12 Steps: How to Get Better Sleep, Shop for a Natural Mattress and Create a Healthy Bedroom

It’s a salve for modern living, a soft place to sink in each night. It’s where we rise and shine each morning, we dream big dreams, unpack our thoughts, make tiny humans (sorry mom), and give our brains and bodies precious space to wash away the day’s activities and anxieties.

Along with sundry hours reading and cuddling partners, pets, and phones in bed, we spend a third of our lives there — yet more than a third of us admit we’re chronically sleep deprived and unintentionally falling asleep during the day.

Beyond feeling unfocused, unproductive, and unhappy the next day, sleepless nights take a real toll on our health and well-being, weakening the immune system and significantly increasing our risk of chronic diseases: depression, anxiety, inflammation, obesity, and heart disease, to name a few.

Most of our sleepless nights come down to a handful of problems related to schedules, surroundings, and stress — each of which can build barriers between our bodies, our minds, and a good night’s rest. Maybe you have trouble falling asleep, or toss and turn throughout the night. Perhaps some mornings you just wake up tired, reach for the snooze button, and fight through mid-day waves of exhaustion.

About this guide

After enough sleepless nights I decided to research, well, how to sleep better. We’re going to explore the science and spectrum of being awake, being asleep, and what we can do in between to go to bed easily and wake up well-rested. We’ll cover how to build better routines and walk through my search for a sustainable, healthy mattress. I’ll also share some my favorite ideas, tools, and products for creating a better evening routine and a more sleep-friendly bedroom — all with an eye toward naturally improving sleep quality and quantity for a better night’s rest. Dreams await!

☁ CONTENTS ☁
Act I. La vie en dorveille
Act II. The science of sleep
Act III. Under (sleep) pressure
Act IV. A daily routine: 12 steps to get better sleep
Act V: How to get better at getting ready for bed
Act VI: Creating a healthier bedroom for optimal sleep
Act VII: Pillow talk: Why your mattress matters
Act VIII: The sleep shop

La vie en dorveille

Have you ever experienced that curious anxious-but-sort-of-relaxed sensation of being wide awake in the middle of the night? Of course you have. It can feel like jetlag in your own city — disembarking from a sea of dreams at 4 a.m. and tucking in with a book, a phone, an inbox, a complicated geo-political essay that foggily plumbs the depths of the human condition. What is it about 4 a.m., 4 a.m., isn’t there a whole TED Talk about being awake at 4 a.m.?

This is that magic time, “the witching hour” — a requiem of peaceful inquiry — when one can quietly examine the world without having to actually play a part in it. It’s a time to gently seek answers to the questions that keep me up at night. Somehow all of those answers seem a little simpler and closer when everyone else is sound asleep, when I’m searching from the comfort of a cool, dark, quiet bed. The ordinary action of being awake is seasoned with a distinct taste of possibility — and maybe a little delirium, too.

The French call this place between dreams dorveille — wakesleep — and they don’t necessarily avoid it. And as far as we can tell, neither did most human beings throughout history. Before the invention of the light bulb most of us naturally segmented our sleep with a few witching hours between dreams made up of reading, reflection, or finishing some work by candlelight. Given enough time off the grid, away from the modern world’s harsh artificial lighting, many of us will naturally return to this primitive bi-phasic sleep cycle.

Done properly, dorveille can work well — just put yourself to bed a couple of hours early, wake up and work for a spell, and drift back to dreams naturally. It’s something like that old proverb for farm life, “Every hour asleep before midnight is worth two after midnight.” But without that early bedtime, waking up in the middle of the night can lead to some seriously maladaptive sleep hygiene.

My husband and I know this well. A couple of nights each week we take turns opening the bedroom door as quietly. as. humanly. possible. We steal away to stretch and read in the guest room without waking our two dogs who are, by the way, always sleeping. Under one of these spells of dorveille I first began to learn about how sleep works — and how to get better at it.

The science of sleep

More elusive than getting a solid night of sleep is our modern understanding of exactly how and why we slip into bed and stay asleep each night. We all know that sleep is critical to health and well-being. Good shuteye helps us organize and consolidate memories, clarify perception and judgment, and repair and rejuvenate our brains and bodies. In fact, recent research suggests that sleep acts as a daily rinse cycle for the mind, bathing our brains in cerebral spinal fluid and flushing metabolic waste through the bloodstream and into the liver twice as fast as when we’re awake.

This nightly recovery is split into two types of sleep. Deep, slow wave sleep aids physical recovery and the immune system, while REM cycles drive dreaming and mental recovery. Circadian rhythms — light, time of day, melatonin production — impact our sleep cycles, as does how old we are, when and what we eat and drink, exercise routines, and how we’ve set up daily schedules and our physical environment.

Under (sleep) pressure

Understanding the science of slumber sheds some light on two major issues in our modern lifestyle: Most of us spend daylight hours indoors (and out of the sun) and our evenings looking at tvs, laptops, and phone screens under artificial lights. This causes an imbalance between the body’s daily sleep pressure, a feeling of “wanting to fall asleep” in the dark, and our wake drive, “a sense of alertness” that keeps us awake during daylight. Sleep researcher and educator Daniel Pardi explains:

“To set the timing of your wake rhythm, your brain wants to coordinate the timing of your wake signal to daytime. It does this by measuring the intensity and hue of light entering the eye. Indoor light is far less intense than outdoor light and, more than ever in human history, we spend much of our day indoors. So, bright daylight anchors your wake rhythm, and when you don’t get enough daylight, your wake rhythm shifts forward. This effect is compounded by getting too much artificial light at night. Essentially, by having light enter the eye at night when the brain should be getting exposure to darkness, we are again telling the brain that it should shift the timing of the wake rhythm forward. So, living in the modern world causes a double-whammy — too little light during the day and too much light at night — shifting our wake rhythm forward.”

A daily routine: 12 steps to get better sleep

01. Start the day light and bright

Something as simple as increasing light exposure throughout the day can help correct that wake rhythm imbalance. To feel more alert, just fill your daylight hours with cool-toned light: sunlight, bright lamps, and laptop and phone screens.

If you work indoors, keep the window shades open and consider adding a couple of lamps with blue spectrum bulbs. Look for lights labeled “daylight” or “bright white.” Skip past flickering and universally unflattering compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), and look instead for longer-lasting and mercury-free light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs.

02. Get some sunshine

You’ll want to pair better office lighting with a daily break from the desk to soak up some mid-day sun, when sunlight is at its brightest. Make a habit of reviewing paperwork and taking lunch outside, or sit on a bench with one chapter of a book each day. Add an afternoon walk, run errands by bike or foot, or take a relaxing post-work stroll with your friends, your dog, or a podcast.

Along with keeping sleep cycles in order, sunlight exposure helps the body first produce Vitamin D, then convert it into a form that helps us absorb calcium. While that “sunshine vitamin” is crucial to healthy bones, bodies, and mental well-being nearly half of us aren’t getting enough of it. In fact, my first year out of college and in the corporate world a physician noticed low Vitamin D on my annual wellness test even though I took a daily multivitamin and regularly ate foods rich in Vitamin D: fish, eggs, cheese, mushrooms and yogurt. Her prescription? Sit in the sunshine for fifteen minutes a day. “You’re probably just not getting enough sun, which helps your body absorb those vitamins,” she said. “It’s pretty common among patients I see who work in offices.”

03. Breakfast like a king

Another thing: Most of us have our eating schedules all wrong, and it all goes back to those circadian rhythms. Each morning a cranial cocktail of natural hormones and neurotransmitters help us wake up and shake off the cobwebs. Along with sunlight, sound, and warmth, hunger signals to our bodies that it’s time to get up and get going.

There’s some new science supporting that old adage, “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and eat dinner like a pauper,” as studies show that larger, healthier breakfasts and lighter, earlier dinners are critical to maintaining a healthy weight and minimizing nighttime sleep disturbances.

Help your circadian cycle along by front-loading each day with plenty of nutrients. Have a cup of hot water with lemon, then feed your body the energy-optimizing duo of a complex carb and a protein. Perhaps add a piece of fruit and your coffee or tea — then aim to step down caloric intake with each subsequent meal.

04. Exercise your brain and body

Even with an optimized meal schedule, some days we just store up more energy than we need, converting extra stores of thoughts and calories into anxiety and fat as we drift off to dreams. You can work off that extra energy by creating a simple exercise routine, putting a hobby or volunteering on the calendar, diving into some great reading, journaling, or just tackling a project around the house or tidying up.

05. Head games

I also like to make formal plans to tackle what one of my former colleagues called “the mental fatness” — that unsavory build-up of spare thoughts that, left to its own devices, tends to manifest as worry, anxiety, and negativity. I exercise my brain by scheduling in time with friends and family, exploring new restaurants around town, and heading to local museums and concerts.

At home I’m picky about the Netflix queue and always hunting for documentaries and cerebral shows (Twin Peaks and Dark are current favorites). I also have a few favorite podcasts — This American Life, Criminal, Planet Money, TED Radio Hour — and like to read saved Pocket articles and my beloved NYT Sunday edition all week long. Joining our local neighborhood organization board has been another great way to channel mental energy toward a great cause that makes me feel good.

06. Body work

On the physical side it’s been helpful to create a routine that fits naturally with my existing schedule. Trading my car commute for an electric bicycle has been one of the easiest ways to make sure I get outside and burn a few calories every day. It’s also a nice energy and serotonin boost as I head home for the evening.

When I used to work beside a gym, a couple of days a week I’d eat a quick meal al desko (a.k.a. Sad Desk Lunch) and alternate cardio and weight sessions during lunch hour. Now I use workouts to decompress on evenings and weekends, and use lunch breaks as a chance to get out of the office and relax a bit. Some days that’s walking to a campus cafe with colleagues. Other days it’s spending some time reading or calling my mom from a favorite bench.

07. Dim the lights at dusk

As the sun sets, switch to warm-toned bulbs and dim the lights until it’s bedtime. Look for low wattage bulbs labeled “warm” or “soft” light. Tuck these bulbs under a lamp shade — overhead lighting and exposed bulbs can trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. Use lower lighting settings on tvs, laptops, and phones.

Try to switch to a book, podcast, newspaper, or e-ink e-reader a couple of hours before you’d like to go to sleep. And generally try to avoid watching shows and reading on your tablet or phone within an hour of bedtime. Even if your screen is set to night-mode, you’re still looking directly into a full screen of LCD lights. Another easy trick? Banish electronics from the bedroom altogether.

08. Eat a lighter, smarter dinner

So, remember that “have dinner like a pauper” thing from earlier? For the whole good night’s rest thing to work you’re going to want to eat enough during the day that it feels good to make dinner your smallest, lightest meal. You’re also going to want to eat your last meal of the day on the early side — I like to give myself a full five or six hours after dinner to let my stomach settle, digest, and get ready for bed.

Load up on serotonin-boosting foods that deliver sleep-inducing melatonin in the evening hours by filling your plate with tryptophan-rich favorites: nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, leafy greens (kale and spinach), cruciforms (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower), root vegetables (turnips and beets), soy, oats, mushrooms, small portions of cheese and yogurt, seaweed and shellfish, and lean proteins like birds, fish, eggs.

Avoid indulgent and indigestion-inducing foods that feel overly rich or spicy — they’re more likely to disrupt your slumber. And generally try to live by the simple advice of food writer Michael Pollan: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

09. Do the math on supplements

You might also sleep better with an accurate idea of how long the foods, drinks, and supplements you take each day affect your brain and body. It can take the body ten to 15 hours to completely process a cup of coffee, 30 minutes to two hours per single unit of alcohol, and as long as nine hours to process what’s in the average multivitamin. Crazy, right? I’ve found it helpful to set bright line rules here, especially during the workweek: No caffeine after lunch (well, most of the time), take my multivitamin before dinner, and no drinks within a couple hours of bedtime.

10. Skip midnight snacks

Continuing to eat after dinner can also disrupt your sleep. To shut down the odd after-dinner craving I like to have a soothing tisane, or herbal tea, and sometimes treat myself to a small serving of something sleep friendly that’s packed with magnesium and potassium — a banana and soy milk smoothie, maple oatmeal, cinnamon and plain yogurt, cherries, berries, or a piece of whole grain oat toast with Irish butter. Help let your brain know you’re done with the day’s diet by brushing your teeth as soon as the snack’s finished.

11. Conscious cocktailing

A glass of red wine with dinner may help you unwind but a few tipples too close to bedtime is definitely going to cut into sleep quality and quantity. And since the body metabolizes around one drink an hour, you’re going to want to take your final sips a couple of hours before falling asleep. Late in the evening I also try to steer clear of spirits-based drinks that are more likely to elicit aggressive, energetic feelings than beer and wine, which typically result in stronger feelings of relaxation and sleepiness.

And while there’s nothing wrong with keeping a cup of water by the bed, you may find it helpful to stop drinking anything two hours before your head hits the pillow. Wine, whiskey, water — whatever it is, within a few hours it’ll probably wake you up for a trip to the bathroom.

12. Basically: Be French

Perhaps unsurprisingly this daily routine is simply a way of life for those sleepy denizens of dorveille — Le Français — who somehow find more time to eat and sleep than the rest of us, spending a full two hours a day eating and nine hours fast asleep.

It’s all too simple, isn’t it? Wake up to sunlight. Have a cup of coffee and settle into a big breakfast. Work out your brain. Take lunch outside with coworkers and go for an afternoon walk. Run errands by foot or bike. Volunteer and spend quality time with loved ones. Eat whole foods. Stop snacking. Sit down for dinner and a glass of wine a little bit earlier. Skip the evening television and read a book, look at a newspaper, listen to a podcast or a little music. Enjoy a tisane or two.

You’re done with the day and all ready for dorveille.

So, now what?

How to get better at getting ready for bed

Set a solid evening ritual

It’s tough to overstate just how much a good night-time routine can help pave the way to sweet, sweet dreams. The deliberate act of getting ready for bed always reminds me of something I read in a book called Essentialism that’s related to the importance of creating a routine to prepare for peak performance: ‘Playing The Tape.’

This is my bedtime routine

My version of ‘Playing The Tape’ goes something like this: After dinner I turn on some jazz, finish the day’s final tasks, and update my planner with tomorrow’s activities. I pour a cup of herbal tea and sometimes light a candle. I start the shower or run a hot bath, adding magnesium-rich Epsom salts if it’s the latter.

Usually I use this quiet time to process the day’s events but often I’m joined by my better half or a favorite podcast. Afterward I lather my face in oil and night cream and if I’ve washed my hair, I’ll tousle it out with a towel and sometimes grab the blow dryer. I slip into cotton pajamas and cotton socks, let the dogs out, breathe in the night air for a few moments, pull the curtains shut, turn on the ceiling fan, then tuck into bed. I hydrate with lip balm and body lotion and a final sip of water, leaving a full mug on the nightstand in case I wake up thirsty in the night.

Sometimes I read or write by lamplight, other times I dim the screens and indulge in a little bit of Instagram or Netflix. If I’m feeling anxious I meditate or journal. I always turn the sound conditioner machine on. I always turn the phone off. I always take the cotton socks off. I (almost) always remember to spray the pillows with lavender.

Instead of trying to go to sleep I try to appreciate the luxury of just resting — closing my eyes, sitting still, enjoying the comfortable place I’m in for the next few hours. Soon enough, I’m dreaming.

Creating a healthier bedroom for optimal sleep

So, what does this bedroom look like when I’m ready to drift off to dreams? For one, it’s completely dark — black-out curtains (which also help with energy efficiency), doors shut, phones off, laptops completely out of the bedroom.

Since ideal sleep temperature is somewhere between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit, the fan is on and the thermostat is down. There’s a sweatshirt and extra blanket by the bed. Linen sheets and a wool-topped latex mattress help regulate body temperature — but more on that in a minute.

It’s also quiet, but not too quiet. The whir of our sound conditioning machine adds just enough white noise. The bed faces north, indirectly towards the bedroom door, which feels secure.

Really there’s just not that much in our bedroom. There’s an air-cleansing golden pothos potted in a corner, a sheepskin rug, a bench and some books, one big mirror, two nightstands, and a wood-frame bed. The walls are white and there’s one canvas painted with blue and gold birds. A couple of years ago we removed the television as well as a big dresser that just seemed to accumulate dust and spare paperwork.

Today the bedroom is filled only with things that are conducive to sleep, reading, and relaxing.

Pillow talk: Why your mattress matters

It’s sort of astounding that we spend more time in bed than anywhere else and yet we often know so little about what goes on inside the beds we sleep on: how they’re made, what they’re made of, what happens as they age; how all of that interacts with our skin, our breathing, our brains — not to mention whether any of it helps us get a good night’s rest.

How to shop for a healthy, sustainable mattress

“We spend a lot of time thinking about the safety of the food we eat and the different products we use, but most of us don’t even stop to think about the mattresses we sleep on every night,” says Nneka Leiba, Director of Healthy Living Science for The Environmental Working Group.

“Some are covered in flame retardant chemicals that have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and adverse effects on the immune system. Others release harmful fumes, or volatile organic compounds, that can cause respiratory irritation. Others still are coated in PVC or vinyl that can damage development and reproductive systems.” Leiba and EWG have put together several tips about how to shop for a healthy mattress:

• Choose an organic mattress made with natural materials like cotton, wool, or natural latex. “Look for a product that has been certified by a reputable body, like Global Organic Textile Standards,” which certifies products to be organic and free of polyurethane foam and a number of hazardous chemicals.
• If you’re interested in latex, opt for 100% natural latex. “Latex is a renewable material made from rubber tree sap and is less likely to emit high levels of VOCs compared to a polyurethane product.” It is also highly resistant to mold and dust mites, and is more durable than petroleum-based foam. Watch out for synthetic and latex blends, as well as latex mattresses that use glue between layers. “Check for certifications by an independent body like Oeko-Tex Standard 100 or GreenGuard Gold.”
• If you decide to buy a polyurethane or memory foam mattress, “look for one that is low-VOC to limit your exposure to off-gassing chemicals.” Be sure to check out what’s inside and consider the merit of stated certifications. Companies that decline to disclose mattress ingredients are likely hiding a cocktail of chemicals behind marketing terms that range from “proprietary foam” and “NASA-engineered memory foam” to green-washed claims of charcoal- and green tea-treated “plant-based” soy and “eco foams” that actually contain a very low percentage of natural materials.
• Be aware that not all certifications are created equally. For example, CertiPUR-US, which certifies safe foam for hundreds of mattress and bedding companies, was created by the Polyurethane Foam Association and is currently sponsored by Dow Chemical. While CertiPUR-US does completely ban the use of some chemicals like PDBE, its self-stated “safe” levels of formaldehyde content are ten times higher than UL Environment’s GreenGuard Gold standard.
• Also avoid mattresses treated with chemical fire retardants, which can contain neurotoxins and carcinogens. Look for a mattress that instead uses safer, natural flame retardants like a layer of wool or polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer derived from renewable sources including corn and sugarcane. When in doubt, get in direct contact to find answers: “It may be hard to tell which products don’t have these troubling chemicals, so check with the retailer or manufacturer,” Leiba says.

One good mattress

Leiba’s last tip led me to a small mattress company I’d come across in several natural latex mattress reviews: Spindle. Run by three friends in Acton, Massachusetts, Spindle was created by Neal Van Patten, a fourth-generation mattress maker who (adorably) decided he was destined to make really good mattresses when he was seven years old.

Van Patten, alongside operations manager Jim Buckley and director of marketing Kim Novick, thoroughly believes in doing fewer things, really well. Spindle is a lot like a nascent Everlane — exceptional quality, ethical factories, and radical transparency. Where Everlane seeks to make closets simpler, more sustainable, and fair to customers and factory workers, Spindle is on a mission to do the same for mattresses.

So Spindle offers one mattress in four sizes. The mattresses are 10″ thick and made of four pieces: three poured-in-Pennsylvania 3″ thick sheets of 100% natural Dunlop latex foam layers that you stack together at home, plus a zippered organic cotton case that’s topped with a 1″ layer of responsibly-raised Pacific Northwest wool.

Before you buy anything, Spindle asks a few questions about your height and weight, current mattress, and favorite sleep positions. Everything goes into a little comfort calculator that spits out a trio of layers best suited for you: soft, medium, firm, extra firm. If your answers don’t match well with Spindle’s offerings, there’s a word on why and recommendations on other mattress makers to check out. You can also email or call with any questions.

I did just that, sending a couple of emails and spending an hour on the phone with Kim Novick.

“A lot of what we do is listen to what people have to say. When a customer calls us we listen to what they’re saying and we can identify what they’re looking for and what their needs are. Sometimes it’s before we even pick up the phone,” Novick said. That willingness to listen, learn, and teach is woven throughout the entire company.

“We used to make a 7″ mattress including the cover — people saw it as a bargain and were buying it. If you were like 5’7” and 120 lbs, you could sleep on this. 6’0, 190 [lbs] — I could not sleep on that mattress. I’d compress it. It was great as a bunk bed mattress. People were thinking “I can get by with 6″,” and they couldn’t. So we stopped selling it. One of the things we do is try to keep things as simple as possible for the customer. We got rid of the 6″ mattress and it hasn’t hurt us at all.”

Novick is also keen on transparent supply chains. Spindle’s 3″ sheets of latex are made using the continuous pour Dunlop process at Mountain Top Foam’s Pennsylvania factory. There are no glues, plasticizers, fillers, or fire retardants — latex and a 5% binder are simply poured into a pan like cake batter and baked. “Latex comes right off the line onto a truck. We’re the only people that are touching it.”

The unbleached organic cotton used in their covers is grown across Texas, New Mexico, and sometimes India before being spun and circle knit into mattress covers in South Carolina.

And the wool? It serves as a natural flame retardant, and there’s a reason it’s not certified organic. “Wool gatherers set the standards for husbandry. The wool comes from a number of different types of sheep — sometimes organic, just not certified. A lot of it is coming from herds raised for slaughter, not for their wool. Wool is a by-product.” Spindle’s wool is grown by farmers in California and Oregon and carded at a mill in Northern California. The mill works with individual shepherds to set standards for rotating pastures, healthy vet practices, limiting herbicide and pesticide contact, and even humane predator control. “No traps,” Novick said. “They use llamas and dogs to protect the herds.”

This pragmatic philosophy reaches beyond the point of sale. Along with a 10 year warranty and 365 day comfort adjustment option, Spindle has a unique 25 year replacement program for purchasing individual latex layers and new covers at a discount — a refreshingly sustainable option when faced with the reality that 50,000 mattresses end up in landfills each day. All of this adds up to a 2% refund rate on Spindle mattresses in a world where “less than 10%” is standard for sleeping giants like Casper, Leesa, and Tuft & Needle.

“Most people take it out of the box and we never hear from them again.”

In review: Spindle natural latex mattress

• Spindle is an Oeko-Tex 100, Class I certified, flame retardant-free natural latex mattress blanketed in organic cotton and a 1” layer of wool batting that zips off for cleaning.
• Spindle’s three stacking 3” latex layers let you to adjust firmness and replace individual layers over time. The natural materials increase airflow and wick moisture away, helping you stay warm in the winter, cool in the summer.
• It’s made in the USA of three ingredients:
  – 100% natural Dunlop latex continuously poured in Pennsylvania.
  – Organic cotton free of pesticides, pigments or bleach that’s circle knit in South Carolina.
  – Natural wool batting from sheep raised according to Eco-Wool Standards in the Pacific Northwest.
• A queen mattress ships in three boxes. To assemble, you simply unfold the cotton and wool cover onto your bed frame, making sure you have slats every 3″ (we’re using the KD Frames Nomad 2 Plus, made of Virginia tulip poplar in Athens, Georgia). Stack each latex layer inside the cover, zip it up, and you’re ready to go.
• What does a latex bed smell like? Nothing like the chemical and detergent smells I’ve noticed with memory foam and innerspring mattresses. Out of the box, the latex layers smell a bit like a band-aid — just a little hint of good old natural rubber. The cotton and wool topper smells like, well, wool. Once everything’s zipped up, it doesn’t smell like anything at all.
• What does continuous pour Dunlop latex feel like? Since there are no coils, there’s no creaking or mechanical feeling as you sit down. It’s similar to memory foam but doesn’t have that squishy, quicksand feeling that your bed is going to devour your body in the night. It’s spongier and more supportive than memory foam, yet softer and smoother than an innerspring mattress. There’s not a lot of motion transfer. It’s quiet and cool to the touch.
• My husband and I both feel like we get deeper, higher quality sleep but are overall lighter sleepers — it feels a little easier to wake up in the morning. The weirdest part? In the five months since we switched our mattress and bed frame, we’ve both started recollecting more of our dreams.

SLEEP SHOP

Spindle Natural Latex Mattress
Made in America of 100% natural Duplop latex, organic cotton, and responsibly-raised Pacific Northwest wool. $899-$1,699.

☁ 5% off any Spindle order with
promo code: SLEEPWELLE ☁
Free shipping + no tax outside MA

KD Frames Nomad 2 Plus Bed
Made in America of tulip poplar.
$147-283 at Amazon or Wayfair.

 

Pacific Coast Feather Company Comforter, Amazon, $123 $20 for one large pillow

“Nova” Table Lamp in marble, glass, brass. West Elm, $90

Flax Linen Sheet Set Parachute Home, $110 or West Elm, $30-259

Cuyana Alpaca Cardigan
100% baby alpaca wool.
Made in Peru, $275

Handmade Sleep Mask
Très Holly Golightly, $14

Cuyana Pima Pajamas
Short set. True to size.
Made in Ecuador, $75

Hobonichi Techo A6 planner book $34

Wigwam Cypress cotton ragg socks $5/pair

Republic of Tea Get Some Zzz’s Tea, $11 This Works Sleep Plus Pillow Spray, $40

OSEA Malibu Natural + organic skincare Sea Minerals ℅, $38  Ocean Cleansing Mudd ℅, $44 Red Algae Mask ℅, $48

OILLE Natural + organic skincare Cranberry + Green Tea Firming Serum ℅, $138 Rose + Calendula Night Crème ℅, $86

P.S.

---

Thank you for reading! I hope you found this post useful. The views expressed in this article are for informational purposes only. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. While Where With Elle endeavors to provide accurate, quality content, readers are responsible for the way in which they use information provided. Please always consult a medical practitioner before embarking on lifestyle or dietary changes.

Affiliate notes: Where With Elle may earn a small commission on purchases made through bit.ly and Spindle links on this site and social media. Oille and OSEA shared beauty products with me that I love to use every day and have featured in this post — they’re marked ℅. Spindle gave me a discount on the mattress I purchased and has allowed me to share a discount with readers through their affiliate program. I do not write paid reviews or sponsored posts. I am not affiliated with EWG, nor am I a medical professional — I went to school for design, y’all.

☁ Still awake? ☁
Curl up with a travel diary or
explore more of my writing on natural well-being.