A decent pillow, along with your mattress, is still the most crucial bedding item because it holds your neck and head while resting and maintains optimal body balance. After all, your bedding only has one purpose: to provide you with a sound sleep. It could be time to replace your pillows if you’ve been waking up with a painful shoulder and neck.
If you pick the incorrect pillow, you might lose sleep over the same. There are a variety of fillings and firmness levels available, with costs ranging from a few to hundreds of bucks. Finding the perfect one for you might be difficult—and pricey. So, let’s look into the parameters that one should consider before you buy pillows :
- Your pillow should go hand in hand with your mattress – To support your body while sleeping, the pillow must operate in harmony with your mattress. One should use a thin pillow if one has a softer mattress. This is true whether you sleep on your back or side because a softer mattress causes the body to settle into it, resulting in a smaller space between the mattress and your head. Firmer mattresses prevent you from sinking in as deeply, leaving a greater gap between your neck and the mattress to fill, necessitating a bigger pillow. The firmness or fullness of a pillow is the most important criterion for an excellent pillow. A pillow that is too solid or filled can cause uneasiness or strain by putting your head in an unnatural position.
- Firmness – Do you prefer sleeping on your side, back, or stomach? If you sleep on your side, you’ll want a bigger pillow to fill the space between your shoulder blades, upper back, and the bed. t will assist maintain your neck straight with your vertebrae rather than inclined to prevent unwanted strain. Due to the obvious curvature of the upper back and shoulder blades, back sleepers require flatter pillows. A small thin pillow is adequate to retain your neck’s natural curvature if you sleep on your stomach. Also, one shouldn’t rely on the firmness of a pillow’s company’s labelling. To determine the pillow’s genuine hardness, press it down. To have a feel for what you’re purchasing, fluff, shake, squeeze, and even lie on it if possible. If your pillow is constructed of a loose filling rather than a slab of foam, see if it keeps its shape after you fluff it and if there are any bumpy places or uneven areas. You want a cushion with a consistent structure and thickness.
- Breathability – It’s difficult to get a decent night’s sleep when you’re hot and sweating. Instead of trapping heat, you would like a cushion that enables air to travel through. As a general rule, the denser the pillow filling, the less breathable it will be for your neck and head. The pillows that remain cool, are constructed of shredded foam or polyester. The ones composed of a single slab of foam had the least amount of airflow. For instance, cooling gel pad pillows offer people a pleasant feeling at first, but that rapidly fades away, and the pillows turn out to be among the least breathable.
- Enquire about the company’s trial periods and return policies – Pillows may be rather costly. So, before you buy a pillow, see if you can try it out at home for a few days. Many companies give a complete refund with a receipt if returned within a certain time frame. Some companies even offer a hundred-night sleep trial during which you may return the pillow for a guaranteed amount if you’re not content.
- Examine the product’s care instructions. Some labels may specify that just the cover may be washed, which means that not every cushion can be washed. The majority of the pillows can be washed in the washer at a cool temperature. If you have a dust mite allergy, you should wash your pillow once a month in hot water to kill any bugs. How about changing a pillow? A new pillow should be purchased every one to two years.
- Special Pillows – Specialized pillows are designed to ease stress and tension points caused by medical issues or to assist specific sleeping patterns. If you experience neck or back pain, or if you’re pregnant, there are specifically made pillows that give personalised support so you can sleep well regardless of your situation. A few examples of common speciality pillows, as well as their benefits, are shown below
- Pregnancy pillows are U-shaped and help to keep the pregnant woman’s body aligned and comfy.
- The reading cushion is designed to seem like an armchair, with a firm back and 2 armrests to keep you stable while seating up in the bed.
- Contour pillows are pre-shaped to accommodate the curvature of your neck and cradle your head.
- When lying down, a leg support cushion is commonly a cylinder-shaped or wedge-shaped pillow that is put at the end of the knees.
- At a little upright position, a wedge pillow promotes restful sleep. A bed wedge, which is often comprised of firm foam or memory foam, can help those with back pain, acid reflux, and sinus issues. It also aids in the creation of a comfortable upright position in bed for reading and viewing movies.
