Greetings, finally got my latex mattress to work for me … more or less. its still at the edge of being slightly too hard on shoulder, while allowing slightly too much butt-sinking, but since Im waking with no pain in back or shoulder, Ill just let it be for now.
Now need to replace a 20 yr old down pillow. I don’t want to even imagine how many dust mites that thing has living in it by now -ewwww!
Do you have any guidelines on how to select a good pillow - my alignment is different on this mattress - I sink in more than my old Sears-O-Pedic (which I loved…RIP my old friend!) but nowhere near as deep as on a memory foam bed…
I am side and back sleeper - I wake up on my side maybe 2/3 of the time, and back about 1/3 so both are pretty important. Right now I think I subconsciously scrunch the down in the pillow up higher when Im on my side, and scrunch it lower when on my back or push it away… I have noticed that when im on my back I think Id really like something that just supports just the neck alone … but on my side it seems I need more height to keep head/spine aligned. I did once try memory foam solid piece that was shaped to support the neck… and that was VERY comfortable on my back but didn’t work at all on my side - not enough height. And I didn’t like the smell!
There are just sooo many choices now - various latex, feather, solid foam, even wool & buckwheat - etc.,- I liked the softness of the down, but beyond that Im not really sure what the benefits of other materials might be. Cant test them out in the store… or can I if its a specialty shop? Thanks in advance for any input!
As you change your sleeping positions during the night (like most of us) it sounds like you would work best with a pillow that is somewhat shapeable - thicker when you’re on your side and a bit thinner when on your back.
You’ve already had good luck with a down pillow, so there’s certainly nothing wrong with getting another high-quality down product. There are other items available that mimic the conformability of down, such as shredded latex (much more durable than polyurethane or memory foam chunks), wool or kapok - just to name a few. The key would be to find a product that uses high-quality componentry as to provide a longer comfort life, and to allow those materials to be shifted or repositioned within the pillow as you change positions throughout the night. Many of these pillows have zippers on the edge that allow you to reach into the pillow and remove filling to customize the overall thickness to your preference.
You asked about the availability to try these in a store, and better sleep shops should have smaples of their pillows available for you to try in person, placing them in a pillowcase so you can see what they actually will feel like at home. Trying a pillow in the plastic case isn’t representative.
The goal of a suitable pillow is to keep your head and neck in good alignment in all your sleeping positions and body type and shape, sleeping style and positions, and the firmness of a mattress can all have a significant effect on which pillow is “best” for any particular person. In other words … a pillow that works well for one person on a specific mattress may not be suitable at all for someone else or on a different mattress.
In terms of “comfort” and the “feel” and response of different types of materials … pillows are an even more personal choice where individual preferences and “feel” play an even bigger role than with a mattress but in addition to Jeff’s suggestions there is also more information in the pillow topic here and the posts it links to that may be helpful as well.