“As you make your bed, so you lie down.” There is a lot of truth to this saying. In addition to the right mattress, a good pillow is also essential for a restful sleep. With the right filling in the pillow, you avoid tension in the neck, morning headaches and poor sleep.
Before you think about the right filling for the pillow, it is important to know in which sleeping position you prefer to sleep. Depending on the sleeping position, a pillow must meet different requirements. As a stomach sleeper, you will have little pleasure in large pillows with bulky pillow fillings that take the air out of your breath.
The back sleeper position
If you sleep mainly on your back, a pillow that keeps your head in a horizontal position and supports your neck is preferable. It is important that the head is straight and the chin is not pressed towards the chest. Also, the shoulders should not rest on the pillow. Otherwise an unnatural constrained posture can result, resulting in tension.
The side sleeper position
If you prefer to sleep on your side in bed, it is important to have a pillow that compensates for the difference in height between your head and the mattress. The head should form a horizontal line with the spine and not tilt up or down. Depending on whether you have broad or narrow shoulders, the pillow fillings can be a bit more lavish in order to reach the required height.
The stomach sleeper position
As a stomach sleeper, your head is usually already in a horizontal position, so you could do without a pillow. If you don’t want to do without it, you need a particularly flat pillow so that your cervical spine does not bend upwards while you sleep.
If you now know whether the pillow should be rather high or flat and how pronounced the support effect should be, it is time to choose the filling material. There is a large selection of natural or synthetic pillow fillings.
Do you value sustainability and naturalness in your pillow? Then natural materials are ideal for you.
down and feathers
They are the classic pillow fillings and have been used for many centuries. While feathers tend to be hard and offer a certain amount of support, down is fluffy and soft and offers little support. In practice, pillows are often filled with a mixture of feathers and down. 3-chamber pillows are particularly comfortable. They support the neck and are still soft. The proportion of down can be adjusted to the loft of the pillow. The higher the proportion of down in the pillow, the fluffier and softer it becomes. Down and feathers keep you warm, have a moisture-regulating effect and can be easily brought back into shape by shaking out.
federiko uses natural, renewable and degradable raw materials for its products. The federiko pillow is therefore 100 percent biodegradable – which means it can be easily composted after the recommended replacement period of three years on average.
animal hair
Pillow fillings with animal hair are rather rare in this country. The cushions available are mostly made of horsehair, camel down hair or new sheep’s wool. Horsehair pillows tend to be firm and flat. Pillows with camel down hair or new wool are a bit bulkier. Animal hair filling in the pillow is an advantage for stomach sleepers. The pillows are sufficiently flat and drain liquids such as sweat and saliva well.
kernels and grains
Millet, spelt, cherry stones or wheat chaff are also suitable fillings for pillows. The pillows are pleasantly warm and adaptable. Since the grains trickle back and forth with every movement, a pillow with seeds or grains offers little support for the neck. Many people also find the rustling of movement disturbing when they are sleeping.
plant fibers
This filling in the pillow consists of fibers from cotton, hemp, kapok or mixtures thereof. Lyocell, an industrially produced cellulose fiber, also falls into this category. Pillows that have a filling of plant fibers are fluffy, fluffy and very comfortable. However, they only have a moderate supportive effect.
These materials score particularly well in terms of price. Plastic fillings are often very cheap. Depending on the plastic used, the filling in the pillow can be given special desired properties.
fiberfill
Pillow fillings made of fiberfill are usually made of polyester or polyurethane. Microfibers are often used, which makes the pillow particularly light. The advantage of pillows filled with synthetic fibers is their low price. As with plant fiber fillings, the disadvantage is that the support effect is not particularly pronounced. The cushions are soft and can be squashed easily.
foam flakes
Foam flakes or sticks used as filling in pillows have very different properties depending on the foam used. Pillows that are filled with viscose or gel foam flakes tend to be softer and more adaptable. Pillows filled with PU or cold foam flakes offer a high level of support. Because of this, they are not so adaptable.
hollow fiber balls
Pillows that are filled with hollow fiber balls can be very voluminous. The small cotton balls made of hollow fibers wick away moisture well and are well suited for people who sweat easily. The filled pillows are soft and non-slip, but do not support the neck optimally.
federiko uses natural, renewable and degradable raw materials for its products. The federiko pillow is therefore 100 percent biodegradable – which means it can be easily composted after the recommended replacement period of three years on average.
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