Pillow By B1

[Trinh Livingston]

Mostof our testers (even some back- and side-sleepers, who generally prefer shredded foam) found a comfortable height and enjoyed the cushioned support of the PlushComfort Pillow Ultimate. Sleep Number has a 100-day return policy by mail, and the company also provides a one-year limited warranty on its pillows.

The Xtreme Comforts pillow has a medium loft, and you can mold or adjust the filling to make it comfortable for people with various body types and sleep positions (even some of our stomach-sleepers have really liked this pillow). It typically costs less than half the price of the Nest Bedding Easy Breather, and the company offers a 30-day no-questions-asked return policy.

Side-sleepers sleep either in a fetal position or a relatively straight one, and they need the most pillow support (roughly 4 to 6 inches). According to this study, most people are side-sleepers.

Stomach-sleepers are a trickier bunch: If you sleep with your head turned to the side and resting on a pillow, you need the least amount of support. If you tuck your arms under your torso, sleep in a half-side and half-stomach position, or have sensitive breasts, you may prefer a pillow with more cushioning.

Some manufacturers market their pillows toward back-, stomach-, or side-sleepers specifically, but there are no industry standards on what, for example, makes one model a side-sleeper pillow and another a back-sleeper pillow. At the end of the day these labels are meaningless.

Writer Jackie Reeve has been using the redesigned Easy Breather pillow since summer 2021 and has no complaints. She used the previous Easy Breather version for three years, and found the two versions almost identical in comfort and durability. The newer pillow has shown no real signs of wear and tear, and it still feels very firm. With both versions, the shredded foam occasionally shifts in a way that can make the pillow feel uncomfortable. But it usually just needs fluffing or a few minutes in the dryer to revert to its original shape.

If you sleep on your stomach and want a luxurious down pillow that cradles your head and neck, or if you sleep in a variety of positions and know you like down pillows, we recommend the Garnet Hill Signature White Down Pillow (firm). This was the highest-rated down pillow over several rounds of testing, with some testers noting that it was the most comfortable to use in multiple positions (making it ideal for stomach-sleepers who shift in the night).

Our research found that everyone should wash their pillows a couple of times a year, to zap any crud that sneaks past pillowcases and even pillow protectors. We asked down expert Jack Sukalac, owner of All About Down, and Christian Alexander, then the chief operating officer at Nest Bedding, how to wash pillows with different kinds of fill.

Sleep Number PlushComfort Pillow Classic

Good for: all sleep positions

We prefer the adjustability of the PlushComfort Pillow Ultimate, but the PlushComfort Pillow Classic was one of the comfier down-alternative pillows in previous testing. Side-sleepers found it was more supportive than the Snowe Down Alternative pillows and much softer than the Brooklinen Down Alternative. If you like a medium-density pillow, for any sleep position, this is one to consider.

Parachute Down Alternative Pillow (soft)

Good for: stomach-sleepers

Some stomach-sleepers who liked a soft pillow with little support appreciated this pillow, but those who wanted more substance found it to be merely flat.

Sleep Number ComfortFit Pillow Classic

Good for: all sleep positions

In two years of testing, side-sleepers have liked this pillow a lot, and it ranked in the middle of the pack for back- and stomach-sleepers. But no one liked it better than the Nest Bedding Easy Breather or the Xtreme Comforts pillows, and we prefer the adjustable Ultimate version for its flexibility.

Xtreme Comforts Slim Sleeper Shredded Memory Foam Pillow

Good for: stomach-sleepers

This is a version of the Xtreme Comforts we like as a budget pick, just with less fill. We tested it, but we found that people who preferred a flattish pillow liked down options more, and people who wanted a pillow with more support needed more loft.

Parachute Down Pillow (medium)

In contrast to the firm and soft versions of the Parachute Down Pillow, the medium option was a disappointment. Testers said that it flattened out or bunched up too easily.

The Company Store Company Essentials LoftAire Down Alternative Pillow

Our first-round side-sleeping tester liked this one, but we passed on testing it in favor of similar-feeling pillows with better owner reviews.

The Company Store Legends Hotel PrimaLoft Black Label Down Alternative Pillow

This pillow compressed too much for side- and back-sleepers, though one back-sleeper noted that its softness made it feel more luxurious than most down-alternative options. It received a thumbs-down from all stomach-sleepers, who said it was just too lofty.

Snuggle-Pedic Shredded Memory Foam Pillow

The Snuggle-Pedic pillow managed to feel even bigger than the Coop Home Goods pillow, despite weighing less. Side-sleepers wanted more malleability than it offered.

A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and many more.[1] Pillows that aid sleeping are a form of bedding that supports the head and neck. Other types of pillows are designed to support the body when lying down or sitting. There are also pillows that consider human body shape for increased comfort during sleep. Decorative pillows used on beds, couches or chairs are sometimes referred to as cushions.[2][3]

In contemporary western culture, pillows consist of a plain or patterned fabric envelope (known as a pillowcase) which contains a soft stuffing, typically synthetic and typically standardized in sizes and shape.[4] Pillows have been historically made of a variety of natural materials and many cultures continue to use pillows made from natural materials in the world.

Though the exact origin is unknown, use of pillows evolved in animals well into prehistory, the earliest examples including reptiles and mammals resting their heads on themselves, and one another, to support the head and neck.[1] Animals, including humans, evolved use of inanimate objects in their nests out of wood and stone as pillows.[1] Since domestication, many animals have also learned to make use of human-made pillows and cushions, as well as to rest on members of their own and other species, for this purpose.[1]

Sometime between 5 and 23 million years ago tree-dwelling great apes began building sleeping platforms, including wooden pillows, to improve their sleep.[6] According to studies on chimpanzees that sleep up to eight to nine hours a night using specifically selected ironwood pillows, sturdy pillows enabled great apes to escape being hunted by night predators and not fall out of the trees while asleep.[6] It is likely that this was necessitated by the evolution of large, energy-consuming brains.[6] Though it may also have led to longer periods of REM sleep, that in turn increased their cognitive capacity.[6]

The earliest recorded use of the modern human device dates back to the civilizations of Mesopotamia around 7,000 BC.[7] During this time, only the wealthy used pillows.[7] The number of pillows symbolized status so the more pillows one owned the more affluence they held.[7] Pillows have long been produced around the world in order to help solve the reoccurring problem of neck, back, and shoulder pain while sleeping.[8] Besides for comfort, the pillow was also used for keeping bugs and insects out of people's hair, mouth, nose, and ears while sleeping.[8]

The Romans and Greeks of ancient Europe mastered the creation of the softer type pillow. These pillows were stuffed with reeds, feathers, and straw in order to make them softer and more comfortable.[10] Only upper-class people typically owned these softer pillows; however, all classes of people were allowed to use some type of pillow while sleeping, lying down or sitting in order to give them support.[10] People in ancient Europe started to use pillows when going to church in order to kneel on while praying and to place holy books on.[11] This is a tradition that still lives on today. In addition, the Romans and Greeks used their pillows by placing them under the head of those deceased just like the ancient Egyptians did.[10]

Chinese pillows were traditionally solid, though sometimes used with a softer fabric over them. Over many Chinese dynasties, pillows were made from a wide range of materials including bamboo, jade, porcelain, wood, and bronze.[12] Ceramic pillows became the most popular.[12] The use of the ceramic pillow first appeared in the Sui dynasty between 581 and 618 while mass production appeared in the Tang dynasty between 618 and 907.[12] The Chinese decorated their pillows by making them different shapes and by painting pictures of animals, humans, and plants on them.[12] One common type of pottery used was Cizhou ware. Chinese ceramic pillows reached their peak in terms of production and use during the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties between the 10th and 14th century, but slowly phased out during the Ming and Qing dynasties between 1368 and 1911 with the emergence of better pillow making materials.[12]

Pillows consist of a filler material enclosed in a fabric cover or shell. Covers are made of cloth, such as silk, known as the pillow case or pillow slip. Some pillows have a fancier cover called a sham which is closed on all sides and usually has a slit in the back through which the pillow is placed. Rectangular standard bed pillow cases usually do not have zippers, but instead, have one side open all the time. Often, a zippered pillow protector is placed around standard pillows with the case in turn covering the protector.

3a8082e126