How to choose a bedroom pillow?

[razz]

I need some new pillows and have not had success in finding something suitable. I think it is because I don't know what to look for. Like Goldilocks, some are too high, some too soft, some too flat. I have them all in my house but nothing seems right.
How do you choose a bedroom pillow?

[iris lilies]

My immediate reaction to your post is that I don’t know that one pillow does it. You need to have a couple of them.

I just got back from out of town trip, stayed in a Drury
Inn with in a very comfortable bed. It was a big firm mattress. Very soft pillows. I piled up three for being propped up. I slept on one or two of them.

[catherine]

I hate big firm pillows. I prefer lying on just one relatively flat soft pillow. But, as IL said, I definitely use more pillows when not sleeping. I have two fat pillows and one decorative pillow to prop me up so I can read before sleeping. Then I throw all but the flattest on the floor and turn out the light.

Other than the flat thing, I'm not too fussy. My DIL was thrilled when she received a really expensive memory foam pillow from a boyfriend's mother, but I try to keep my budget at no more than $10 for a pillow. If I wanted down, I'd pay more, but I don't want down.

[Alan]

We do cheap pillows too and I routinely need to adjust my stash of pillows to fit my needs. Like Catherine, my wife uses a thin, soft pillow while I prefer a deeper, firmer pillow. Most of last year I used two thinner pillows while this year I'm working with one thicker. Cheaper pillows don't hold their shape forever so I'll probably need to readjust by spring.

I looked at some $100+ pillows recently and all I could think of was "what if I buy one and don't like it?"

[JaneV2.0]

I liked down until I discovered pillows made of plastic pellets--similar to the buckwheat concept. I have some particularly fancy down and memory foam pillows that can be reconfigured (bought at deep discount) that are way too much pillow for me. I still use down occasionally.

[Tybee]

I bought these for my husband and liked them so much, I bought them for myself:

https://www.amazon.com/puredown-Natural-Feather-Sleeping-Downproof/dp/B01A0LCO8Y/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=puredown+natural+pillow&qid=1569615907&s=bedbath&sr=1-5

I prop them up.

If I sleep with a harder pillow, my neck gets spasms, so these are great.

[Teacher Terry]

I need a special neck pillow that is memory foam. It has a big roll on one end and your head drops down. It’s the best thing for my neck injury but takes getting used to. If I am sick and have to prop myself up to sleep it throws my neck out.

[sweetana3]

And your need for a specific pillow type can change. I used a special latex pillow for over 20 years (replaced a couple of times when I lost them overseas and yes, I traveled with them.) Started getting bad headaches at the base of my skull. One night I used a thin foam memory foam type of pillow and have not had the same headache since. So it is either this thin pillow or no pillow.

[Rogar]

I need a special neck pillow that is memory foam. It has a big roll on one end and your head drops down. It’s the best thing for my neck injury but takes getting used to. If I am sick and have to prop myself up to sleep it throws my neck out.

I might have a similar one. It has a large roll on one side and a smaller on the other to support the neck to one degree or another, depending how it is turned, with a slightly concave area to rest the head. When I have shoulder or neck problems it is what I use and it helps a lot. Other wise my favorite is one of those My Magic Pillows memory foam types that gets a lot of infomercials. It was one sale for cheap. I think it's sort of a personal thing and you just have to try a couple different types.

[razz]

WEll, after receiving all this input, I went and bought some down-like ones that are on sale BOGO. We will see how that works tonight.

[LDAHL]

It’s a complicated decision. I’ll need to sleep on it.

[razz]

It’s a complicated decision. I’ll need to sleep on it.

Well I did. I ended up buying the new polyester pillows which are somewhat softer than the old ones but can can be pushed up around my shoulder. I am pleased with the choice and sleeping better.

[jp1]

Before reading this thread I hadn't realized that pillows were such a complicated thing. I've always just used a random feather pillow and been fine with it. My only experience beyond that was when I was in high school and my mom and I decided to try and combine two feather pillows into one so that I would have a more robust pillow. (why I didn't just stack them and call it a day, I don't know. Except that maybe my mom just couldn't comprehend using more than one pillow at a time.)

So as not to make a mess in the house (mom was a major neat freak) we went outside with the pillows, cut them open, and proceeded to try and pour the feathers from one into the other. Try being the key word in that sentence. It was a nice day out but there was a minor breeze and feathers went EVERYWHERE. When all was said and done I ended up with one pillow that had perhaps 25% more feathers in it than it had when we started. The other 75% billowed cheerfully off into the sky (if only iphones had existed back in the 80's and we could have video'd this...) and mom and I laughed about it for hours afterward.

[dado potato]

Now how would you like to express you opinions and feelings on pillow cases?

All my life until about a week ago, I slept on cotton (or cotton flannel) pillow cases. For a change I thought I would try a "100% Polyester, Charmeuse Satin" pillow case.

The product packaging copy says, "Wake Up Beautiful!" and "Wake up feeling glamourous".

They might be pleasantly surprised if they knew I am quoting their copy, but it makes quite a claim for the polyester bag. Studies have shown that sleeping on a satin pillowcase can reduce wrinkles and help eliminate hair loss. Now that they mention it, I have been losing some hair, and I just chalked it up to growing older. <wink> ... As you age, the "sleep" wrinkles that develop overnight do not disappear as quickly as they once did and may become permanent. This can leave you looking old and tired. Eliminate those wrinkles before they start by sleeping on "Morning Glamour" <brand name of the product>

Your face glides over the silky satin, keeping lines and wrinkles to a minimum. When your head moves on a cotton pillowcase, friction develops, <and they are not talking about the good kind of friction!> that can damage and break hair. Because your head slides smoothly over "Morning Glamour", that damaging friction is eliminated, and hair is healthier.

It is a bit early for results yet, but I try to be open-minded. I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and I am turning on the light, and seeing my reflection in the mirror. Ya know, just maybe I do "Wake Up Beautiful!"

[razz]

Cute stories!:D
Now I have to figure out how to recycle the polyester filling so as not to pollute. I will make two beds for my dog. I may try to contribute some to the local humane society after I wash the pillows and make new padded beds. Have to check and see if they want them first. A winter project!

[pinkytoe]

I am a natural latex pillow devotee since childhood. My pillow goes with me anytime I can take it.

[iris lilies]

This thread, plus my effort to dust and clean my bedroom, let me to buy two new pillows. They were super cheap at target. I am supporting the Chinese industrial complex by buying cheap pillows but they are very soft and I like them. They are polyester.


Speaking of pillows, when I bought our last sofa I asked specifically for polyester throw pillows rather than feather pillows. This is a very middle-class sort of sofa at $800 and I think the purveyors of these sofas believe they are presenting an upscale choice to middle-class buyers of these middle-class sofas.


But I find feathers to be a pain in the ass. They work their way through the cover, They seem to be hard or impossible to wash. I’m not sure that the last batch I wash ever dried out. as it turns out I didn’t make my request clear at the time of order and I ended up with feather pillows that I now hate.That is a minor thing in the world of furniture, overall the sofa has been just fine.