A good night’s sleep is something that everyone deserves. And to have the perfect sleep at night you need a perfect sleeping environment. When you are so focused on the mattress that you sleep on, not much thought is given to the bedding that is used on that mattress.
The majority of the bed linen industry is filled with polyester sheets and bedding. The cheap cost of production of polyester and blend fabrics makes them more popular among manufacturers. As a result, they advertise the few benefits of polyester fabrics and ignore the more concerning negative effects these fabrics are creating in our homes.
Let us help you understand more about polyester and polyester fabric to help you improve your sleeping environment.
Note: This is a guest blog post by Prominent Emporium. You can learn more about them below.
What Exactly are Polyester Fabrics?
Polyester fabric is the most popular synthetic fabric that is 0% natural and very inexpensive to make.
A chemical reaction that takes place at high temperatures in vacuum involving a petroleum by-product, coal, air, and water. The resultant product is a polymer which is then stretched into long fibers when hot. These fibers are then used to make the fabric which is 100% polyester. In some cases, these fibers are blended with cotton to make a cotton blend fabric.
Blending polyester with cotton dilutes the synthetic feel of polyester and manufacturers now can write “Blend Fabric” on labels without clearly mentioning the blend ratio. And there we have the widely famous cotton blend fabric and the name of polyester is not even mentioned anywhere.
Now we would like to address the question that is floating around in your head, “Are these fabrics toxic in nature”?
Let us just point out some facts so that you can decide for yourself.
“Polyester fibers are man-made that is stretched from a plastic-like polymer which is made from a chemical reaction containing petroleum by-product and coal”.
So, what do you think?
Now let’s discuss why polyester should not be in your bed.
Sleeping in Polyester Bedding
You spend around 6-8 hours a day in our bed, i.e. around 30% of our life. And not enough importance is given to the quality of the bedding that is used in our bed.
Quality sleep is very important for good health and well-being through our life. Getting enough sleep at the right times boosts mental health, physical health, and quality of life.
Using polyester bedding doesn’t just create restlessness when you want to fall asleep but it creates multiple problems for you. Let’s discuss the main effects of polyester bedding that affect your health directly.
1. Breathability
Polyester fibers are made of a polymer which is like plastic. As a result, polyester sheets or bedding don’t let air pass through easily, which makes it a little harder to breathe in polyester sheets when compared to other natural fibers, like cotton. Also, polyester or blend beddings are often treated with chemicals like formaldehyde and ammonia to make the fabric soft and prevent it from shrinking. Formaldehyde acts as an irritant in people having allergies and asthmatic conditions.
Read more about respiratory Infection caused by synthetic fabrics.
2. Body Temperature
As polyester fibers are made of different chemicals, sleeping in such synthetic bedding makes your body heat release chemicals like formaldehyde and Perfluorochemicals (PFCs). These chemicals are then absorbed by your skin. Studies have found PFCs in the blood of humans and animals. Serious health concerns have been reported by researchers for PFCs. Click here for the study.
Polyester does not do anything to regulate your body temperature during your sleep. As a result, you are left to feel either too hot or too cold. One of the qualities of polyester that it is water-resistant creates more problems. When your body loses vapor during your sleep it won’t be absorbed by your polyester bedding, which makes your body feel damp. You will feel hot and uncomfortable in summer and cold in winter due to the moisture on your body.
3. Skin Problems
When sleeping in polyester bedding, body heat helps to release many chemicals from such fabrics that are then absorbed by your skin. These chemicals can cause many skin problems and can make existing skin problems even worse. If you have sensitive skin then you must not use polyester or blend bedding. The most common skin problems are affecting or causing rashes, itching, redness, dermatitis, etc.
Read more on polyester allergies.
4. Home Air
As we have made it very clear by now, polyester is mainly made of chemicals and polyester sheets or bedding is treated with different chemical after and during the manufacturing process. When these synthetic sheets are dried in a clothes dryer, these chemicals get released into your home environment.
Polyester sheets are also responsible for micro-fibers released in our home air. Multiple studies have shown that we probably ingest microplastics at the rate of 11 particles per hour. Studies also suggest that 33% of fibers in the indoor environment are plastic fibers.
How damaging is breathing microplastics?
5. Our Environment
Polyester is very harmful to our environment as well. It’s almost impossible to recycle and takes around 200 years to biodegrade. So once produced it’s there to stay and pollute our air and water.
The majority of microplastics found in oceans, rivers, and lakes go to synthetic fibers, and the fabric made from synthetic fibers like polyester are implicated as the source of such pollution.
Invisible plastics in our environment.
What’s the Alternative?
For your bed linen including bed sheets and bedding set, you should always choose natural fabrics like cotton or silk. And while shopping for natural fabrics like cotton, don’t forget to check the 100% Cotton marking so you don’t fall for the scam of cotton blends.
Learn more about the benefits of 100% Cotton Bedding
By switching to natural fabric bedding you will be able to improve your sleep quality and create a more comfortable and natural environment for yourself. Try to avoid using polyester for any kind of fabric in your home. This will create a toxins-free natural home environment for you.
Here we are linking you to a beautiful collection of 100% Cotton Bedding Sets which are specially designed to make your sleeping environment toxins-free. Bedding Sets that are made with Natural 100% Cotton Fabric with No Chemical Retention and Active Environmental Printing to create that natural sleeping environment for you. Check out this collection Here.
Conclusion
Polyester is a harmful microfiber that is used to make cheap fabric. Although it has a few benefits, the health problems it creates outweigh its benefits. Regular use of such fabric in your bedding can be very harmful as we spend around 6-8 hours in our bed every day.
Avoiding polyester doesn’t just have health benefits for individuals but our environment as well.
Natural bedding creates a natural sleep environment which results in quality sleep. As a result, it will have positive effects on physical and mental health.
About Prominent Emporium
At Prominent Emporium we are focused on creating products that will help our customers live a natural toxin-free life. All our collections are focused on creating a natural home and natural sleep environment. Our specially designed collections like Kids Bedding Set and 100% Cotton Bedding Set are perfect to make your bedroom toxin-free.
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