# If you're on the fence about upgrading your pillow, go for it **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 28, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054 "2021-11-28T13:19:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/1 "2021-11-28T13:19:14Z")
I was going back and forth about springing for a semi-expensive pillow. I have ongoing bilateral shoulder pain and occasional back issues. Last night was my first night with Zoey, and I slept like an inebriated log. 100% satisfaction over here. This one was $79 - I know you can spend a lot more - but a data point of a single night indicates I should have bought it a long time ago. (note that I had already upgraded my mattress, another worthwhile investment) So, share your pillow story. And thank me for my restraint in not naming this topic “Pillow Talk”. mmm [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/iE8oKh9.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/iE8oKh9) ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/2 "2021-11-28T13:31:17Z")
I’m a side sleeper and I like an extra-firm pillow. I don’t like down because it squishes “down” to the point where it’s too flat and I get a neck-ache. So I buy pillows with artificial stuffing. They last a couple of years and then it’s time to buy another. But they’re kind of cheap, so no biggie. “Zoey” pillows, eh? ::Googling:: Looks like it has memory foam. Doesn’t that stuff squish down too? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/3 "2021-11-28T13:35:23Z")
Pillows for sale? This isn’t going to turn into a cult, is it? Promise me it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/4 "2021-11-28T14:39:37Z")
My wife and I both use memory foam ‘orthopedic’ style pillows, with the horizontal depression in the middle and curving up at top and bottom to support the neck. Very comfortable. We do have to replace them every few years because the memory foam eventually wears out and loses its memory. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/5 "2021-11-28T14:42:07Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > …“Zoey” pillows, eh? ::Googling:: Looks like it has memory foam. Doesn’t that stuff squish down too? You can remove/add the stuffing to suit you, which varies the loft (height) and squishiness. I like it fine right out of the box. If you’re asking if it squishes flat, no, not at all. It certainly squishes some from the weight of your head, but it support it nicely. I know pillow comfort is very individualized, but for me, this one is just the ticket. You can always return it (if you can cram it back into the box 🙂 ) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/6 "2021-11-28T14:42:54Z")
> [@solost](#): > > …the memory foam eventually wears out and loses its memory. Maybe that’s what’s going on inside my head. mmm ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/7 "2021-11-28T14:42:58Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Looks like it has memory foam. Doesn’t that stuff squish down too? It’s shredded memory foam, which is a leap forward in pillow thinking. Seriously. I have two, that I received with my mattress order). I was skeptical when I received them, but they’re wonderful. I’m a side and stomach sleeper (and a twisted combo of the two, which I know is terrible for my body), and they work perfectly for me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/8 "2021-11-28T19:03:38Z")
I bought a [Dream Rite](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075QN5V5H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) pillow two years ago and am happy with it. It’s stuffed with shredded memory foam. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/9 "2021-11-28T21:12:14Z")
Doesn’t it sleep hot? I have a foam pillow, but it was hot. I sleep on a down pillow now. StG ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/10 "2021-11-28T22:29:47Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > I don’t like down because it squishes “down” to the point where it’s too flat and I get a neck-ache. +1000 on this. I was actually considering posting a rant about down pillows recently. Whoever came up with the idea of using down as a pillow filling must be an alien who has never actually experienced this human phenomenon called “sleep”. Down is a wonderful quilt and sleeping bag filling, because it insulates well even when damp, it’s light, and it compresses well and rebounds fully from compression. But the ease of compression makes it an absolutely terrible pillow filling. It’s like using a handkerchief as a pillow, except worse, because the little feather shafts always poke through the fabric, making the experience similar to sleeping on a bag full of needles. Down pillows may not be worst idea in human history, but it’s in the top ten. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/11 "2021-11-28T22:32:23Z")
I can’t abandon my dust mites for a new pillow, I know them all by name. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/12 "2021-11-28T23:22:45Z")
I have two “Japanese” pillows filled with buckwheat husks that I really like. Yes, they are like sandbags, which means they hold the shape I smack them into. And with the “atmospheric rivers” in these parts, having a couple of sandbags isn’t the worst idea. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/13 "2021-11-29T00:06:09Z")
I bought a COOP pillow a few months back. It’s firm, which as a side sleeper I like, and it came with additional stuffing material if you choose to add it. Very happy with it. ---
**Author:** ![dummygladhands71](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dummygladhands71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dummygladhands71)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/14 "2021-11-29T04:50:52Z")
My side sleeper pillows are over $100 when I replace one, but if I don’t, I get pinched nerves in my arms. So I pay. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/15 "2021-11-29T07:20:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I can’t abandon my dust mites for a new pillow, I know them all by name. Do they answer to their names? Have you trained them? ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/16 "2021-11-29T10:04:23Z")
I need a good side-sleeper pillow. I keep buying ones that make promises they can’t keep. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/17 "2021-11-29T11:48:18Z")
I am a side sleeper too, and the pillow in my OP is keeping its promise. mmm ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/18 "2021-11-29T12:21:12Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > I’m a side and stomach sleeper (and a twisted combo of the two, which I know is terrible for my body), This is me, too. And I also wound up with shredded memory foam for one of my pillows. I used to have an old, very compressible down pillow. I could shape it just how I wanted it, which was mostly just as a thin layer under the side of my head. But, I developed an allergy and had to get rid of the down pillow. I bought one shredded memory foam pillow with the ability to remove some, which I did. And I got a flat memory foam pillow to replicate that thin layer effect. Neither one is just right, so I keep switching back and forth. > [@markn\_1](#): > > Down is a wonderful quilt and sleeping bag filling, because it insulates well even when damp, it’s light, and it compresses well and rebounds fully from compression. Down does not insulate well when damp. That’s its biggest problem as an insulator. As I mentioned, I used to sleep wonderfully on my down pillow. I did not have an issue with being poked – that happens a lot with feather pillows, in my experience, but for my true down pillows, made with good tight-weave fabric, it was never an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/19 "2022-02-04T00:00:09Z")
Hey @Mean_Mr.Mustard, how’s the pillow holding up after a few months? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054/20 "2022-02-04T02:10:49Z")
Every once in a while I think, man, I love this pillow. It’s perfect for me. It is on the firm side, although I guess you can adjust that by removing some of the innards. The bilateral shoulder pain I referenced in my OP is mostly gone. I’m not attributing that to the new pillow, necessarily, but I can say that it didn’t make it worse. 🙂 I can imagine that some might not like its feel, the memory foamness of it, so I hesitate to give it a blanket (heh) recommendation. But I remain very glad I got it. mmm [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-on-the-fence-about-upgrading-your-pillow-go-for-it/955054.md?page=2)