BEDROOM HEALTH

IS IT ALRIGHT to say that daily as an adult or child, the average time spent every night without fail in our bedrooms can be 6 to 10 hours? How healthy are those "must spend bedroom hours?" It is actually not surprising to find adults awaken not rested, appearing stressed though sleep and then dragging a day through as if they never had a wink. Sounds familiar! Why?

Why do we not sleep well and awaken well rested? You need to check your bedroom, first. Bedrooms are for a retreat, to "withdraw" into, to "recuperate" from the pressures and demands the body went though the preceding hours. One must emerge from hours spent in a bedroom, like a recharged cell.

What then do you look into a bedroom? Is it healthy! We may be clean and tidy, and that may help, but IS THE BEDROOM HEALTHY? How much of allergens are abound in the air, in the mattress, in the blankets, curtains, clothes, furniture and fittings? Are the walls free of unsuspecting molds. Molds are found in damp places, and walls are least suspected. Molds cal lead to all kinds of infections, skin irritations as well as respiratory related wheezing.

What about the dominant "dust mites"? They are everywhere, where fabric is abound and bedrooms have the most fabric as blessings to dust mites, to dwell in and start their colonies. In addition, with us spending so many hours in the bedroom, we provide adequate food for these mites in the form of our ever falling dead skin cells. Dust mites having fed on our dead skin cells, excrete their feces all over the place and these droppings trigger runny nose, sneezing, teary eyes and skin rashes. Just because, you cannot see them , does not mean they are not prevalent in your bedroom. Every slept in mattress is said to be home for 3 to 5 million dust mites. Why sleep with an enemy of dust mites and its droppings? Regular cleaning of all bedroom fittings; beating the mattress are some ways of reducing or controlling the dust mite population in bedrooms.

Has the inside of your pillow been cleaned? All sorts of pillows with synthetic contents are in the market place. Some of these synthetic content pillows emit gases and volatile organic compounds. These gases cause headaches, nausea, eye and throat irritation, and the possibility of causing wheezing and asthma. Use natural pillows. Remember that for all hours of your sleep, your nose is next to or buried in a pillow.

Why did we choose to fill our bedroom with a television, computer, radio and player, video, telephone or hand set. electronic alarm clock and a whole lot of other electrical gadgets. These emit electromagnetic waves and we become victims to these waves. In addition, with our dressing tables also in the bedroom, we pump into the air all kinds of chemicals from the assortment of aerosols, perfumes and fragrances. Everything that we put into the air in our bedroom has long term effects on our health. This includes smokers who smoke in bedrooms. We cannot leave out those who walk and out of bedrooms with shoes, that walked the streets and toilets. Are pets a pain. Yes, pet furs are allergens, and if they are not cleaned, they bring into bedrooms, not thought of and unseen allergens. We bring work and study into the bedroom and go to bed with sight and stress that fills us. Clutter puts on pressure. All the clothes to be laundered, ironed, folded and placed in shelves and what ever that is all hanging off chairs, hooks and behind doors add to imagined stress and strains.

Now perhaps we can reflect and do the necessary to make our bedroom a wonderful place to retrat.