Should You Worry About Metal Springs in Mattresses?

In, a word, no.

In this Leaf Score series on eco-friendly, non-toxic mattresses, I’ve already covered what to watch out for in terms of potentially harmful mattress materials and treatments. Attentive readers may notice that I didn’t suggest avoiding mattresses made with metal coils or innersprings. If you’ve heard worrying rumors about metal coils and have concerns, or if you just want some good clean fun with physics, read on.

What’s the deal with metal coils in mattresses?

Metal coils have had a bad rap in recent years, seemingly thanks to an unsupported, unscientific, guest article published online in Scientific American. The writer of the article misinterpreted the results and conclusions of a single poor-quality study and claimed a connection between the metal coils in mattresses and an increased risk of cancer on one side of the body.

Put simply, the writer confused the terms ‘attenuated’ and ‘amplified’, which have opposite meanings (i.e. reduced and increased, respectively). Despite being explained many times, this confusion has since been, well, amplified, by folks on the blogosphere.

Unfortunately, the persistent confusion about this purported connection between coil mattresses and adverse health effects is, itself, damaging to health. That’s because such claims cause unnecessary stress and anxiety in consumers looking, quite rightly, to make informed healthy choices over what they sleep on every night. Not to mention that an innerspring mattress is often a far healthier choice than a foam mattress and far cheaper and lighter weight than many other options.

So, what’s all the furor about? In short, the writer of the original article, claimed that the coils in mattresses act as an antenna to boost electromagnetic radiation which, in turn, increases your risk of cancer.

There are several things wrong with this theory. First, for an antenna to boost an electromagnetic field to any significant degree, it needs to have current traveling through it. This is not the case with metal coils packed inside a mattress. And, even if it were the case that a network of coils in a mattress could function as an antenna, most coil mattresses these days feature individually wrapped coils, meaning that the coils are padded and insulated from each other and incapable of forming a single continuous metal coil network.

Second, while it’s not disputed that EMFs above certain levels can have an effect on biological systems, typical environmental exposure levels have not been linked to any detrimental effects on health. How do we know this? Because, more than two decades ago, in 1996, the World Health Organization established The International EMF Project to look into whether long-term low-level EMF exposure can ‘evoke biological responses and influence people’s well being’. 

Metal coils and EMF

In the past 30 years, around 25,000 articles have been published looking at the biological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation (the kind of EMF that doesn’t carry enough energy to break bonds between molecules). This means that there is now more knowledge about EMF than there is about most chemicals, including those I regularly recommend avoiding based on an abundance of precaution.

Indeed, national and international guidelines restrict exposure to higher level EMFs that could, potentially, cause health effects. This is evidence-based, science-based policy created after careful study and examination of substantial amounts of data. 

Sure, more research can always be done and there are some gaps in knowledge, but there is a sound basis for the conclusion that there are no adverse health effects from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. Instead, symptoms often attributed to EMF exposure may be related to noise or other factors in the environment or by the anxiety mentioned above, which is propagated by those such as Mercola.

Indeed, national and international guidelines restrict exposure to higher level EMFs that could, potentially, cause health effects. This is evidence-based, science-based policy created after careful study and examination of substantial amounts of data. 

Clarity on the metal springs in mattresses issue

So, for clarity:

• Ionizing radiation includes cosmic rays and x-rays, as well as gamma rays given off by radioactive materials. These are damaging as they can break bonds between molecules. Thus, it’s smart to minimize exposure to them. 

In contrast, 

• EMFs from electricity, microwaves, and radios used as intended have a long wavelength, low frequency, and are non-ionizing. They are unable to break chemical bonds and pose no risk to health unless used improperly (such as putting your fingers in a socket or a metal can in the microwave!).

In conclusion, as long as you don’t hook the metal coils in your mattress up to a power supply (unless you’re upcycling it in a really fun way!), those coils are extremely unlikely to pose any risk to your health.

In contrast, worrying about this persistent myth, to the extent that you buy a foam mattress to avoid coils, could have real and significant adverse effects on your health and happiness if you buy foam made with flame retardants and other toxins.

If you’re still wavering on metal coils, you can always consider other eco-friendly, non-toxic mattress materials such as organic latex, cotton, and wool instead. But, seriously, don’t discount coils.