Is your Partner Fed Up Of You Being Crabby In The Morning?

If you’re anything like me, the morning always comes too soon! There are those like my husband who jump out of bed in the morning full of energy ready to go for a mile long run, and there are people like me who just can’t open their eyes!! I am after all, an Organic Pillow lover and so I love my bed! It can be quite disconcerting if you are up and ready and your partner just won’t budge! “What a waste of the day” he thinks! “Let me sleep” she thinks!! Disputes like this can lead to very irritated weekends. According to sleep researcher and Sleep for Success CEO James B. Mass, sleep cycles are genetically determined, and women are more likely than men to be larks. Although this is not the case in my house, James says "You can't blame a person, it's not environmental," "owls," function better at night, have a body temperature that doesn't begin to rise until later in the morning. In my quest to try and become a morning person is there anything I can do? James says “Yes, but it's not easy”. It helps to be exposed to daylight immediately after getting up. Take a 15-minute walk, or get an FDA-approved light for indoor use, he suggested. “Walk I say!!! I can barely drink my tea, without drooling!” As long as you and your partner remain in different time zones, the best you can do is learn to understand and respect each other's nature. "It's important to work this out because it's how your day starts and you don't want to be irritated every single morning," said Suzanne Berman, a psychotherapist in private practice in Fair Lawn, N.J., who has worked with couples for more than 25 years. She offered the following tips for couples: • Communicate with each other: Don't expect your partner to guess what you need or what you're feeling about your morning dynamics. • Make each other your priority: "If your behaviour is continuously irritating the other person, the statement you're making is that you don't care about their needs," Berman said. This might mean not being able to make that morning phone call while your husband is still sleeping, for instance, but it's important to realize that seemingly-small acts build up over time and can cause resentment and create distance between partners. • Learn to Compromise: If you want the alarm set for 6:40 a.m. so you can sleep as long as possible, but he wants it at 6 a.m. to have extra time to wake up, try setting it for 6:20. "The couple needs to work something out so that both people feel their needs in the morning are being respected," she said. • Have realistic expectations: "If your husband isn't going to make it to the breakfast table, maybe you need to stop making his breakfast," Berman suggested. And stop trying to have that deep conversation in the morning. "Don't keep pushing your own agenda. That won't get you anywhere; you’re wanting something your partner can't give you." • Except Reality: "People are who they are, with their habits and routines," Berman said. The notion that 'If you loved me, you'd change,' is fantasy. Instead, tune into what your partner is telling you about themselves, and take that seriously. • Accept Each Other As You Are: Accept that you are two separate individuals: "You're a couple, but you're not the same person," Berman said. "It's hard for couples to accept this, especially women. I can happily say that me and mine have overcome these morning issues and we understand each other’s morning routine now (most of the time ;) !)

Enhancing Your Memory While You Sleep

Organic Futon lovers will be interested to learn that researchers at the North western University have found evidence that existing memories may be reactivated and enhanced whilst you sleep. The study concentrates mainly on the learning of a musical instrument but has implications for a vast amount of other experiences that we have every day. The study took 2 groups of participants and taught them how to play 2 different musical tunes. The participants then took a 90-minute nap. During this time, researchers played one of the tunes that had been practiced as they slept. Using electroencephalography (EEG) methods to record the brain's electrical activity, the researchers ensured the soft musical ‘cues’ were played to participants during ‘slow-wave sleep’ (a stage of sleep previously linked to cementing memories). These are also known as Delta waves. When the participants woke up and resumed their instrument practice, researchers noted fewer errors were made when volunteers practised the melody they had heard while sleeping. This may be good news for people who love to listen to positive affirmations as they get their healthy sleep!!

Simple Techniques to Switch off Your Stress Autopilot!

Organic futon lovers will be well aware of the need to weave peace and wellbeing into their lifestyle in order to achieve optimal health, but more often than not, our busy lifestyles result in us travelling on autopilot, speeding up and never putting on the brakes on until our engine burns out. A fascinating article I read today by M.D Gayatri Devi highlighted the importance of applying the brakes now and agin in order to give our body a rest. She suggests that by activating our Vagus nerve, we do just that, they are like the brakes of our body that we forget to use. So her top tips are: • Uni-task instead of multi-tasking, take the dog out for a walk and leave your phone at home for example • Meditate every day • Get a good nights sleep • Touch activates the vagus nerve, so hugging is good for you! For more information on leading a calmer life, read her book A Calm Brain available at Amazon books

Space Saving Organic Beds

When space is tight, a bed can take up a whole lot of room, making a bedroom feel swamped and un-useable in the day for other activities. Although we in the UK are traditionally used to having a bed as a fixture in a room and are not used to putting it away during the day, this may just be the ideal solution to create space for work and play. Being able to put your bed away, would allow a bedroom to be a play room in the day or study room in the day, alternatively it could even be used as your lounge in the day, making your small living space really multi-functional. The Japanese are used to living this way and traditionally sleep on thin rolled up mats called futons. In the west futons are thicker, and made with a lot of alternative synthetic fabrics, but at BuyOrganics we have kept the purity of the fabrics introduced in Asia and use pure organic fabrics such as thick organic deshi cotton, organic wool, coir and natural latex to create a super comfy organic futon that has all the comfort of a traditional bed yet can still be stored away at night. An organic bed in the form of a futon is the perfect healthy solution for kids and adults, in fact the whole family.

The Health Benefits of an Organic Futon

Organic Futons are a much healthier choice than conventional futons due to the use of all natural and organic materials within the fillings and cover. Fillings used in conventional futons may include polyester cotton, synthetic petrochemical based foams, cotton linter pulp or noil, which are weaker, less superior and less healthy fabrics than the organic deshi cotton, organic wool, natural coir and natural latex used in BuyOrganics Shanti Futons. The high grades of organic fibres and natural plant based foams that are used in our Shanti Futons are highly resilient and provide a greater level of ergonomic support to the body. This ensures optimal comfort whilst you sleep as your spine is kept aligned and the muscles kept relaxed giving you rejuvenating rest without aches and pains. In addition, they have natural qualities which keep the organic futon healthier over time. • Organic Wool - keeps dust mites at bay, is naturally fire resistant and keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter • Organic Cotton- Is clean and allergy free, breathable and skin friendly, it contains no bleaches, or toxic residues • Natural latex – Pure 100% rubber foam from the Rubber tree, naturally anti-bacterial and anti-microbial. Breathable and non-toxic • Organic Coir – Made naturally from coconuts and fixed with natural latex milk, creates excellent air flow and breathability, creating stability naturally within the futon • Wild Grown Kapok – 100% vegetable fibre that provides warmth and softness Conventional futons also use conventionally grown or GM crops of cotton that have been treated with pesticides, herbicides and mixed with artificial fibres such as polyester or nylon. They are then treated with formaldehydes, VOC’s and fire retardant chemicals amongst other things. Our Shanti Futons only use completely clean organic cotton, and organic wool as a natural flame retardant thereby meeting UK fire safety standards naturally. Our covers are made of organic cotton also, so the whole futon, is chemical and toxin free whilst still ensuring optimal comfort. Many people choose to sleep on an organic futon because they like sleeping on a Japanese style pad rather than a pocket sprung mattress. This is a very good choice as we are exposed to electromagnetic stress throughout the day, from TV’s computers, mobile phones, and telephone poles, metal in our bed keeps this stress directed at us as we sleep and interferes with our quality of sleep. An organic futon is neutral and has a higher yin quality due to the natural fibres ensuring a better more relaxing sleep. Last but not least BuyOrganics Shanti Futons, do not off gas any nasty smells or chemicals as conventional futons do, meaning no headaches, no having to open windows and no health safety fears!

Are There Flame Retardants in Your Sandwiches?

Organic mattress shoppers will be interested to know the latest news by the Huffington Post that has highlighted a study finding flame retardant chemicals in consumer’s sandwiches in the USA. The idea of toxic chemicals in your lunchtime sandwiches is quite a scary one, the new study of testing popular products from grocery stores in Dallas, Texas, found that nearly half of the sampled peanut butter and cold cuts, as well as turkey, fish, beef and other fatty foods, contained traces of a flame retardant commonly used in the foam insulation of building walls. "This is not good news. Here's yet another toxic chemical that can be found in many of the foods we buy at our supermarkets," said Dr. Arnold Schecter of the University of Texas School of Public Health and an author of the study published on Thursday. "Food does not need to have flame retardants." The flame retardant found by Schecter's team was hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), which is just the latest in a string of manmade chemicals that researchers are discovering in popular foods. Previous research has turned up DDT, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, dioxins and other flame retardants. And this is in addition to the chemicals purposefully added to products during processing, or that leach into food from packaging. These chemicals pose health concerns that range from diabetes to cancer. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, HBCD is "highly toxic" to marine life and may disrupt the proper function of human hormones and reproduction. Particularly worrying are the chemical's potentially damaging effects to a young child, even in the foetal stage of development. Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Environmental Working Group (EWG), noted that the chemical has been discovered in umbilical cord blood. "The prenatal period is an incredibly sensitive time," she said, adding that breastfeeding and toddlers' penchant for putting their hands (and other objects) in their mouths is likely to add to a body's early burden of the chemical. "Exposure starts before birth and may continue on in the diet for their entire life." These are the flame retardants that are pumped into conventional mattresses, sofa’s, car seats, carpeting, and building materials all around us. The worst offending piece of furniture is our mattress as we sleep on it for half our lives. Investment in an organic mattress is an investment in your health. P.s : Make your sandwiches at home!! EWG article: http://www.ewg.org/news/huff-post-flame-retardants-your-sandwich Huffington post article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/fire-retardants-food-peanut-butter-meat_n_1559062.html?ref=green

Sleeping On A Wire!!

Organic mattress lovers will be grateful for their comfy beds when they see how Adrenaline junkie Brian Mosbaugh chose to sleep on a high wire 2000ft up in the air!! Either its complete madness or stunning bravery!! but i don;t really think he was sleeping, do you!? view the image at http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01522/high-wire_532_1522849a.jpg

10 Reasons Why Not to Buy a Conventional Mattress

Many people don’t really know the difference between an organic mattress and a conventional mattress, to the extent that some people even think it’s a scam. There are some very real and fundamental differences between a conventional mattress and an organic one. One thing it is definitely NOT is a scam! And it all has to do with the materials being used to make them. Get a quick snap shot here and do some independent research with reputable non-profits to get the full picture… 1. Conventional mattresses are mostly made of man-made materials that are not resistant to bed bugs, moulds, bacteria and fungi unless treated with some heavy chemical insecticides (which carry their own health problems). Over the years your conventional mattress can get infested, releasing spores and housing tonnes of dust mite faeces. Natural materials such as pure natural latex that has not been combined with synthetic additives has inherent anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties that are resistant to bacteria and fungi; organic wool is inherently dust mite repellent due to its high lanolin content, so a natural mattress such as the ones sold by buyOrganics are a lot healthier for you without having to add chemicals 2. Conventional mattresses are pumped full of hazardous chemicals such as fire retardants, boric acid, antimony and formaldehyde, and heavy metals to name a few. Walter Bader author of Toxic Bedrooms found in his research that an independently tested memory foam mattress contains over 61 VOC’s chemicals. Chemicals such as these can cause skin irritations, respiratory problems, hormone disruption, and problems with oxygen absorption and are even carcinogenic. When you smell a conventional mattress, you know it’s not good for you! 3. Sleep is adversely affected by sleeping on a toxic mattress. Sleep is the time our body rejuvenates, cell regeneration occurs and our body rests. Toxic chemicals in our mattress interfere with this delicate bio-rhythmic balance. 4. Sleeping on a conventional mattress could harm your children and their children. Scientists have confirmed that chemical fire retardants, such as those used in conventional mattresses, have been measured in pregnant mothers and passed through the placenta to their unborn babies. The danger of these chemicals is that they build up and remain in fatty tissue for years, waiting to be shared with your growing baby. Even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms, there’s no way to know how three generations of built-up toxic chemicals will affect your grandchildren. 5. Babies are more vulnerable and sensitive to their environment, and placing your baby on a mattress that has a lot of chemicals in it, is not good for their early years of brain and physical development. The chemicals can interfere with healthy cell development and can cause learning difficulties as well as being implicated in SIDS 6. Conventional mattresses are made from cheap materials that wear out quickly. But after they do wear out and become very uncomfortable to sleep on, they do not bio degrade, in fact they continue to pollute the planet in toxic landfills and never break down. Unlike organic mattresses that are built to last for years and maintain their comfort, they can also be refurbished by adding layers of wool or another layer of latex or by changing the cover. And when you have finally have had enough of it, it will natural bio degrade without causing an ounce of pollution! 7. The production and manufacture of conventional products such as polyurethane based foams, petrochemicals and plastic based fillers are harmful for the environment and also contribute towards global warming. Conventionally grown cotton, wreaks havoc with the environment through pesticide pollution, and GMO crops are destroying natural ecosystems. Compared to the plantation that supplies our pure rubber latex for our organic mattresses that removes 143 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere year after year. The organic cotton we use is helping communities globally to live safer, more prosperous lives. A much sounder, sustainable choice. 8. Many conventional mattresses are built in third world countries using sweat shop labour that is exposed to unhealthy chemicals and poor working practices, poor pay and poor working conditions. 9. Conventional mattresses continue to off gas chemicals as they degrade over time, so you are constantly exposed to a stream of pollution as you sleep every night. A mattress you bought over 10 years ago would not even have had the current regulatory standards of present and may contain worse chemicals than currently allowed. 10. In a fire, a conventional mattress may not burn immediately, but it will start smoking and letting off toxic chemicals which will kill you even before the fire gets to you. So in a nutshell, be smart and invest in an organic mattress.

Diamond Jubilee Organic Mattress Offers

In celebration of The Queen's 60th year of reign buyOrganics is offering some fabulous bonuses and discounts to mark the occasion! For all our special offers check out our website today! Making us proud to be British!