How to Make Your Bed: The Building Biology Way

“If you make your bed, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. That was the golden nugget of advice that Admiral McRaven gave during a commencement address: “make your bed.” You can watch the short clip here.

It seems innocuous, but the truth is that making your bed automatically gives you a “win” at the very beginning of your day. This win greatly impacts your motivation to keep going and, therefore, your actions. What if this “win” is biologically primed to support your health and vitality? Making your bed could be a crucial daily routine that sets up a biologically supportive sleep sanctuary for you to have quality deep sleep.

As McRaven puts it, “if you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.”

So, is there a biologically optimal way to make a bed? What can we learn from the health issues plaguing modern life about how to approach designing for this important chunk of everyday life? Here are some notes on the ideal biological sleeping arrangements—from sleep hygiene to non-toxic materials.

Making your bed helps deep sleep

If you make your bed with your health in mind, you are creating a clean, tox-free sleeping environment. You are making a space that you can rest and relax easily in. Good sleep helps maintain a healthy circadian rhythm — this is is vital because many bodily and hormonal functions operate based on your circadian rhythm, including such important everyday functions such as sleepiness, wakefulness, and hunger. 

If you can make your bed every day, you would be creating a bed sanctuary for proper daily deep sleep that necessary for health.

Why you want deep sleep

Deep sleep is the stage of sleep that helps the brain rest and recover, allowing it to replenish energy. keeping hormones balanced. The pituitary gland secretes human growth hormone during this stage, which helps tissues in the body grow and regenerate cells.

The most important thing that a person can do is to set aside more time for sleep. Doing so allows the body to go through more sleep cycles, which makes it possible to have more deep sleep.

But we know getting good sleep is not as simple as just closing your eyes. Setting up your bed and bedroom environment as a sleep sanctuary will help you achieve this.

Here are how sleep strategies can help from the perspective of building biology. And in every single action, these habits can be very powerful. As you sleep in your bed night after night, waking up from the same bed routine day after day.

So let’s look at a few closely…

Choose natural bedding

The options can seem overwhelming when it comes to sheets and pillows. Consider your sheets and pillows and choose what is tox-free and most sleep-enhancing for your needs.

The most tox-free bedding is made with natural fabrics through processes that use less water than traditional practices and don’t require harsh chemicals like pesticides or bleach or inexpensive and dangerous additives like micro plastics.

Useful guidelines include: Global Organic Textile Standard, Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX, Cradle to Cradle, and Fair Trade. These give their individual stamps of approval on products, promising that they meet certain markers in order to be considered ethically sourced, organic, safe, and responsibly labeled.

Depending on your preferences, natural bedding generally boast inherent benefits like moisture wicking and antibacterial properties.

Here is a brief list:

• Organic cotton

  Cotton is breathable, inexpensive, readily available, and easy to care for. Organic also means it is processed without using chemicals like fertilizers or pesticides or genetic modifications which reduce its susceptibility to insects like bollworm.

• Organic Hemp & Organic Linen

  Two more classic natural bedding fabrics are hemp and linen. They’re both stronger than cotton, with hemp being up to eight times stronger.

• Eucalyptus fiber

  The feel of eucalyptus is downy, resistant to irritants like dust and mold, and naturally cooling. Eucalyptus plants also combat congestion, repel insects, and promote relaxation.

• Organic latex

  The properties of organic latex make it naturally mold-, mildew-, bacteria-, and dust-resistant.

Declutter the bedroom

A clean home is a happy home, because it is a healthy.

While a home doesn’t need to be sanitised or spotless, when you tidy the bedroom, it provides a clear slate for restful sleep.

Tidying the bedroom will not only provide you with another small win for the day, it will relieve stress so that your mind can fully focus on what matters most. Learn how building biology principles can be a part of stress management techniques.

Declutter your light environment

Avoiding blue light, such as smartphones or computers near bedtime, is essential to allowing the cascade of hormones necessary for enough deep rest.

At night, keep the room as dark as possible by covering windows and turning off lights from alarm clocks and other electronic devices.

Opening and shutting your windows helps make a consistent sleep schedule and trying to fall asleep and wake up at consistent times.

Declutter your EMF environment

The last thing you want in your bedroom environment are artificial EMFs. Sleep is when your body begins the heavy duty of clearing fluid.

Artificial EMFs interfere with this process, and add oxidative stress, which leads to inflammation and weakens your cells over time[*]. Your body uses up antioxidants combating EMF radiation, leaving your cells open to damage from other sources of stress.

Growing research has found that EMFs may hit your brain especially hard and could even contribute to neurodegeneration.

EMFs can come from WiFi, cell phones, laptops, and other everyday electronic devices. Learn more here, or book a home consult.

Taking the time to make your bed

As society seem to get ever busier and high tech, sleep is seeming a bigger and bigger luxury and all things bedroom is seeing a renaissance of interest as people chase what they perceive to be elusive sleep.

I think we are realising the importance of how intertwined our bed and sleep: it is part of basic hygiene and essential to our self-care.

We spend a third of our lives asleep, or about under half of every day. This means that we are constantly being exposed to any chemicals or microscopic bacteria. It also means we are exposed to any pollution and toxins permeating our sleep environment.

The good news is that you can decrease a lot of your exposure to pollution, and increase your resilience, by a lot with just the simple action of making your bed. Try making your bed daily with these building biology practices.

---

For more help, get in touch for a FREE discovery call to find out your needs to create the perfect sleep sanctuary.

So let’s get started because making your bed can change your health.

P.S. Don’t forget to grab your guide to a biological home. click here, and I’ll send it to your inbox in a few minutes. This is the perfect way to get started with the building biology principles you just learnt about.

Easy ways to enliven a space: Practical ideas from IKEA

Life can be hectic, and your interior space should be a sanctuary providing a calm environment so that you can rest, recharge and be ready to do what you need to do. Whether it is a work space, bedroom, or a play area for children, an indoor space should prioritise elements that can help one renew and recharge, instead of depleting or distracting you. 

Building Biology principles guide how we can make healthy interior spaces. This article highlights principles from Building Biology that you can apply easily to help enliven a space. I also share examples from IKEA that show how this can be in very easy and practical ways.

Being a mother, I love my strolls with the children, and I also love my indoor strolls through IKEA (or any interior-ware store). Their many room ideas are great for inspiration.

Why choose a calm environment? 

Calm isn’t a trend or a style. Any design can be calming, and any design, done badly, can be chaotic instead. 

Common factors of calm spaces may be material and visual. They share these common principles that are important for biological health:

(1) Balanced natural light and illumination

(2) Access to a view and/or perspective free of pollutants, with access to fresh natural elements

(3) Similarly, a connection to Nature, with access to fresh air, sunshine, and nature

(4) Natural and unadulterated furnishings and materials

Part of a calm environment is knowing your items and furniture are working to help you create, instead of taking up space. Another reason why IKEA is popular is how they try to have their products pull double-duty and be highly functional.

IKEA products are usually well-made, so you add a sense of proportion and order to your space, if placed well. Here are some options so easily found at the nearest IKEA for calm, enlivening space.

Plants 

The easiest way to enliven a space to include Nature or parts of it directly, in appropriate areas.

We are a part of Nature, and proximity to friendly plants help improve concentration and creativity. Plants are a natural option to calm and enliven a space as they are living things that offer air exchange, trap dust and toxins, and release oxygen into the air. If you are unsure of a green thumb, try plants that are low maintenance such as snake plants or money plants that do not add too much to an already humid environment (like ours in the tropics). Or cut flowers, stems help add connection to Nature. 

Natural materials, such as seagrass 

Natural materials can seem like a cliche or an obvious choice. But not considering its impact (whether it can be a focal point in a space) is a common mistake, as a lack of natural material, even if only perceived, can be uncomfortable to the body for extended periods.

Elements that are representative of Nature also help breathe a sense of fresh air into a space. Materials such as seagrass, wood, and ceramic add an organic feel. The natural roundness and soft textures in seagrass help balance the hard lines and flat surfaces that often make up indoor spaces. 

Seagrass also evokes the senses of touch and smell, that is calming to our nervous system. 

IKEA has had stunning ranges on seagrass the last few seasons. This is a plant growing naturally in South-East Asian coastal areas, so I’m always excited to see how IKEA re-imagines the simple material in various ways for different functions. 

Lighting 

Calm lighting is also crucial for enjoying a calm space. Ideally, you have full-spectrum natural lightning from the Sun, rather than relying on artificial light even during daylight hours. This ensures basic health, and that your circadian rhythm can be in sync with natural day-night cycles, which is crucial for optimal performance and wellbeing.

Lighting affects our circadian rhythm, which governs every function in our body. LED lighting is probably the most problematic thing indoors in recent years. LEDs are extremely problematic sources of light indoors, as their light is distorted . You want your light indoors to work with your circadian rhythm, not against it.

You want to choose lighting very carefully. IKEA only sells LED lights, so if we do buy those, select its placement and daily use thoughtfully. It pays off in in alertness, jet lag, performance (especially if you are an athlete or a shift worker), twilight, seasonality, skin response, photoreception, and more.

At the least, I would not choose open-style bulbs. Lampshades help diffuse the glare and flicker. The Molnart bulb from IKEA tries to augment this in a warmer LED and double smoke-colored glass. From their website:

This LED light bulb spreads the same warm light as a traditional 14W light bulb – without flickering or emitting any sound. This particular light bulb emits the same warm glow as candlelight (1,800 Kelvin).

Your view of the outdoors

The view you have is another essential consideration for a calm space.

A view of the outdoors offer a perspective to Nature, or the world at large. The broader range and distance are very calming for the eyes, and help avoid myopia.

Window curtains in 100% natural materials allow this light to filter into a room while reducing harsh tropical heat. The all- linen or cotton options from IKEA are a beautiful way to frame your view of the outdoors. 

A last thing...Decluttering (and Organising) 

Finally, good storage is an important component of any calm space.

This is probably what drives many to a store like IKEA in the first place—the relentless search to finally have an organised space. IKEA has chock loads of organisation options. And they don’t have to be plastic boxes! Their options in natural materials help add to a calm space, and dial down the internal clutter (pun intended) that can come through a space. Decluttering and organisation helps us remove items from a space that are past its use or not appropriate anymore. These include things that are degrading.

Decluttering helps clear out potential moldy items and dust collectors. Less discussed but perhaps even more important is that removing excess and worn-out items helps reduces stress and releases energy for other tasks instead.This is especially important for children and their developing brains. Your brain is continually filtering information from its environment. More about tidying in another post...

FAQs about EMF Assessments

Most of the questions are about how and why EMFs (electro-magnetic fields) occur, what their dangers may be, and how a Building Biology assessment can reduce your exposure to man-made EMFs.

Here are some of the more common questions asked about EMFs. Four man-made ones, in particular.

Many of the world’s top functional doctors recognise that “EMF removal is essential for proper healing”, including Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, Dr. Zach Bush, Dr. Dan Pompa, Dr. Ben Lynch, and Dr. Tom O’Bryan.

What is a Building Biologist?

As a certified Building Biologist, I help you plan and create better spaces that support your biological health.

I also draw on over 15 years’ experience in research and publishing to provide you with scientific knowledge, support, and the necessary tools for you to make informed-based decisions for your own home or work space.

What is an emf consultation or an assessment?

An assessment for a space can identify EMF sources and your EMF sensitivity. It provide solutions to reduce exposure.

In my consultations with you, I add a strong base of EMF knowledge as an essential toolkit that you can take with you in terms of healing recommendations, programs or protocols.

Why does an assessment take X hours?

An assessment is based on your priorities and needs, and a comprehensive EMF assessment paints a picture of the invisible electro-pollution in your space.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum is broad, and in a Building Biology assessment for a space, we are concerned with at least 4 types of EMFs and the health effects.

These are AC magnetic fields (cable lines, currents drawn by device, appliance, or motor, electrical wiring errors, stray electrical current on water pipes, cable tv lines, phone lines and other utility installations);

Radio frequency fields (wireless radiation from mobile / Bluetooth devices, wifi, cell phone towers, smart devices, 5G);

AC electric fields (circuits, power lines);

Dirty electricity (any manipulation of the electrical current by devices, appliances and lighting in your home, incl dimmer switches, televisions, laptops…)

As you can see, that is a lot to assess in any modern space!

EMFs are not really that harmful, are they? EMFs levels by devices are at “safe levels”. We’ve lived with mobile phones for so long. Etc.

The 1996 EMF safety standards that are supposed to protect people are based on the false premise that the only way that EMFs can hurt our biology is by causing overheating.

This myth is unscientific, considering the fact that publicly-available research published by the NASA in 1970,[1]the US Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) in 1971,[2]the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 1976[3] and countless others show that EMFs can and do cause damage through non-thermal mechanisms.

In other words, our current safety standards are based on a false premise, and therefore do not protect anyone against the harm caused by microwave radiation.

Thousands of studies in just the last decade is proving this. This includes the $25 US NTP study has published their conclusions after running one of the most important and costly studies around cell phones and cancer ever conceived. Their initial goal: proving without the shadow of a doubt that cell phones are safe.

What they found: the opposite; rats and mice exposed to cellphone radiation have shown “Clear Evidence” of an increase in multiple tumor types— read this blog for more detail.

It is up to you to measure for and reduce the man-made EMFs in your life.

My children are already grown up and no longer babies. Is an EMF consultation or assessment still beneficial?

Children are being conceived and born exposed to artificial EMFs. Children are at greater risk from exposure to carcinogens than adults, and this risk remains well into adolescence as they develop.

One effect is on their emotional processing, executive attention, decision making, and cognitive control—these are fundamental skills required for success and emotional well-being.

There are many things we can do as parents to mitigate any harm and plan a path forward for children to learn how to live well in a digitised society.

Not least, creating a good space can help unplug our children, limit their screen time, and give them some digital detox.

What other services do you offer?

Interior design support and sourcing; Birth space / Postpartum recovery planning; Childrens’ space planning.

Facial Development: Can Your Home Affect Your Appearance?

Our environment shapes how we grow. The daily pressures and habits are extremely powerful in affecting the way we move and function. An understated aspect is how your home can affect how your child grows up looking!

The importance of environmental factors are clearly being ignored and could greatly assist the field of orthodontic therapy and general health. Professor John Mew developed an interest in the science of facial growth. Seeking alternatives to facial surgery he returned in 1965 to University College to specialise in orthodontics. Since then he has been developing non-surgical methods of correcting unattractive vertical growth in children’s faces.

In the 1970s he wrote several papers on the new sub-specialty of ‘Orthotropics’ which aims to encourage horizontal growth by changing oral posture. He has written a textbook and published many articles internationally on this subject. John has recently been described both as “a maverick” and “the brightest orthodontist who has ever lived”. It was the science and environmental factors of facial development that interested Prof. Mew to seek alternatives to facial surgery and specialise in orthodontics.

This article summaries an interview, in which he goes over some of the environmental factors that can affect the growth of your face, and hence, affect how you look, including your own home.

What kind of growth do we want for the face and head?

However, in typical treatment, orthodontists offer fixed braces or ‘train tracks’, usually accompanied with extractions and sometimes jaw surgery. The belief is it is too difficult or impossible to alter the growth of the jaws. This form of traditional treatment has been used for about 100 years and orthodontists are fully aware that it can damage the teeth and face and also that the crowding tends to return later. For example, In the UK only 5% of Orthodontists inform their patients that there are alternative methods, such as guiding the growth of the jaws ‘Orthotropics’.

You can imagine the expense that parents have to go through in order to correct their child’s teeth or jaw alignment!

Forward growth is good looking growth. It also ensures room for all of the teeth. More importantly, it prevents sleep apnea, which shortens one’s lives, according to some studies, by ten years or more.

This forward growth also creates a bigger space in the throat to breathe, particularly at night. Dr Mew explains: “When the tongue drops to the back of the throat, and you are unable to breathe for long periods at night.”

A good facial posture involves the mouth, tongue, and neck being in good position. However, this has been neglected in scientific research because it is simply not very feasible to measure posture per se. But by measuring the results, you can see how particular changes in posture can affect facial growth. Whether the result looks “good” or “bad” is also tricky to quantify, but you can assess the function of how the mouth and tongue is.

Dr Mew called his approach orthothropics. One way he sought to prove this was to treat twins; he would treat one while another orthodontist would treat the other. In every case, the twin treated by Dr Mew showed his method taking into account posture worked significantly better.

Why is posture so important for young children?

The cranial base is said to reach 87% of its growth by 2 years and 98% by 15 years of age.

Around age 5, the cranial base has completed 90% of its growth and, from then on, can be considered relatively stable as the remaining 10% of change occurs in the next 10 years.[1]

It is known that maturation of different components of the craniofacial skeleton reach their completion at different time points. It is also considered that some components of the anterior cranial base are the earliest structures in the skull to reach maturity in shape and size at about 7–8 years. This is earlier than the teen years and even early adolescence that convention suggests.

The changes in the craniofacial structure do not stop with the onset of adulthood, but continue, though at a significantly slower rate, throughout adult life. However, these changes tended to be of small magnitude compared to the tremendous changes during early childhood.

How can your home affect how you look?

Have you seen your room when a shaft of sunlight crosses a bedroom?

Allergies and blocked noses can start soon after birth. They are a response to tiny particles of dust in the air, and are becoming increasingly common in industrial countries. The most common allergy is to house dust.

Do you use air conditioning (with all closed windows) often as a matter of habit?

These habits contribute to mouth breathing. Over time, blocked noses lead to open mouth postures, which derails the optimal development of the facial structure. From the Orthotropics blog:

The genetic influence on facial development is obvious and environmental things such as thumb sucking has long been recognised. It is not often appreciated how influential the environment is and what a dramatic effect on facial shape changing this can make. (…)

Nearly all children experience at least one blocked nose in early infancy, most have complete nasal blockage for days at a time, when they are forced to lower their tongue and open their mouths to breath.

This becomes a habit during the very period that they are learning to walk and program their postural centres. This picture shows the effect of this on a child who was almost fully grown but developed a blocked nose causing his face to grow down, the effect on younger developing children is even greater.

Critical points in facial development

Around ages six and seven, the permanent teeth start to come in. A child’s appearance can be severely damaged by poor posture. This factor has been overlooked in orthodontics, which is why Dr Mew says orthotropics treat at a younger age by age seven whereas orthodontics treat patients older in teenagehood.

You can watch the interview with Dr John Mew here The interviewer asks the tough questions https://youtu.be/SVeTRz6qY18

Resources & References

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8317569/pdf/i0003-3219-87-6-897.pdf

[2] Orthotropics. Information For Parents. https://orthotropics.com/information-for-parents/

---

Do you suffer with any throat and nose problems? Do you have sleep apnea or snoring? Do you find your home dustier than it should be? Get a free discovery call to find out how to create a home to support your child’s development.