Anyone with experience raising a baby knows that they sleep
a lot. Sure, they DON’T sleep a lot as
well, particularly on multiple occasions throughout the night leaving mom and
dad often very sleep-deprived the next day.
In fact, I often liken my experiences with my two geriatric dogs to
raising an infant—lots of sleeping, lots of pooping, and lots of projectile
vomiting.
Other than eating, crying, and filling up their diapers with
what can only be described at times to be made from Lucifer himself, babies
sleep. They don’t really have much
control nor coordination of their muscles in the very early months, nor do they
need to allocate their time to multitask a job, hobbies, or doing taxes, so
what is there to do other than sleep?
In fact, in the first three years of life, babies are known
to sleep around 12-13 hours per day, compared with 8 hours (or less, for many
of us with busy schedules) for adults.
With so much time devoted to sleep, what we place our babies
to snooze on should be safe, obviously, right?
Well, one recent study showed that the mattresses used in babies cribs
are a big source of potentially hazardous airborne chemicals called volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), exposing the sleeping infant to harmful chemical
compounds that have been linked to a wide range of health problems1.
The average run-of-the-mill crib is made up of a layer of
polyurethane or polyester foam padding within a waterproof plastic cover for
protection. Since much of the chemicals
used to create these crib mattresses are plastic-based, studies have found that
these cribs are likely sources of VOCs, and are linked to sensory issues,
breathing problems, and reduced airflow in mice2.
Intake of VOCs in infants may be greater than it would be
for an adult experiencing the same level of exposure. Per day, babies inhale an order of magnitude
more air than adults do, suggesting that infants will inhale significantly more
VOCs than an adult in the same room.
Other studies have found that infant exposure to VOCs is
linked to negative impacts on the developing immune system of the child, increased
risk of asthma, and increased risk of allergies in exposed children3.
Using controlled environmental chambers to avoid any
contamination from the outside environment, this most recent study examined
both brand new and used mattresses at two different temperatures (23oC
and 36oC) and if VOCs are emitted at levels that are potentially
harmful for the sleeping baby.
Additionally, since getting a real baby for this kind of test is highly
unethical, the researchers used a “baby dummy” instead that was set at the
approximate temperature of a living breathing infant to get as realistic as
possible of a scenario.
The study confirmed what previous studies have found, in
that as the temperature of the room increased from 23oC to 36oC,
VOCs emitted from the mattresses increased significantly. In fact, VOC levels were about double at 36oC
than what they were at 23oC, suggesting that VOC exposure may be
greater during the summer than during the winter (provided the room does not
have air conditioning).
The study also found that new crib mattresses emitted about
4 times higher levels of VOCs than older used mattresses.
Additionally, many of the mattress covers were able to
reduce the VOC levels in the air around the crib, however warned that a couple
of the mattress covers actually INCREASED VOC levels in the air.
Lastly, depending upon the material, some mattress covers
can act like a “VOC sink”, absorbing a lot of the compounds that would have
otherwise escaped into the air.
Based on the VOC levels emitted by the crib mattresses
during the experiment and how much the typical infant breathes while sleeping
in the mattress, the sleeping baby could inhale 1μg/kg of VOCs (depending upon
the temperature of the room). If an
adult were in the same room breathing the same air, they would inhale
significantly less VOCs than the infant.
What can you do?
Many crib mattresses are made of plastic-based materials,
and studies have linked these materials to increased VOC levels in the air
around the crib. This same source of
VOCs has been linked to health problems in young children, including increased
risk of asthma and allergies. What can
you do to help avoid or at least reduce the amount of VOCs your baby inhales
while it sleeps?
1.
Maintain
good air flow throughout the room.
If you live in a climate that allows it, keep the windows cracked a
little and run a ceiling fan to help move any VOCs emitted from the mattress
away from the sleeping baby.
2.
Use an
older mattress. This comes with some
caveats, as some older mattresses actually contain some harmful flame
retardants that also have been shown to emit dangerous VOCs in the air4. If using an older mattress, use one that
doesn’t have these flame retardants added (specifically polybrominated diphenyl
ether or PBDE).
3.
Let the
mattress “air out”. Studies have
shown VOC levels are significantly higher in brand new mattresses and gradually
decrease over time. Think about
purchasing the mattress for your crib earlier on in the pregnancy and leave it
out (and out of any packaging) in a well-ventilated room with bedding until
it’s baby time.
4.
Find
mattresses that are GreenGuard certified. Products that receive a
GreenGuard certification5 must be made to reduce the harmful
chemicals that contribute to indoor air pollution, like the VOCs emitted by
plastic-based mattresses. I can’t say
for certain if these products are completely VOC-free, however, they should be
significantly reduced.
Further reading:
1.
Boor, B.E., Järnström, H., Novoselac, A., and
Xu, Y. 2014. Infant Exposure to Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from
Crib Mattresses. Environmental Science
and Technology 48: 3541-3549.
2.
Anderson, R.C., and Anderson, J.H. 2000.
Respiratory toxicity of mattress emissions in mice. Archives of Environmental Health 55(1): 38-43.
3.
Franklin, P.J. 2007. Indoor air quality and
respiratory health of children. Paediatric
Respiratory Reviews 8: 281-286.
4.
Stapleton, H.M., Klosterhaus, S., Keller, A.,
Ferguson, P.L., van Bergen, S., Cooper, E., Webster, T.F., and Blum, A. 2011.
Identification of flame retardants in polyurethane foam collected from baby
products. Environmental Science and
Technology 45(12): 5323-5331.