If you carefully considered your choice in a memory foam mattress, a latex mattress, or a gel mattress, then you should also give careful consideration into your choice of a pillow. Keep in mind that your pillow should provide the right balance between cushion, comfort and alignment between your head, neck and shoulders, thus, contributing to a more restful and comfortable sleep.
In the following sections, let’s look at two of the popular choices in pillow materials, namely, kapok and memory foam. Emphasis must be made that each type has its pros and cons but in the final analysis, your personal preferences in terms of softness, support and height of pillows for your head will prevail.
Memory Foam as Pillow
Many people assert that a memory foam pillow is the best choice because of the high energy-absorbent and visco-elastic properties of the material. Memory foam moulds itself to the contours of the head and shoulders, which means better comfort and support for the bones and muscles.
Your head and neck will be aligned in a similar manner as when you are standing up. You will likely wake up with lesser kinks in your neck and shoulders as a result so you can enjoy higher levels of physical and mental well-being during the day.
Kapok Foam as Pillow
Kapok has the smooth, silky and fluffy feel of cotton but it is more likely to be non-toxic and pesticide-free than cotton fibers. It is considered as the perfect replacement for other types of soft pillow materials including down feathers especially as it comes from a natural and sustainable source, the kapok tree.
When it comes to softness, a kapok pillow is one of the softest pillows available, a quality that many people want in their pillows. While it takes more fluffing to get more loft out of kapok-filled pillows, the effort is well worth it considering the right balance between softness and support.
Regardless of your choice between memory foam and kapok-filled pillows, keep in mind that the goal of pillow use is to keep your head in its neutral alignment - neither reaching too far forward nor bending too far back.
• Back sleepers require thinner pillows especially those with an extra loft at their bottom third for cradling the neck.
• Side sleepers need a firmer (i.e., medium-firm) pillow to support the space under the neck.
• Stomach sleepers require the thinnest possible pillow as well as one under the stomach for lower back support.
And be sure to change your pillows at least once a year for optimum comfort.
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