I’m currently trying to adjust my sleeping situation for a back pain problem and I’m trying out different ways of using pillows – I’ve managed to gather a variety of shapes and sizes – body pillow, cylindrical pillows, ones that come to a point at the top, etc.
I’ve noticed, though, that when I get them in position, they don’t really support me very well, because they are so soft. I need something firmer, something that will more or less hold its shape when I lie on it.
At places like the Healthy Back Store and at Brookstone’s, they have firmer pillows (I think they’re foam or something), but all those pillows are the same “two-hill” shape. They don’t seem to have firm cylindrical, body, and other shapes.
Are firm pillows available in all these shapes? And what about pillow covers for these shapes?
Have you tried pillows filled with (I think) beans or buckwheat hulls? I’ve never used them, but it would seem to me that once the pillow is contoured the way you want it, the filling material wouldn’t compress much.
These folks are near my office and I noticed that they make custom pillows: http://www.foamorder.com/pillows.html They’ve got all sorts of foams from “soft as cotton balls” on up to “I didn’t think it was possible to make foam so hard!”
Well, it’s been a while, but I remember noticing a display of them at Whole Foods Market, so I’d guess you can check with the “natural living”-oriented stores in your area.
If you don’t mind ordering online, Google pulls up lots of places, and Amazon also has them.
Or, do like Martha Stewart and make your own – no idea where you’d get the buckwheat hulls, though; she probably grows her own.