Here at Soaring Heart, our core belief has always been that the best way to achieve the healthiest, most healing, most beneficial sleep possible is by surrounding yourself with natural materials.

Our primary reason for taking this natural approach to the craft of bed-making has to do with airflow. The natural fibers and materials we use to build our beds are excellent at both insulating the body and allowing for the exchange of outside air. This balance of air around the body with ambient air ensures the gentle regulation of body heat throughout the night which allows your body to fully relax and reach the deepest, most restorative sleep.

The inherent breathability of natural fibers also allows for the even evaporation of body moisture throughout the sleep cycle, which keeps both bed and bedding dry and comfortable. On the other hand, artificial materials can trap too much body heat, inhibiting the body's natural cooling process. When this happens, the overheating body tries to cool itself by perspiring more than normal, and that perspiration also becomes trapped and cannot fully evaporate, so the bed ends up feeling hot and clammy. Understandably, this makes it very difficult for body and mind to relax and sleep comfortably. Ever have those nights where you wake up hot, damp and thirsty? Now you know why!

The other main reason we believe that natural materials are better than artificial ones is that, well, they're natural! They're comprised of molecules that come straight out of the ecosystems in which we live and grow. And while it can be argued that just because something is natural doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you (poison ivy comes to mind), it's hard to fathom that a commercial mattress made with all manner of artificial materials and soaked in chemical flame retardants could possibly be better for you than a simple cotton and wool bed made without all those things.

You may have run across the term "offgassing" in your search for a mattress or futon. Offgassing is a term that refers to the steady release of chemical compounds into the air as a mattress breaks down over time. Translation: the more potentially toxic chemicals that go into the manufacture of a mattress, the more potentially toxic chemicals can come out of it into the air of your bedroom while you sleep. This is understandably a huge concern for people who are trying to reduce the amount of harmful substances in their homes. And while these relatively minute amounts of offgassed chemicals may or may not be harmful, we believe they can't possibly be any good for you, so we consciously avoid including them in our beds.

All the physical reasons aside, there's also a psychological and emotional aspect (dare we say a spiritual aspect?) to taking a natural approach to the sleep environment. Most simply stated, we think it's easier to relax mentally as well as physically when you know you're sleeping with natural materials and without chemicals. And when the mind can rest easy, it stands to reason that the body can achieve deeper rest as well. It may not be the most scientific reason for believing that natural is better, but it's one of our favorites.