It’s time to change out pillows. Until now I have been using a no name, plain ol’ medium fluffy non-feather type of pillow. I often wake up with neck pain. I stare at the computer all day, sit hunched over an embroidery ring for a few hours most nights, and in general am not nice to my neck.
And, since karma is a hiefer, I was recently told I have the start of arthritis in my neck.
So now it’s time to pamper my head holder. I’ve looked at buckwheat pillows and memory foam pillows, but I really can’t afford to buy one only to discover it’s not a good fit for me. FWIW, I am a side sleeper.
I’m a side sleeper with a bad jaw, and I go to Target every so often and buy a stack of new pillows (those medium, non-feather ones) and whenever my current pillow starts to give me some pain I throw it away and use a new one.
This scheme works best when Target has their pillows on sale for $5 or $8. And when you have a big empty guest room in which to store pillows.
My wife wanted a tempurpedic-type foam pillow for her last birthday.
I got one at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for about a hundred bucks.
She likes to hold it, or put it between her thighs as she sleeps on her side.
Trouble is, she eventually lets go of it, and it gets loose in the bed. It weighs about 30 pounds, and the feel, weight, squishy-ness and all make it feel like a child in bed with you.
A headless, limbless, child’s torso. Creeps me the hell out.
OTOH, on top of a regular pillow, it’s good support for watching TV.
I sleep on my side and on my back, and I love my buckwheat pillow. You have to like firm support, but a buckwheat pillow can be formed to hold your head pretty much any way you like.
If you can run a sewing machine, you can order the buckwheat online, and save a lot of money. I like these folks.
I’ve had a pillow I love for about 12 years now, and finally decided to get a couple more but found they don’t make that pillow anymore.
The closest I’ve found to it was the Therapedic Pure Sleep pillow. I got one and tried it out for a month or two to make sure I liked it. I did and eventually got 2 more. Soft but not squishy, firm enough that my head doesn’t sink into the pillow, and so far (almost a year since I got the first one) they have held up remarkably well.
BTW, until I went to buy new pillows a year or so ago, I had no idea that they had become so expensive. I swear I used to pay like $8 for 2 pillows when I was in college.
I have the best pillow ever. It’s chopped foam. You can squash it into any shape you want (and I’m a side sleeper too, I kind of ball it up under my head), but it doesn’t go flat, poke me with feather ends, or make me sneeze like a feather pillow would. The only thing is, I’ve had it for eons and have no idea where to get one. You can buy the chopped foam in a fabric store, though, and put it into one of those zippered pillowcases.
My wife uses an ergonomic memory foam pillow from Ikea. I think it ran about $25, if memory serves. She loves it – she had a lot worse neck pain before she got it.
The only downside is I can’t put my arm under her neck when we spoon.
I have a buckwheat pillow, an off-brand memory foam pillow, a latex foam pillow from Bloodbath and Beyond, and recently gave up on a down pillow that went flat. Honestly, my neck is like the three bears from Goldilocks, sometimes it wants something hard, sometimes it wants something soft, and sometimes it wants something in between that isn’t a raging double entendre.
FWIW, I usually use the memory foam and am giving up the latex (while that one feels fine when I’m going to bed, I often wake up with neck pain). The buckwheat’s good, but the memory foam is usually the best combination of support and softness for me. YMMV.
I absolutely love my medium-firm latex pillows! I used to hate buying pillows because they always went flat, or weren’t comfortable, or gave me neck pain; but we’ve been using ours for 4 years, and they are still just right. We just went last weekend and bought two more, only because we switched to a king-size bed and needed king-size pillows. They are pricey: $50 - $60, but entirely worth it to me, especially when they last so long.
I like my feather pillows. I hate sleeping on polyfill pillows, they just bounce my head up and I can’t get them to adjust right into the crook of my neck like I can with a feather pillow.
This exactly. I’m also a side sleeper, and I clench my jaw in my sleep. A few times per year I pick up two of the $5 medium no feather pillows at Target. One goes on the bed and the other in the closet for when the first goes flat. I know it’s time to switch when I wake up with a headache.
I went through several pillows until I found the right one for me. That’s going to be your problem, I’m afraid. What works for someone else won’t be right for you.
I bought a nice latex pillow, and it did nothing for me. This is the pillow that finally helped my neck pain.
A regular memory foam pillow was too hard for me. This has softer foam on top. The pillow isn’t quite thick enough, so I put it on a folded up towel.
I want to point out, if you ever order anything from Kohl’s, wait for one of their sales. The 30% off code is always available on deals message boards, and often there’s a free shipping code, too. The one catch is you sometimes have to use a Kohl’s credit card to get the discount.
Side sleeper, and I use one of the spiffy J shaped pillows. Only change I would make is to make the long arm of the J shorter to match the short arm of the J as I flop between either side and my stomach. Well and put the niche for the ear closer to the inside arc instead of centered as it would be easier than making my neck longer =)
I have considered making my own custom one, but the J shape really works well for side sleepers.
I’m also a side sleeper and ended up happiest with memory foam.
If you go that way, make sure the shape is what you want before you commit. I found that the breathing channels like in this diagram make a huge difference for me. You should be able to get a decently dense and well-shaped one for less money than that though. I got mine 3 years ago from Splintek for about $59 on sale.
Take a ruler to bed with you, and measure how far your head is off the mattress when you feel comfortable - that’s your key measure for finding the right answer.