Pillows
This final complement to the bed in which we sleep was not given much attention until the past decade or so. There is a highly controversial purveyor of pillows (who has sunk much of the profit from sales of pillows into political campaigns). As in the case of the sheets, there is also the matter of marketing pillows on the basis of their health-based properties. Most importantly, of course, there is the matter of comfort, fit and size. Pillows come in many sizes—including those that are as big and long as the sleeper themselves. Like the sheets we buy, pillows are filled with a wide variety of materials—some natural and some synthetic.
Traditionally, the natural material could be down or even a mixture of feathers. While these natural materials offer some risk of allergens, they still can provide one with an incredible experience of gentle support. There also are pillows filled with a natural material such as cotton or kapok, or a synthetic material such as a polyester microfiber, latex or rayon. Each of these materials comes with some benefits (often cost related) and with differing capacities to conform to the human head.
There is even an extreme version of this head-conforming capacity. Much as beds can be purchased that mold to the shape of the sleeper, pillows can be purchased that provide memory foam (also known as viscoelastic foam). The pillow changes shape in response to heat and pressure. Because of this trait, a memory foam pillow molds to a sleeper’s head and neck for customized pressure relief and spinal support. While these “miracle” pillows provide the sleeper with maximum adjustability, there is something equivalent to be found in placing a soft, “gushy” pillow under your head that you can hold in any way that you want. And this soft pillow is much less expensive!
Then there is the matter of the pillow’s shape. There are standard rectangular pillows, as well as pillows that are U-Shaped, triangle-shaped, wedge-shaped, and tube-shaped (bolsters). Some pillows are designed specifically to provide support for one’s neck while other provide support for one’s back (serving as a back-rest when reading in bed or watching TV.) Given that each of these shaped pillows comes in many different sizes, the variety from which one can chose is remarkably large. We should all be able to snuggle with a pillow made “just for us.”
There is also the matter of number and arrangement of pillows. We devoted several pathways to these matters. Our attention to number and arrangement seemed to be important given the user ratings. We find in recent years, that many people love to surround themselves with several pillows of varying size (and even softness). Higher-end hotels are aware of this preference. They typically provide at least four pillows on each bed in their suites. The arrangement of multiple pillows sometimes substitutes for a sleeping partner or provides support for an aching back or stiff neck. A classic arrangement is one or two pillows located under one’s head, and one or two long “body-pillows” located alongside one’s full body. With this arrangement, one can sleep on their side with support from the body pillow as well as proper support of one’s head.
As in the case of blankets and bedspreads, there are also pillows that are meant solely for decoration and serve primarily as pre-sleep sources of visual appreciation (and perhaps yield some relaxation such as a beautiful bedspread might elicit).
