When you purchase your first bed, you can easily spend more than 1000 dollars. After that, you may be tempted to settle for an inexpensive set of pillows. That could be a mistake. Choosing a pillow is an important task. It can seriously impact the quality of sleep you get each night. If you select a low-quality pillow, or simply one that is wrong for you, that can lead to poor sleep. Do you suffer from neck or shoulder pain? Your pillow could be the issue. It’s time to answer the question, ‘what pillow is best for me?’
What Type of Pillow do I Need?
Let’s talk about how you sleep. Even those of us who move tend to have a preferred position, side, back, or stomach. The best way to tell is to remember the position you’re in when you wake up. Test this over a few nights, and choose the position you are in most of the time. Different pillows are a better fit for different sleep styles.
Matching Your Pillow Type to Your Sleep Style
If you discover that you’re a side sleeper, check out pillows that are relatively thick and firm. These will provide the neck support you need without sacrificing comfort. Stomach sleepers are rare, but if this is you, go for soft and relatively flat. If possible, consider going out a pillow. A flatter pillow will keep your silhouette straight so that your neck isn’t craned in an awkward position. Finally, back sleepers need a mid-thickness pillow. You don’t want it so thick that it pushes your chin into your chest though.
How to Pick a Pillow: What’s on The Inside Really Does Matter
Your pillow can be filled with a variety of different things. This can impact price, comfort, and whether or not the pillow is what you need. Before you look, make a list of any health conditions you have that could be impacted by your choice.
Remember that your pillow impacts the position of your head and neck. It will be touching your bare skin for eight hours or so each night, and you’ll be breathing the air next to your pillow as you sleep. If you’ve got allergies, asthma, skin sensitivities, or neck and back issues, that’s something to consider. Will you need a hypoallergenic covering or specific fabric?
Cost is also a factor. A pillow filled with some exotic stuffing is going to be much more expensive than one filled with polyester batting.
Down And Feather Pillows
Just as you would imagine, these are pillows that are stuffed with down (softer smaller feathers) or regular feathers. Both are collected from ducks or geese. You can buy these ‘off the rack’, or you can purchase them custom made. Choose the latter option and you can pick the thickness and firmness you want.
Down pillows are generally more expensive, and have a luxurious feel. Feathers are firmer, and if the stuffing isn’t trimmed properly, the quills can be an issue.
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These pillows are certainly not for everyone. Some find the texture and feel of these to be off-putting, or they don’t like the idea of sleeping on a product that comes from an animal. There are also some unproven allergy concerns.
Latex Pillows
If you’ve got allergies, consider a latex pillow. This are factory made, and don’t have the allergens in them that natural products do. They can also be made in a variety of shapes and sizes. This makes them a good fit for virtually any sleep style. These pillows also stay cooler than wool or down pillows. Latex pillows can be made as a solid piece, or with shredded filling. They are firmer than standard memory foam.
Cotton or Wool Pillows
These tend to be very nice feeling pillows. They also work well for many people with allergies. The downside is that they are too thick and firm for most stomach sleepers. However, you may be able to rectify that if you find a particularly thin brand.
Memory Foam Pillows
Memory foam has become quite popular over the years. These pillows are made of polyurethane and other products. They shape to the person sleeping on them, which makes them very personalized. Memory foam pillows also come in specific shapes to best accommodate different sleep positions.
Unfortunately, many people are uncomfortable sleeping on a pillow that contains so many chemicals. Others find that these pillows compress over time until they are hard and uncomfortable. Memory foam also does not breathe. They can get a bit warm for some sleepers.
Specialty Pillows
If standard pillows don’t meet your needs, don’t be discouraged. You have other options. There are pillows that are filled with different materials. This includes gel, grains, microbeads, and Kapok. You can get pillows in different sizes and shapes as well. There are N and S shaped pillows that keep your head and neck in specific positions. This can help with stiffness, injury prevention, even sleep apnea. There are also pillows made for travel, even sleeping in the car.
Finally: Your Pillow Budget
When you shop for pillows, you’ll notice that the price range is quite expansive. You could spend as little as five dollars for a pillow at a discount or dollar store. You probably shouldn’t do that. At the other end of the spectrum is the luxury pillow. You could spend more than 200 dollars on one of these. Again, you probably shouldn’t.
The average adult should be able to find a pillow in a price range of 20 to 100 dollars. Yes, that’s still a wide range, but it takes into consideration a lot preferences and needs.
