Why Can't I Get Comfortable on My Pillow?

Ahh pillows, they support our heads in soft bliss as we sleep-- well maybe not always.  A pillow is integral to your sleep especially for side sleepers.  But how do you know what pillow to buy?  That is one of the great mysteries of our time.  Today I was scanning TV and saw an infomercial for pillows, and it was the inspiration for this post.

There are many types of pillows available.  Down, a natural fill with good resiliency and softness.  Synthetic down, usually a polyester fiber these days has similar resiliency, less softness.  Memory foam a very heavy pillow that conforms well to your head, but may also retain heat.  Buckwheat pillows, another heavy pillow that is said to conform well, and has some fans.  Latex pillows, these come in a couple ways either one piece or shredded, these tend to be the hardest pillows.  There are many more types of pillows, I am sure, because we keep looking for a better one.

The thing is, there are some good ones out there now.  No one pillow will be perfect for all people.  I have even seen a marketing ploy where they 'fit' a pillow by using two different parts to make the whole.  There are some novelty places that will stuff your pillow right in the store.  What is the mystery of a great pillow?

First, the fill material is not important.  Rather it is the quantity of that fill and how you feel when you are on it.  Few of us are exactly the same size.  Men tend to have broader shoulders than women.  Women generally have longer necks.  There is not a one size fits all pillow.  So we go in to a department store, discounter, linen store, or specialty store and look for the best pillow.  Yet from what I heard this morning we all over the course of our lives own 50 pillows.  That's a maximum of 2 years per pillow.  Sometimes it is more like 2 weeks.  And still we are enamoured with the next great pillow to come along, I was even compelled to go to the infomercials web site to check it out.

So what is the answer?  It is important to get high quality ingredients.  If you choose memory foam as an example, consider the foam inside the pillow.  All the different fills come in different quality levels.  Consider the cover of the pillow, is it pleasant to touch?  Consider shopping stores that let you test drive the pillow.  Bed stores are a great place.  Lay on a bed, preferably close to the bed at home, and feel the pillow as it supports you.  Great stores will help you to 'fit' the pillow to your body, much like a good shoe store.  At the very least make sure there is a return policy, so if it doesn't fit, you can return it.  However, understand that a returned pillow is often thrown away, or donated to charity and you owe it to the merchant to try to get it right the first time.

Sleep correctly on the pillow.  A pillow is not designed to support your shoulders.  It is designed to support your neck and head.  By keeping your neck in good posture, it will make sleep much more enjoyable and healthy.  It may even help eliminate snoring.  It is probably good to shop for a pillow with a friend.  Ask them to judge how straight your neck is while you lay on the pillow.  A pillow can take the stress off your neck, if it fits right.  And like the mattress, it is all about posture.  The closer you can get to normal waking posture, the better the pillow will help you sleep. 

The cover is important because it is what we actually feel as we lay on it.  There are different materials for this as well.  If you choose down as a fill, make sure the cover is down proof to keep the down in the pillow.  When you find a really good pillow and it feels great, protect it.  Buy a pillow protector.  A pillow protector is like a mattress pad, it is washable and will help keep body oils and moisture out of the pillow, extending the life of the pillow.

Once you have found your pillow, it's time to maintain it.  Make sure the pillow can be laundered.  Most can, it just depends on the how the materials were prepared.  Learn how to fluff a pillow properly, don't just beat it.  Make sure , if you have a pillow protector you launder the pillow a couple times per year.  Without a protector, at least once a quarter to remove oils, moisture build up, and keep dust mites under control.

Finally, and this is something my Irish Grandmother taught me, you get what you pay for.  The pillow manufacturers are very competitive and the only way to find a cheaper pillow is if it is a cheaper made pillow.  It will not last as long.  And if you find a great pillow, shouldn't it last a long time?