcinogen), hydrogen cyanide (which can cause various problems), methylene chloride (also a carcinogen), and hydrochloric acid (an irritant). The EPA has put limits on the amount of these chemicals that furniture foams are allowed to release in order to comply with the Clean Air Act and regulate indoor air quality. When your body heats the mattress up as you sleep, it can increase the amount of toxins that are emitted, too. There's a common misconception that foams go through an initial \\"off-gassing\\" period when you first get them, and then essentially stop emitting these chemicals. However, the truth is that PU foam actually emits more of these toxins as time goes on and the material starts to break down. Third, because of the fact that it's made out of fossil fuels, PU foam is more flammable than other natural materials such as cotton. For this reason, synthetic flame retardants are were almost always added to it. Up until several years ago, flame retardants were actually required by law. The laws around flame retardants have changed in recent years (for the better!), and we'll talk about this more in a minute. 2. Other Synthetics & Mystery Materials In addition to PU foam, most mattress companies also use other synthetic materials for the various layers and fabric coverings. Although these materials may vary slightly in terms of their chemical makeup, they're almost always petroleum-derivatives that come with the same or similar problems. These different layers are more often than not just different ways of structuring the same base materials. There's also an issue of transparency. When you start looking into the various materials used by conventional mattress brands, you'll notice that a lot of them use catchy trademarked names like AirScape and GelFlex and RestoreFlow. Sorry, but that provides zero information about what that material actually is. Most of the time (though not always) you'll be able to find the answer if you dig into the brand's FAQs (and you'll probably always find that the answer is PU foam). Oh, and one more thing on the topic of 'mystery materials.' Be very wary of any mattresses that are advertised as being \\"waterproof,\\" \\"stain-resistant,\\" or something similar. There's a good chance these products have been treated with toxic PFAS \\"forever chemicals.\\" Even though it's not as common as in other types of furniture like couches, it's not unheard of either. Naturepedic (listed below) is a great brand that offers a waterproof mattress (for babies & kids) and mattress protector (for adult mattress sizes) that are completely non-toxic (they're made from sugarcane). 3. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) We talked about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in PU foam above, but VOCs can also come from solvents, glues, and flame retardants, too. Common VOCs in conventional mattresses include things like formaldehyde, toluene, and other hard-to-pronounce chemicals like benzene, trichloroethane, and perfluorocarbon. (This is why you'll find that most non-toxic mattress brands using hand-tufting instead of glue to hold their mattresses together.) Exposure to VOCs can increase the risk of all sorts of health issues, from short-term problems like headaches and dizziness to more longterm concerns like cancer and nervous system damage. Vulnerable populations like children, the elderly, and those with health conditions like asthma or chronic illness are more susceptible to the potential negative effects of VOCs. To make things worse, at least one study showed that sleeping on a mattress can actually make VOC off-gassing even worse because the heat of your body increases emissions. You can read more about VOCs right here. 4. Greenwashing Greenwashing (which is when something is marketed as \\"non-toxic\\" or \\"eco-friendly\\" when it's really not) is a common problem in the mattress industry. For one, there is no regulation around these claims, so any brand can slap these words on their products without having to meet any sort of standards or provide any proof that they're true. Many brands claim their mattresses are \\"sustainable\\" or \\"non-toxic\\" simply because there is one aspect of the mattress that is less bad than another. But just because a certain product is less bad does not mean it's truly safe. Third-party certifications provide some help with this issue, and we'll talk more about these in a minute.