Pillow Buying Guide

The first step to take is to determine your sleeping style. Generally there are 3 popular sleeping postures. Do you sleep on your side, on your back or on your stomach? After you have determined your sleeping style, you can then go and select a pillow that facilitates a healthy sleeping posture.

What is a healthy sleeping posture? As much as possible, you would want to make sure that your head and spine is aligned in a straight line (regardless of your sleeping style) when you sleep at night.

Many would not agree with this but we believe that the design of the pillow is not the most important factor. The most important element in any pillow would have to be the height of the pillow. You would want get a pillow of the right height based on your sleeping style.

If you sleep on your back or belly, you want to get a pillow with a lower height so that your head do not tilt to the front or back excessively when you sleep. If you are a side sleeper, you will want to choose a pillow that lifts you head high enough so that your head and spine will be aligned while you sleep.

In reality, it is hard to estimate the right pillow height in the store. You will usually know whether you have made the right choice after testing the pillow out for a couple of days so it is best to buy a pillow with a return policy. In truth, many stores do not allow pillows to be returned for hygiene reasons so the next best thing is to modify the pillow till you get the right height.

How do you customize a sleeping pillow? If the pillow is too low, you can always place a couple of folded towels between the pillow and pillow sheet to raise it. If the pillow is to high, you can always open the pillow up and remove some of the fillings.

Other than the height factor, almost all of the other considerations fall within the realm of personal preference. In other words, you just choose the ones that you like most. Just take note of things like the climate and temperature of your room at night. If you live in warm climate and do not use a lot of air-conditioning, you may want to get pillows that use fabrics with lower thread counts. Fabrics with high thread counts may feel luxurious and smooth to the touch but they do not ventilate very well and hence may feel a little too warm in hotter conditions. If you have orthopedic problems (back pains, neck pains, etc), it is best to consult a doctor in choosing the right pillow for your condition.

It is time for me to make a brave confession. I love sleeping. There, I said it. I love to sleep, I love to laze around on my bed, I love to watch movies from my bed and any activities that involve a mattress. Not many people would openly admit to this but I suspect that this favorite pastime of mine is more common that we think.

Besides getting the right mattress, the most important thing to have to ensure a good night’s sleep is to get a good set of pillows. Some would even say that the pillow is more important than the mattress. Either way, a good pillow is always worth the investment, considering you would spend a third of your lives sleeping on one.

I wish I could dish out a list stating who should get what, but in truth, pillow selection is actually pretty complex. The height, weight, shoulder-to-head distance, posture, orthopedic problems, sleeping style and preference vary greatly from person to person and because of that, it is difficult to prescribe a specific pillow to any category of persons.

Fortunately, we are big believes in making lives easy and on that note have come up with a fool-proof guide in shopping for the best pillow.

To wrap up, here is a quick run-through of the various pillow fillings to choose from:

Cotton: This is by far one of the most common and practical pillow fillings out there. Cotton provides firm support and ventilates very well, making it very suitable for warmer climates. They are also relatively affordable compared to other pillow types.

Wool: This durable material is suitable for cooler climates as they retain heat very well. They also feel bouncier and fluffier.

Down: Down feathers are also extremely popular due to their soft and luxurious feel. The feathers do not clump together making it possible to fluff and reshape the pillow constantly. Many people are allergic to feathers so be sure to get a down pillow that is labeled ‘hypoallergenic’.

Synthetic fillings: Polyester is easily the most common filling used in pillows today due to their low cost. When purchasing a polyester pillow, be sure that you get the densest and fullest ones that you can find. In my experience, Polyester pillows do not hold their shape very well and are not as durable as the other type of pillows. With that said, they do make great body pillows due to their lightweight and fluffiness.

Another very popular synthetic material used in pillows today is memory foam. This material is extremely versatile where it shapes itself to the contours of your head and neck when you sleep, providing better support throughout the night. Despite its popularity, it is best that you try out one first in real life before you make your purchase to see if you can get use to its lack of fluffiness.