GeneralHardcore Pillow Shopping Tips: Who Knew There Was So Much to Know About Pillows?

Who are they? Every day, they leave work exhausted, not dreaming of a wild night out but rather a restful beauty sleep upon returning home!

However, the most painful thing is that even after getting a full 8 hours of sleep, she wakes up with sore shoulders and a dizzy head, as if she had a fake sleep.

After experiencing a vicious cycle of poor sleep at night and discomfort during the day for a long time, her cervical spine started showing warning signs. She tried massage therapy and acupuncture, which eased her neck a lot, but every morning she would revert back to her original painful state. After several cycles, she realized: it might be the pillow that’s the problem!

Soul-searching question:

Is a pillow essential for sleeping?

After consulting various professional books, it has been found that our cervical spine naturally curves forward when relaxed. When lying flat, there’s a noticeable gap between the neck and the bed.

In this time the neck muscles and ligaments are in a tense state, which over time affects the cervical spine, leading to neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, and swelling.

So, sleeping still relies on pillows for support to maintain the natural physiological curvature of the spine.

What kind of pillow can prevent my cervical symptoms from recurring and improve my sleep quality?

Therefore, in the past two weeks, from hard to soft, from round to square, after testing no fewer than ten pillows, it turns out that finding the right pillow depends not only on the material but also on factors like height, size, shape, support, and sleeping posture.

Without further ado, let’s learn how to choose a pillow that cares for the cervical spine and ensures comfortable sleep?

Sleep comfortably, the pillow height must suit you

How high should the pillow be? Some people prefer a higher pillow while sleeping, but a high pillow is not worry-free.

If you like to sleep on your back:

A too high pillow, like looking down at a mobile phone while sleeping, will keep your neck passively bent forward, exacerbating cervical spine issues.

People accustomed to low pillows may excessively tilt their heads back, affecting airway clearance and causing snoring.

It’s best to choose a pillow with a dip in the middle and higher sides. The middle should ensure the “head” part is about the height of your clenched fist. The part supporting the neck should be about 3-5 cm higher than the fist.

If you like to sleep on your side:

Traditional pillows that are higher in the middle and lower on the sides can cause issues when turning to sleep on the lower side, increasing the gap and leaving the head and cervical spine unsupported. A comfortable side-sleeping pillow should be lower in the middle and slightly higher on both sides, with the pillow height ideally matching one’s shoulder width.

In fact, most people’s sleeping positions vary throughout the night. Our brains, after falling asleep, automatically signal the body to redistribute pressure by turning an average of about 20 times a night.

So, whether you sleep on your side or back, if your neck doesn’t align with the pillow, you might experience neck discomfort by morning.

#1. Zoned design,

provides good support for the neck and shoulders regardless of sleeping position

There are now pillows on the market with zoned designs that meet the height requirements of different sleeping positions, such as the “aimyComfort Cat Belly Pillow”, which divides the pillow into neck support area, brain nest area, and side-sleeping area.

Bringing it home for a trial sleep, I found:

When I sleep on my back, the middle brain nest area fits my head and neck perfectly, providing soft and comfortable support and a sense of enclosure;

The upper and lower neck support areas just fill the gap between the neck and the bed, supporting the cervical spine, balancing the force on the head, neck, and shoulders, and keeping them in a relaxed state.

The side-sleeping areas are slightly higher than the back-sleeping area, ensuring that no matter how much I turn, the cervical spine aligns with the shoulders and neck, avoiding suspension, not pressing on the shoulders or ears.

#2. Dual-height pillow, catering to different height preferences

Everyone’s body type is different, as is the curvature of their cervical spine, and so are their height requirements for pillows. Pillows manufactured from a single mold generally have a fixed height, making it hard to find one that suits your own height.

Unlike traditional pillows, the ‘aimyComfort Cat Belly Pillow‘s upper and lower neck support areas have two different heights, meaning that when choosing it, you’re not restricted by conventional heights.

Its low area at 8.5cm is suitable for people with larger heads who like low pillows and sleep on their backs; smaller-headed people who prefer high pillows and sleep on their sides can flip the pillow upside down to sleep on the “10cm high area”.

“TIPS: When first using it, it’s recommended to sleep on both sides to find the height that suits you.”

When you toss and turn in your sleep, its different height transitions are very smooth, you won’t feel the difference in zoned heights, and it can easily hold various positions, keeping the neck aligned with the pillow, ensuring a good night’s sleep no matter how much you roll around.

Sleep comfortably, the pillow core is soft yet doesn’t sag, and remains shape-retentive over time

In terms of the firmness of the pillow, people tend to let their preferences run wild, but both too soft and too hard pillows are inappropriate. Too hard, and there’s no curved support, making it less comfortable; too soft, and it doesn’t provide enough support for the cervical spine.

The firmness of a pillow mainly depends on the material of the pillow core. Many people like to buy buckwheat pillows, which provide some support, but make a rustling sound as you change positions. Pillows filled with down or beads can easily be flattened, causing the neck to lose some of its “support” force.

So, I recommend materials like natural latex or memory foam, using the “aimyComfort Cat Belly Pillow” as an example.

Its pillow core is high-quality memory foam, soft yet supportive, with better resilience.

This might sound a bit abstract, so let me press it down to show you more directly—it “rebounds to its original state in 3-5 seconds”.

Many people think the longer the rebound time, the better, but this is a misconception. If the rebound time is too long, the head presses down, and the pillow doesn’t bounce back, lacking support. If the rebound time is too short, the pillow feels too soft and doesn’t decompress well.

From a user experience perspective, soft yet supportive, you won’t feel like you’re “sinking” for even a second, allowing for more comfortable support for your neck and relieving cervical pressure.

Moreover, the aimyComfort Cat Belly Pillow‘s memory foam has a high density, feels soft and comfortable to the touch, has a long lifespan, and is not easily deformed, recovering its original shape no matter how much it’s squished.

#3. Pillow fabric is dry and comfortable, easy to clean

A good pillow isn’t just about the core; the fabric wrapping the core matters too. Besides being skin-friendly, it also needs to be dry and breathable.

The aimyComfort Cat Belly Pillow‘s outer fabric is made from a special fiber, feeling very skin-friendly and soft to the touch.

Its breathability is also excellent; its fibers are porous, quickly absorbing and evaporating moisture, making it feel fresh and ideal for summer use.

We all like to sleep face-down, and the next day, her face doesn’t have sleep lines due to the fabric, and its label uses a no-feel heat transfer instead of rubbing the skin.

Moreover, this pillowcase comes in five appealing colors: soft mist grey, sky blue, vibrant sun yellow, pink, and patchwork. Each color is designed to complement a variety of home decor styles seamlessly.

Looking for a restful night’s sleep? Consider switching to a new pillow when you get home—protect your neck and ensure your summer dreams are nothing but pleasant.