Pillows

Pillows are an essential and often undervalued item of bedding. They serve the vital purpose of supporting the head and dictating the relationship of the neck with the rest of the spine.

Even if you have an orthopaedic bed and mattress, these benefits can be lost if the pillows are inadequate, or unsuited to you sleeping posture. If you buy a new orthopaedic mattress or bed, but still have uncomfortable nights, try changing your pillows.

Until recently, most pillows were filled with either feathers (down) or some form of easily compressible sponge, but today things are very different and a selection of purpose designed materials are now available.

Traditional pillows

Traditionally most people have opted for either a sponge (compressible foam) pillow or an organic feather filled pillow.

The old style foam pillows are available in different degrees of firmness, usually from soft to extra firm, while the feather pillows tend to be classified by the quality of the feathers and, at the top of the range, duck down.

Sponge pillows have a very limited life span of a couple of years before the recovery of the sponge depreciates and few feather pillows really recover from modern washing cycles.

These old style pillows are however now making way for new technologies designed specifically for the support and moulding of the human head and upper spine.

Memory foam pillows

Memory foam pillows are made from the same contouring material as memory foam beds and they shape themselves to the body contours of the individual.

These pillows are considered to offer superior support and comfort levels and are now available at very economic prices.

Memory foam pillows can be bought in a regular pillow format, or pre-shaped to cradle the head and support then neck. These pillows feel firm and supportive and, although they require some getting used to initially, they are quickly favoured by most who try them.

Memory foam pillows come in a range of prices with the pre-profiled pillows generally being more expensive. For more information about both visco elastic memory foam pillows and latex pillows see this Orthopedic pillow page.

Latex foam pillows

Latex foam pillows are an alternative to both traditional and memory foam pillows and combine some of the qualities of each.

A latex pillow has more bounce and "sponginess" than memory foam, but does not flatten and harden like a feather pillow. Latex pillows are normally perforated for the ventilation and free flow of air and remain comfortably cool throughout the night.

Both memory foam and latex pillows are hypoallergenic.

Which pillow type you select depends upon personal preference and you can of course mix and match. I personally use memory foam (un-profiled) and my wife used latex foam. When not in use and retained by pillow cases, both of these pillows look very similar.

Other interesting pillows

In addition to the more commonly found feather and foam based pillows there are also some more unusual pillow cases and pillow fillers.

Both in-bed-therapy and using renewable materials have resulted in pillows and mattresses made from natural latex. However there are other materials that can be used to make pillows and these have resulted in the bamboo pillow and the charcoal pillow. Both offer an alternative to the more normal bed and bedding materials and both, whilst not offering specific orthopedic properties, do have some other benefits. You can find out more by going to either of the pages (underlined text) above.