How to Create a Dream Green Bedroom: A Healthy Sanctuary for Restful, Rejuvenating Sleep | Ep 268

[00:00:06] Imagine getting up every day full of energy as if you were in your 20s again. What would that be like? What would that be worth to you? What is your health worth to you? Think about it. Your health isn't everything, but without it, everything else is nothing. And yet too many of us are taking it for granted until something goes wrong.

[00:00:30] No one wakes up hoping to be diagnosed with a disease or chronic illness, and yet we've never been taught how to be proactive in our health through our school system or public health. As a registered health coach and integrative health practitioner, I believe it is time this information is made available to everyone. Combining new knowledge around your health and the ability to do my functional medicine lab tests in the comfort of your own home

[00:00:56] will allow you to optimize your health for today and all your tomorrows. Don't wait for your wake up call. Welcome back to another episode of the Don't Wait For Your Wake Up Call podcast. I am Melissa Deally, your host. This is a Podapalooza special episode and today I have here with me Teresa Thomas. Welcome to the show, Teresa. Thank you so much, Melissa. I'm very excited to be here.

[00:01:23] I'm excited to have you on the show and just want to introduce you to the audience. Drawing on her own journey of overcoming multiple chemical sensitivities, Teresa empowers mothers to uncover hidden toxins in their homes and yards, replacing harmful products with safe alternatives. She gives them strategies to reduce exposure to synthetic chemicals that weaken children's immune systems, create behavioral issues and cause constant health frustrations.

[00:01:51] And the result is a happy, healthy, vibrant family life where kids return to their natural, cheerful, energetic selves. And I love this topic, Teresa, and my audience knows very well that I teach detoxing and it's not just about detoxing the body. It's about detoxing the home. And our gut health is the core of all of our health. And we've had over 100,000 man-made chemical toxins developed since World War Two and babies are being born toxic.

[00:02:19] So just share with me, how did you get into this line of work yourself through your own healing journey? Well, I was sick for a decade. I couldn't go out of my house without a mask on. And then in 2010, I sort of started the exploration of different things. And I had a message in a reading that I should write a book. And, you know, I said, oh, I can't write a book.

[00:02:46] But then by 2018, somebody came to town with a big workshop, write a book and grow rich. So I went to that and I signed up and then I didn't do anything. And then the pandemic happened and I started writing. Then I got a concussion and various things. So my big passion, though, is the children. Yes. Because they have so many chemicals and it's actually now closer to 200,000 synthetic chemicals.

[00:03:15] And because it was 90,000 in the 90s. Right. So at the turn of the century, it was 150 or something. So it's going up there. And rapidly and rapidly. Because if it was 90,000 at the turn of the century and we're talking back to since World War Two. Right. So, you know, the 40 years, we got to 90,000. And then in another, you know, 25, we've added and we've doubled more than doubled that.

[00:03:45] Yes. Yes. So it is a little alarming. We have to just take a deep breath and do the best that we can. Exactly. I agree with you there. We can't stress out about it. That makes it worse. It does. Yeah. It just adds another factor of stress on the body. Exactly. Now, I can't remember your question, though. So it was just you and your journey. How did you, you know, you have chemical sensitivities. And I'm sure for a long time it went undiagnosed and you didn't know what was wrong.

[00:04:14] And so just talk about that journey a little bit. I'm sure many. Because I started getting sick at work and there was a methane leak underneath my desk or methane from a sewage leak. I mean, they fixed the pipe, but they didn't take all the sewage away. So I was breathing little low levels of methane and some other things that were happening every day. And I just ask, were you even aware of the smell at all or no? You don't really smell it. There isn't.

[00:04:43] So so often these toxins are getting into our body through our skin, through our nasal passages, our eyes, etc. And we aren't even aware of it because they're so microscopic. And yet they have such a profoundly negative impact on our health. Exactly. So every day you were breathing it and just getting a little bit, little bit sicker and you had no idea. That's great. And I, you know, I was, if I was talking on the phone, I was talking loudly. And I thought one day, oh, they probably, and I had a red face all the time, rash on my face all the time.

[00:05:14] And I said, oh, they probably think I've got a bottle in my drawer or something. Because it was kind of like that. It was that over, you know, overreacted. And yet I couldn't remember anything. So I was brain fog. Yeah. And I was working on like five or six housing projects. One of them was 4.6 million or something. And I could not remember the conversations I'd had with the contractor or the lawyer.

[00:05:43] So I had a binder for each project. And when there was a meeting, I'd say, well, what topic are we on? Oh, we're going to do all of them. So I'd go in there with a big arm full of binders. And, you know, I'm sure that they thought I was a crazy menopausal woman is what they thought. Right. So that's and that's often what happens. You know, we have brain fog or we're overreacting or something. And it just gets dismissed as that, which is common for women, too. Absolutely.

[00:06:13] Anyway, I just kept working the best I could. And interestingly enough, the the nonprofit closed. But I stayed longer because of my loyalty and dedication to the job. Your big heart. Yes. And all the people that I was helping. And then I got the sickest. Of course, the ones that left, a couple of them had interesting things happen, but they left. Right. So they didn't get as sick as I got. Right.

[00:06:42] I'm on the on the phone with a mortgage broker and we're talking about serious stuff. She's in Toronto. And and she said, I just have one more question. Well, everything went orange. I could not see. I could barely hear her. I couldn't think. I said, I have to go. And I just slammed down the phone and raced out of the building. And it took about 20 minutes before I could even see anything but orange. So.

[00:07:06] Then, you know, I went home, then I came back to work and I started having really severe reactions. And so. And then I started my own company back then, actually, and I had to hire somebody to run my company because I couldn't do it. And I thought, oh, I'll be able to go back in three months or six months. But because it was such low levels. I don't know if you've heard about that, but the low levels, high stakes, your body doesn't see it as a toxin.

[00:07:35] So if you're in a factory and there's a big formaldehyde spill, everybody vacates, they detox and they do all this stuff. Right. Right. But when your body's like this, then all of a sudden everything collapsed. Yes. Because it's just a little bit, a little bit, a little bit at a time. And each little bit the body thinks it can handle. However, when you add it all up over time, it can't. That's right. Yeah. So I had to eliminate all my foods, get rid of all the cleaning products, you know, all the standard stuff.

[00:08:03] And I kept two cleaning products because I thought, just in case, you know. And then my mom came to visit and we were renovating a house. So it was bare board floors. We hadn't, didn't have the floor flooring down yet. It was an old bathroom. Well, she found those two products and she cleaned the house. I couldn't stay there. Right. I had to move out for the weekend. So don't, don't be tempted to clean, to keep something if you are sensitive to it.

[00:08:32] Just give it all away. Because the holistic or the clean options are really effective. It's just that you have to look elsewhere for them. You can't go down the street to your local store and buy them. The clean products aren't in your everyday stores. That's right. Although that's what I've found in my area. Yeah. Now, where I live, we have natural, natural product aisles.

[00:08:59] I don't know if you have that where you live, but we have natural product aisles. So you can buy the bottle. We do for food, not for cleaning. And we get cleaning as well. Okay. Awesome. Well, it's laundry, laundry dish and hand soap. Right. Oh, beautiful. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. So I love all that you're doing. And, you know, I'm sure that that was a long journey. And I'm so glad to see you here today, though. You know, shining brightly, glowing in full health. You know, there's no sign of the skin rash or the redness.

[00:09:29] And, you know, there's no brain fog either. We're having a fabulous conversation here. You have fully overcome all of the debilitating effects of that chemical exposure. And so it's showing others that this is possible. And it wasn't without effort. You had to learn. You had to figure it out. You, you know, likely have to buy some products and some worked and some didn't. However, you have been successful in overcoming this.

[00:09:56] So let's talk now to how do you now help the children? Because I agree with you. We know to me when I learned that babies are being born toxic and that was shocking. And they only tested toxicity in 400 chemicals. And the babies had many of them had over 200 toxicities in the 400 chemicals. So imagine if they actually tested all the chemicals. Well, that is very true. I hadn't thought about that. Mm hmm.

[00:10:26] And that's negatively impacting their gut health, which is the core of all of our health. And so if they're being born with a compromised gut, that means their immune system is compromised. And is it any wonder that our children are sicker and that there are more diagnoses of these neurological issues, et cetera, et cetera. And now you're giving parents solutions. So let's talk about, you know, how I'm focusing on now is the bedroom because babies and children spend a lot of time.

[00:10:56] And so number one is just to switch to fragrance free laundry products. Yes. And now a lot of pajamas have up to age 12, they have a fire retardant in them. Yes. So if you can get, you know, get the cotton at the fabric store and make your own all the all the better. And I'm not sure if you could wash them 100 times and the fire retardant and come out.

[00:11:26] Yeah, I just buy fire retardant free and you have to look for it. Oh, you can find it. Yes. Bamboo is another one. My pajamas are bamboo pajamas and my linen is too. Oh, cool. Yeah. I find linen that it takes so long to dry. It does. It does. Yeah. So I go cotton. But anyway, yeah. So that's good to know that you can get the fire retardant free pajamas. Wow. Yes. Excellent. I'm so happy to hear that. Yeah.

[00:11:56] So that and then depending on the age of the children, keeping the electronics out of the room. I just learned you can't actually turn them off at night because it causes all kinds of disruption with your connection. But there's pause buttons on devices now so you can pause the Wi Fi being on and and keep that out of the bedroom. I used to just say, take all of your devices and put them in the microwave at night.

[00:12:25] But of course, you know, everybody's so attuned to waking up in the night and seeing if they got a text or, you know, what was that notification for my my cell phone stays two floors away from me and my computer. So when people are looking for me in the morning, they're a little irritated because I just go down there after everything has begun my day. And that is actually truly the healthiest way to do it.

[00:12:54] I'm not sure if you're aware of this. My my phone is in an EMF blocking case. OK, so I don't have it in. I have it in the bathroom, not the bedroom. Yes. Get to play sounds at night that help my brain get into a deeper, more restorative sleep. Right. Prior to learning about those sound, the new calm sounds, I had it downstairs and my laptop was downstairs as well. Yes. Yes. However, kids today, they're so used to having their phones.

[00:13:23] And, you know, if parents can get it young enough to keep the phones out of the bedroom, I agree with you and highly recommend it. And guess what? You can buy alarm clocks for 10 bucks that are just the old LEDs. I know. Right. What I found. Their phone. Yay! And it's green. Yes. My business is going green together. So I'm so excited that it's green. Yes. I love that. And that is the best alarm clock for everyone. We don't need to be dependent on our phones.

[00:13:53] And and there are protection tools we can use in order to block that because I have it with me all day in my office. I don't want that EMF either. No. No. Yes. Well, you know, for the teens, a lot of the schools and the younger kids, the schools are saying, OK, you sign your phone, you know, put your phone here for the day. And I heard some youth talking about that. And they say, oh, we're actually talking to each other. We're not texting. Yes.

[00:14:20] And so they're having conversations and a combination of the pandemic and then the whole cell phone use messaging and everything. Our kids don't really know how to communicate well. So that, you know, they might understand leaving it out of their bedroom because it's now common to have it out of your space when you're at school. Right. I heard that recently from my own nieces that my kids are adults. However, my nieces are in the high school and they told me that the high school has

[00:14:49] now turned off the Wi-Fi in school. Oh. So they don't ask the kids for the phones. However, they don't have Wi-Fi. Therefore, they can't communicate. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. I think you can still text without Wi-Fi. If they have a plan, then yes, they can. They have to have a plan. They have to have a plan. So, yeah. Then they'd have to have a job and spend all the money on that. Exactly. Exactly.

[00:15:15] However, it is great to see that, you know, and it's a struggle for the schools, I'm sure, to figure out how do they stay one step ahead of this and love the idea of, you know, a kid sleeping well, because I know you're talking with younger children. Teenagers are not sleeping well. They're not getting enough sleep and they're so connected to their phones and they're texting that, you know, they go to their bedroom and they shut the door and the parents think they're asleep. Right. And, you know, I remember a time again, my nephews are adults too.

[00:15:45] However, I remember a time when they're in Toronto, I'm in BC and my nephew was texting me at like midnight, my time, and I'm already in bed and I'm going, it's 3am your time. What are you doing awake? Yes. And then letting his mom know. Not like being under the covers with the flashlight, reading a really good book. And then the battery runs out. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I don't do that every night, you know. True enough.

[00:16:14] To sleep for 10 hours and not be up in the middle of the night. That's really surprising to me. Yeah. And I love that you focus on sleep too, because it is so important. And yet society teaches us to discount the importance of sleep with our do, do, do more, more, more philosophies. And, you know, you hear people saying I'll sleep when I'm dead or sleep is overrated and all of those things. And I know in your teens, in your twenties, you've got all the energy in the world and you can get away with it.

[00:16:42] However, getting away with it is different to if you have the education to understand the importance of sleep. You can make different choices in your teens and in your twenties that impact your longevity. Well, I'm just curious because, I mean, it used to be there was no choice. The teens just slept for 12 or 14 hours. It wasn't like they were making a decision about that.

[00:17:12] And that's because the body is growing and it's having so much work to do. Exactly. Maybe there's more about the environmental toxins that's actually keeping them awake. And potentially, if the, if the wifi is on, that's going to keep you awake. So to get that out of the bedroom is, is really critical. I think. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. So how do you work with people and how can people get hold of you if they would like

[00:17:40] to reach out and learn more about, you know, making their home less toxic and more green? And I'm sure it's all in steps. You're not just saying throw everything out. You're saying, okay, let's start this section. And yes. So walk us through that process. Yes. So, well, first of all, I say I've got a book that's about to come out. It's written for parents to focus on parents, but about 60% of it applies to everybody. So number one is what can you do quickly and easily?

[00:18:08] Well, number one is change your laundry products. Yes. And number two is change your cleaning products. Yes. And then personal care. And then I go into the kitchen and the bedroom, the other rooms in the house. Um, and then, uh, the great outdoors and, uh, body, mind, spirit connection. And, uh, the garden. I love that outdoors is in the garden. Yeah, that's right.

[00:18:37] I love that. That's awesome. And just for those that may be listening to this rather than watching the book is called toxic to green. And you said it's about to come out. Will people be able to get it on Amazon? And when do you expect it to be available? Well, um, I'm hoping it's going to be ready for, uh, print or distribution by June. Of 2026. In case people are listening next year. Right. And another time. Yes.

[00:19:03] And I'm going to be looking at, at lots of different platforms, not just Amazon. Okay. And, uh, on my website, there should be a PDF that's available for free. And then there'll be a Kindle and all those things. I'm not totally aware of everything yet, but, um, that will come out. And then now I've just been listening. We're on Podapalooza and, uh, thank you very much to that organization and for you picking me to do an interview. And, um, Drilled to have you.

[00:19:32] This is great information for my audience. Yeah. Um, anyway, what did they say? I, it's gone out of my mind. One of those brain fog things, but, uh, oh yes. Kimberly was just talking about have only one client group, which is moms, but I do plan to have a book for women, men, seniors, teens, pet owners, and then a compilation book and then a children's book. So they'll all come out with from toxic to green on the title. So who knows how many books there will be eventually.

[00:20:03] I love that you have that plan moving forward. That's wonderful. Yes. Thank you so much for coming on the show, sharing your wisdom for the work that you do, because it is so, so important. I run functional medicine lab tests for people and it can test their toxicity. And I know what's going on in terms of the toxic levels in the world. And so we need more people getting this message out for people to realize that there are green options and they are much healthier for you. Yes.

[00:20:33] Teresa, I also, um, what is your website? You mentioned that your website. It's from toxic to green.com. Okay. And, uh, if you do that, I have a little gift is the kilts kids sleep smart system, uh, which is a, um, it's a PDF. It's just coming out now. Kids sleep smart system. Mm hmm. Perfect. Perfect. So that looks how to detox the bedroom. Really. Perfect.

[00:21:00] And that's on your website at toxic to green.com. Perfect. Yes. We'll include all of that from toxic to green. Yeah. Yes. Perfect. I will have all of that in the show notes and always love to ask every guest that comes on my show. What does don't wait for your wake up call mean to you? Well, it means, uh, back when I did get sick, there were lots of warning signs and I

[00:21:28] just ignored them and thought, you know, this is normal and I'll just have to keep going. So I was wallpapering in the house and then I'd have to have a nap after one sheet of wallpaper which back then was full of blue. And, uh, I didn't really know. I thought, oh, I was just so tired from being at work. I didn't think that there could be something else. So that's my real wake up call. Think about, and it could be what you're eating. It could be with something in your environment, like the mold, or could be that you're having some

[00:21:57] tiny exposure over a couple of years that you're not even aware of. So don't just dismiss it to, oh, you're getting old. Oh, you're tired. Uh, because you're under stress. These are not really the truth. You know, just look a little deeper at your health, at your body. And, um, as Melissa said, at your gut, that's a very big thing. Mm hmm. I love that.

[00:22:24] And I'm going to add to that as well is, you know, trust your intuition as well. Yes. If you think something is wrong and you're going to the doctor and they're telling you, oh, it's just menopause or there's nothing wrong with you or it's all in your head. Keep searching for answers because your intuition is coming from within you and it's living in this body that knows when it's healthy and when it isn't. And so trust that and keep searching. Absolutely.

[00:22:54] So thank you so much again, Teresa, for being on the show. Thank you to my audience for always tuning in, wanting to learn about your health, whether it's physical, mental, emotional spirit. Love that you are here each and every week. And if this episode resonated with you or you know someone that needs to hear this information from Teresa, please share it with them. Thank you for investing this time with me on the Don't Wait for Your Wake Up Call podcast. I'm so glad you joined in.

[00:23:23] If you can take two minutes to share this episode with someone you think can benefit and have a positive impact on their life, that would be wonderful. Please leave a review by going to your favorite podcast listening app and let me know what you enjoy or would like to hear more of. It will support me in my effort to bring the possibility of natural healing to a wider audience and help disrupt the sick care system we have today and make human health a global priority.

[00:23:52] Health is your true wealth.