Green Sleep Claims:
Fifteen years ago, a Belgian man by the name of Georges Lambrecht, brought a new kind of sleep system to the European market. It was his dream to build a sleep system that would provide a healthy and restorative sleep to both the body and mind. With his extensive experience in the bedding industry, he set out to link the scientific findings of sleeping with the ideal sleep system. Through his studies, George concluded that natural fibers were the best materials to achieve this ideal sleep system. He then traveled the world to find the best products that nature had to offer. With these innovations, Georges created a sleep system designed on a scientific basis and manufactured according to traditional methods. The result was the ultimate sleep system. For his customers, the result was a much healthier and improved quality of sleep.
In 1999, Jean Corriveau, founder of Sleeptek, was traveling in Europe to find new ideas to improve his organic product line. He met Georges at a trade show in Germany and learned of his philosophy and success with Green Sleep. Jean was amazed by the quality and purity of his ingredients. After further discussions, they both decided the North American market was ready for the Green Sleep product. So using the same recipe and philosophy, Jean adapted the Green Sleep product and successfully brought it to the North American market. Today, Green Sleep products are available throughout Canada and the United States.
Vimala Sleep System
1. Natural Rubber Mattress
A truly customized choice for a natural rubber mattress.
Three interchangeable plates of natural rubber can be chosen to select the desired firmness. two sleeping zones allow sleeping partners to select their own individual firmness. Surrounding these plates is an organic cotton velour cover quilted with wool and silk producing the finest natural mattress.
North Malaysia 600 is Green Sleep's own exclusive proprietary process. Green Sleep's Natural Rubber cores are derived from our very own tree farm. These trees have been bud grafted to create the North Malaysia 600 seed which in turn produces the purest most elastic rubber on the planet. No latex or synthetic fillers are added to core production.
2. Eurodowel Foundation
The Dowel Foundation supports your mattress using wooden dowels suspended on the frame with adjustable polymer anchors. the wood is untreated pure seasoned kiln-dried maple; no synthetic glues, dyes, or finishing sprays are used in any stage of production.
3. Vasilo Mattress Pad
The washable Vasilo Mattress Pad is similar to a fitted sheet with deep tailored corner pockets. The stretch knit of the organic cotton fibres quilted between two layers of soft organic jersey fabric to provide ultimate protection for any natural rubber mattress.
What Green Sleep Says About Their Product:
Creating the Ultimate Sleep System
What to Look For When You Purchase Natural Organic Bedding
What makes for a marvelous night's sleep?
Many people indulge in a personal sleep ritual that composes the mind, and that ritual will clearly be subjective. But when it comes to creating the ultimate sleep experience for the body ... well, every body deserves - in fact, requires - healthy and restorative sleep. And to achieve optimal, rejuvenating sleep, the mattresses and foundations that we select must have qualities that contribute to meeting that universal bodily need.
The Ideal Sleep System
Before looking at the specifics of superior mattresses and foundations, let's consider the (remarkably few) key features of the ideal sleep system:
- A size sufficient to comfortably accommodate the sleeper or sleepers, without impediment to the limbs
- Firm under-support, combined with a resilient, body-conforming surface
- Evenly balanced linear and lateral support
- Construction using nontoxic, breathable materials
Ideally, when you lie on a mattress, you should sink into it sufficiently that your body makes maximal contact, thus reducing pressure. A long-held myth is that if you sink a little into your mattress, then the mattress must be too soft. Naturally, you mustn't accept a feeling of "bottoming out." You need merely be aware that your body has evenly "settled in" and feels completely supported from head to feet.
This maximal contact is vital for your spine it has little to do with your immediate comfort - although the cradling that we are talking about undoubtedly gives tremendous comfort to your body. What you want is to sink into the mattress surface in a way that produces an experience of leveling, accompanied by even, firm support beneath every inch of your body.
European in Design
As a result of maximal contact, your spine will be optimally supported along its full length. This support is crucial to a good night's sleep because, with your spine supported - whether you sleep prone, supine, or on your side - your muscles are no longer needed to provide that support and can truly relax. And when your muscles are relaxed, pent-up tensions acquired during the day are released, allowing the rejuvenation process to begin.
Creating the Largest Contact Zone
Proper linear and lateral construction are crucial if your mattress and foundation are to offer appropriate orthopedic support. Using a well-constructed sleep set is the only way to obtain the optimal pressure-reducing contact that your body requires. You must be able to stretch out, evenly supported from head to toe, with your body making the greatest possible contact with your mattress.
The longer your body can enjoy this optimal pressure-reducing contact plane, the longer it will take to send a "roll over" signal to your brain. That signal to shift position come from a build-up of tension or pressure in your body's skeletomuscular system. Each such signal interrupts your deep sleep or REM sleep cycles, negatively affecting your body's ability to repair and rejuvenate itself and your psyche's ability to de-stress and awake refreshed. The fewer the signals to turn, the more restful and healthy your sleep becomes. And that won't happen if you sleep on a hard surface that lacks sufficient support for your spine.
How Linear and Lateral Support Contribute
Lateral and linear support are significant in that they make up for differences in sleep position and for differences in weight between the shoulders and the hips.
Because hips are typically heavier than shoulders, lateral support - extra-strong wooden slats positioned in the proper places in the foundation - becomes very important. Even lighter-weight individuals have to impress their shoulders sufficiently so that a pillow (when used) does not have to carry the weight of the shoulders through the neck.
Also, most people have a genetic predisposition for sleeping in a particular position. For example, more than 70% of women are side sleepers, and more than 70% of men are side/belly sleepers. The potential for intensified pressure that comes with side sleeping - less of the total body surface in contact with the mattress - requires excellent linear support to ensure a good night's sleep.
You can then see how exceptional linear and lateral engineering of your mattress and foundation will contribute to exceptional rest. Perfectly proportioned construction will greatly aid in keeping the spine supported during sleep.
The Nontoxic Sleep Environment
The final - and equal - contribution to rejuvenating rest comes from what you do not experience: noxious fumes that are the result of off-gassing from chemical glues, pesticides, and fabric treatments. Inhaling these fumes can compromise your immune system, and bathing your skin - the largest organ of your body - in them through full contact with your mattress could lead to toxins being absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Don't make this very serious oversight when shopping for your new sleep system. Avoid products treated with chemicals that are not only harmful to the environment, but also extremely harmful to you!
All-Natural Fibres and Sustainable Materials
Green Sleep takes the production of its mattresses, foundations, and frames extremely seriously. We care not only about the environment that is the source of our raw materials, but also about your home environment. Our deep concern means that our materials and processes are all designed to respect both the biosphere and the home that you and your loved ones share. All Green Sleep frames, battings, fillings, and fabrics are made of the cleanest, purest organic products available on the market today.
Renewable Canadian Wood
All Green Sleep foundations can be set on legs or Green Sleep bed frames. Our bed frames are constructed of selected hardwoods, and each piece is individually crafted by a skilled cabinetmaker from traditional European designs. Frames are finished only with the finest natural waxes and nontoxic oils.
How Our Canadian Wood Is Harvested
All of the wood used in Green Sleep products is harvested from sustainable Canadian forests. Even our superior European dowels are made from maple and birch harvested and exported from Canadian sources.
In the province of Quebec, sustainable management is called jardinage. This highly specialized method for growth and harvest is monitored by government-trained inspectors. Once the specified number of trees are selected in designated areas, approval for cutting is given. Forestry personnel oversee the cutting operation to protect the forest from intrusive damage. If damage is detected, it is rectified immediately to restore balance and harmony to the forest floor.
The Benefits of Untreated Wood
At Green Sleep, your home environment is our utmost concern and privilege to support. Our natural wood stays that way; we never treat it with synthetic glues, dyes, or finishing sprays at any stage of construction. You are completely protected from harmful off-gassing - the toxic fumes that most other sleep systems emit. And the specialized cabinetry techniques that Green Sleep uses in constructing its frames - especially the use of extra-strong wood slats - eliminates the creaking and popping often heard with other beds. Our solid, fitted, box-style frames provide the ideal support for our exceptional foundations and mattresses.
Organic Cotton for Comfort
Continuing our personal philosophy of supporting a toxin-free environment, Green Sleep sources and buys only hand-picked, chemical-free cotton. Cotton grown in industrialized countries is typically heavily treated with pesticides and herbicides. The plants, of course, absorb these poisons through their leaves and drink them in from the contaminated soil, until the entire plant is infused with toxins.
How Our Organic Cotton Is Harvested
On the other hand, the cotton that Green Sleep purchases for its exclusive bedding and sleep system lines is cultivated in centuries-old traditional cooperatives in the Cañete and Chincha valleys high in the Peruvian Andes. No herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers are used to control plant growth, fight pests, or fertilize the crop. No synthetic defoliants are used to strip the leaves in preparation for the harvest or during the manufacturing process. Moreover, hand-picking ensures the resulting cotton fibres are the cleanest, purest, most resilient available - far superior to those found in the average mattress and foundation.
Next, in Germany and Switzerland, under the highest quality-control and environmental standards, the raw cotton fibre is woven into the fine, soft fabrics that our customers have come to rely on. We wouldn't have it any other way.
Green Sleep proudly uses only KRAV-certified organic cotton in all of its products. The KRAV Sweden stamp of approval, the oldest and most valued guarantee of organic standards, is respected by cotton producers and buyers around the world.
Why Today's Educated Consumer Chooses Organic Cotton
The organic cotton found in Green Sleep products has these superior characteristics:
- Luxurious "hand" - softness that is incomparable for people with sensitive skin
- Absorbency and breathability, which maximize air circulation and minimize perspiration
- Freedom from chemicals and the consequent off-gassing that can produce fumes inhaled during sleep
- Superior resiliency in shape, color, and texture
- Organic cotton provides an excellent return on your investment. Quality begets quality.
Wool for Superior Warmth and Dryness
Green Sleep fleeces are processed without the use of chemicals, dyes, oils, or bonding agents. The resulting wool contains no processing residues and also retains 4% to 6% lanolin, which is a natural dust-mite repellent. Moreover, during shipment of our processed wool, we do not permit the use of plastic, baling twine, or mothballs.
How Our Pure Wool Is Harvested
All wool used in Green Sleep products originates from fleeces originating from a small island in the Netherlands called Texel. There, a family-run business takes exceptional pride in its organic production methods. Their sheep are carefully bred and fed to lead healthy, drug-free lives. They are checked daily for continued good health. In summer, they graze on land that has never seen the use of pesticides or harsh chemicals and that has remained strictly agricultural for generations. In winter, they enjoy a clean, well-ventilated, climate-controlled barn, with bedding changed daily and feed from a non-rationed organic supply. It should therefore be no surprise that the result is a superior wool fleece for harvesting.
The coats from these animals surpass any others in terms of gloss, resiliency, strength, wicking capabilities, and natural oils that couple fibre longevity with natural moisture repellence. Fleeces shorn from the live animals are carefully sorted and washed in hot water and vegetable-based soaps (no detergents, chemicals, or chlorine bleach) to retain maximum strength and spring in the fibres.
Like Green Sleep organic cotton, Green Sleep wool has met the highest ecologic quality standard in the industry. All our wool is certified to the Öko-Tex 100 standard through the Öko-Tex Association in Switzerland.
Pure Organic Products
All Green Sleep frames, battings, fillings, and fabrics are made of the cleanest, purest organic products available on the market today.
Organic in Nature
Coolness in summer and warmth in winter (light as a duvet and easier to clean!)
Organic Cotton for Comfort
Continuing our personal philosophy of supporting a toxin-free environment, Green Sleep sources and buys only hand-picked, chemical-free cotton.
Natural Rubber Mattress Cores
Our natural rubber mattress cores start as liquid latex - the sap or "milk" of Hevea brasiliensis, the common rubber tree - harvested by independent farmers in North Malaysia.
North Malaysia 600
Why Today's Educated Consumer Chooses Natural Wool
Natural wool provides these outstanding benefits:
- Resilience in form and shape for comfort, longevity, and aesthetic appeal
- Coolness in summer and warmth in winter
- Superior absorbency: holds up to 35% of its own weight in moisture without feeling damp
- Natural repellence to dust-mites
- Natural flame retardant
All Natural Rubber for Flexibility, Resilience, and Minimal Compaction
Green Sleep uses only the finest grade A natural rubber for the support core at the center of its mattresses. Natural rubber is an ideal choice for flexibility and stability combined with superior comfort and support. Like Green Sleep organic cotton and wool, Green Sleep natural rubber contributes to excellent heat and moisture regulation.
How Our Natural Rubber Is Harvested
Our natural rubber mattress cores start as liquid latex - the sap or "milk" of Hevea brasiliensis, the common rubber tree - harvested by independent farmers in North Malaysia. These farmers have for several years now been perfecting their organic harvesting methods in cooperation with the National Rubber Institute in Kuala Lumpur. After many years of careful selection, the Malaysian plantation growers have succeeded in tapping Hevea milk that can be molded into mattress cores of varying degrees of firmness.
The trees growing in these North Malaysian plantations are selected for their high-quality Hevea milk production. As you might expect, no herbicides are used during the growing and harvesting process.
Because the raw Hevea milk destabilizes when stored for too long, Green Sleep arranges for the milk to be processed into rubber close to the harvesting plantations. In fact, by processing the raw Hevea milk on the day of harvest, the need for stabilization chemicals of any kind is avoided. Rubber milk harvested in the morning is molded into sheets by mid-afternoon, and those sheets are shipped to the Green Sleep Canadian mattress plant soon thereafter.
Having our rubber manufactured where the tree's milk is harvested is both an environmentally conscious choice and an economically sustainable one. This method of production also sustains the local economy. Jobs are created without depleting the natural resources of the country.
Why Today's Educated Consumer Chooses Natural Rubber
It is not widely known that Hevea milk contains an antibacterial substance that is a natural dust-mite repellent. The natural rubber manufactured from this unique substance also breathes perfectly and is not temperature-sensitive. As a result, it never feels moist or warm to the touch. It also contributes to these properties of our Green Sleep products:
- Retention of shape and firmness for even support year in and year out
- Superior durability and elasticity for mattress longevity
- Flexibility combined with stability for continuous sleep comfort
- Excellent natural heat and moisture regulation
- Superior air circulation for the prevention of mold and mildew growth
Please note that, at the typical end of mattress life, natural rubber begins to break down because of its properties as a biodegradable vegetable substance. But this breakdown occurs only after many years of enjoyment of your Green Sleep mattress and foundation.
The Ideal Night’s Rest
Your Body's Recovery Through Sleep
So far, you've learned how a superior mattress and foundation are made, why a nontoxic sleep environment is important to your health, and how to shop for a mattress and foundation that will give you years of supportive, quality rest. Now let's look at how to achieve an optimal night so that you awaken Refreshed, Restored, and Rejuvenated.
Lab Research Shows That the Number of Interruptions Determines the Quality of Sleep
Now that you are lying on your wonderful new Green Sleep nontoxic mattress and foundation, make sure to stretch your body comfortably to cover as large a contact plane as possible. Your goal is to find a stable position that does not leave you feeling compelled to repeatedly shift and turn.
An ideal sleep is disturbed as little as possible by external or internal stimuli. Deep sleep and REM sleep cycles heal your body and mind. Your deep-sleep cycles should last as long as possible. Each year, more and more sleep research is showing that the only way to regain balance and health in life is to get the proper amount of bodily relaxation during sleep.
Sounds simple doesn't it? Then why do so many people suffer from sleep deficiency?
Not Just a Minor Annoyance
Registration of noise, pain, or other stimuli consciously or subconsciously in the brain is the principal cause of the awakenings or position adjustments that disturb the sleep cycle. The predominant cause is painful pressure points. Although painful pressure may originate with an ongoing health issue or a recent injury, it is largely aggravated by the inability of a mattress and foundation to maintain linear and lateral support for your spine, hips, and shoulders.
Lack of quality rest not only produces the obvious effects of morning crankiness, tiredness, stiffness, and aching joints and muscles, it may also lead to other, more insidious effects. Insufficient rest can contribute significantly to loss of memory, increased inability to cope with the small and large tasks of daily life, low functionality at work, auto accidents, and increased irritability and depression. These consequences of night after night of poor-quality sleep can seriously affect your quality of life.
Quality Sleep for Mind & Body
Feel Refreshed, Restored, and Rejuvenated.
Top Ten Helpful Hints for a Good Night's Rest
- During the day, make sure to get adequate exposure to natural daylight. If you can't be outside, buy a broad-spectrum natural light and use it to give yourself light therapy.
- Take a short walk after dinner to help digest your meal and relax your muscles before bedtime.
- Avoid eating large amounts of food - and especially stimulants such as chocolate, caffeine, or alcohol - within 4 to 6 hours of retiring.
- Avoid stimulating television shows, the evening news, or vigorous exercise too close to your designated bedtime.
- Dedicate your bedroom to sleep. Avoid using it for other activities - especially television watching.
- Establish a relaxing bedtime routine. For example, take a warm bath, read an interesting book, have a pleasant conversation, practice a short mediation, listen to music, or engage in sleep-inducing yoga postures.
- Make sure to have a “buffer zone” between television or computer work or games and your designated bedtime.
- Establish a regular bedtime, and stick to it.
- Keep your bedroom at an even, cool temperature, and make sure that the room is sufficiently dark.
- Review with your physician any medications that you are taking that may be contributing to poor-quality sleep. Maybe he or she can adjust the dosing schedule to help you achieve a better night's sleep.
Compensating for the Effects of Aging
As people age, and perhaps take less exercise, less water, and fewer supplements, the body can become stiffer and less flexible. In older people, the natural contact plane with the mattress on which they rest may become smaller.
When the body's contact plane with the mattress becomes smaller, the counter-pressure per square centimeter of skin increases. Subconscious awareness of this pressure will compel shifting, tossing, and turning in bed. Although the stimulus to shift and turn occurs subconsciously (unless actual pain is present), a sleeper will awaken because of the discomfort. Especially after the first two sleep cycles (which are characterized by a greater proportion of deep sleep, during which reaction to such stimuli is lessened), older adults awaken more easily.
In a perfect world, everyone would sleep a full 5 cycles without interruption and without nighttime awakenings. But many of us awaken in the night, and some can find it difficult to fall back to sleep. Those who awaken repeatedly can find it difficult to achieve any feeling of rest come morning.
Research has shown that the number of nighttime awakenings determines overall quality of sleep - and, more to the point, feelings of refreshment in the morning. When the regular pattern of sleep is disturbed, a sleep deficiency is created. The best way to “catch up” is to ensure a slightly longer, quality sleep on the following night. Napping should be avoided, because it can trigger a cycle of poor nighttime sleep, followed by more napping, and so on.
Poorer quality sleep in older adults is not a natural life progression. Usually, it happens because of one or more triggering events such as worry, dehydration, lack of calcium, use of certain medications, or perhaps simply lack of adequate exercise. If you are experiencing significant sleep deficiency, consult your physician. Persistently poor-quality sleep is neither normal nor natural.
BUYER BEWARE!! Be sure to get any promises from the Green Sleep dealer in WRITING!!!
