How do I know what type of pillow is right for me?

A pillow’s fill is the single most important determinant in how the pillow performs in terms of its primary function – support.  Again, the pillows fill also needs to be allergy friendly, so ensure that it too has been tested for allergens and is safe for you and your children. A Pillow’s versatility (bounce & loft) is also important as you may change sleeping positions throughout the night and your head and neck will need to be supported.  So a pillow with great “loft” or “bounce” – pillow function terms – means that when slept on over and over again, the pillow fill compresses and over time loses form and function. You may not know, but your head dispels lots of heat and moisture, so many unhealthy allergens and dust mites may be attracted to the moisture that is absorbed by your pillow.  The only way to remove these allergens and dust mites, and trapped moisture is to ensure that your pillow is fully machine washable (inside and out), the fill included.   You can therefore, have a healthy fresh sleep every time.Step #1: Pillows fill:

 

Do you prefer polyester (synthetic) or foam pillows or natural (feather and down) filled pillows?  Polyester or memory foam pillows are generally easier to launder and also hypoallergenic.  Feather and down pillows are nice for those who really love and scrunch and bunch up their pillow at night and they can be very soft but they tend to lack proper support for the neck, because they don’t have the optimal bounce back.  Many down and feather pillows as well as Polyester or memory foam pillows now make claims of being hypoallergenic but those with serious allergies should be careful.  Please ensure that adequate testing has been performed to prove those claims or that they have Oeko Tex 100 Class1 Certification – the highest international textiles standard.   A good safe choice here would be a synthetic pillow, providing you with both the hypoallergenic properties as well as some of the properties of the other pillows.  Please note – that not all pillows were created equal, so you should compare.

Step #2: Sleep style and level of support

Now you have to determine which pillow is best for you.  You can select based on the type of support you feel most comfortable with, soft, medium or firm support or you can look at your sleep style – side, back, stomach, combination.  It has been well researched by many health care professionals that generally a larger person should select a firmer pillow and smaller person should select a softer one.  The idea is to maintain proper support for your neck as you sleep which will reduce the amount of times you wake at night to restuff and re fluff and restore the support you need.  The other factor here is sleeping position.  Generally, side sleepers need the firmest pillow, back sleepers a soft to medium pillow and stomach sleepers a soft pillow or no pillow at all .

You can find out what sleep style best describes you here, and you can get a more accurate assessment of the type of pillow best for you using our Pillow chooser.