Finding a pillow that is comfortable and matches the way you sleep will go a long way in helping you get a good night’s sleep. If your pillow is too hard it will be like sleeping on a brick and if it’s too soft your head can sink into it and sometimes make breathing difficult.
If you have a pillow that has more lumps than the elephant man, smells worse than a hobo or is so dirty that Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs wouldn’t come near it then it’s time to get a new pillow.
The thickness of the pillow you use should correspond to the position you most often sleep in. Use a thicker pillow if you sleep on your back, a medium thick pillow if you sleep on your side and a thinner one if you sleep on your stomach.
Sleeping on your stomach with a thick pillow will strain your neck and back and you will also strain your neck if you sleep on your side with a pillow that is too thin. The ideal is to keep your melon in line with your spine.
I had a lot of difficulty with which pillow to use because I often shift between my side and my stomach so often that my sheets get friction burns. I finally went with two different pillows, using the thinner one when I slept on my stomach and the thicker one if I was sleeping on my side.
Your pillow can be stuffed with a natural material or with foam. Natural pillows can be feathers (down), buckwheat or oatmeal (avoid oatmeal).
I used to have an old feather pillow that after a couple of head flops would flatten down to the consistency of a sack of cement. Then I’d wake up with the fleshy part of my ear hurting as it was squashed between my cement pillow and my granite head.
Natural materials are usually more expensive, more difficult to clean (have you ever cleaned yours?) and don’t hold their shape as well as foam pillows.
If you wake up congested, you might be allergic to your pillow. I find hypoallergenic foam pillows work best for me.
There are also pillows made into a particular shape for side sleepers and also memory foam pillows that may work for you if you tend to sleep in one position all night.
Get a pillow cover to protect your pillow from the grease and oils from your hair and face and wash your pillow covers weekly.
You can usually get away with washing a foam pillow once or twice but after that is will often mutate into a weird shape and you will have to throw it out.
When you figure out what pillow is right pillow for you, then wait for a sale and pick up a couple.
What type of pillow do you use? Write your comments below.
