Memory foam pillows

[memphislawyer]

Well, I have tried sleeping on Tempurpedic pillows before but my neck was always so far above horizontal. Been using down pillows for years, and the bad thing is that within a year, the body oils permeate the down, even though I was it. So my head is flat against the mattress and the down covers one nostril, and I can scrunch it up and sleep on my back. Wife has been having neck and shoulder aches lately with her down pillow.

So we are trying some Sleep Innovation pillows from Kohls, one with the neck roll and the other a conventional-shaped pillow. On first blush, the neck roll one is very comfy for me. It has a cooling chamber set up to it, but it is less dense, maybe 2.5 pound foam if I read correctly. The conventional pillow makes my neck sit up higher when I lay on the back or stomach, and I think it is 4.0 or 5.0 pound foam.

So, I wonder, does this stuff compress over time, like the down pillows do? If so, then the conventional foam pillow will work eventually, and the neck roll pillow will flatten more.

I have tried latex pillows, but they leave my neck up too much, and fiberfill and buckwheat. I have tried to sleep more on my back but I dont get the deep sleep like I do when I start on my tummy and pass out.

Suggestions?

 

[cptjeff]

Before you invest in another pillow, keep in mind that you can wash the down one. Normal detergent is fine, and throw them in the dryer with a few tennis balls or a pair of shoes- cloth sneakers, not nice leather ones. Chucks work great. Wash them first, you can do it with the pillow.

 

[Abyss]

I never liked pillows. They were good in concept, something soft to put your head on when you slept, but they never seem to quite work out for me. Worse still, I could only find comfort on brand new pillows, once they were broken in they no longer were comfortable for me. Then one day, when getting a new pillow, I decided to try a contoured memory foam pillow. It took a little while to adjust to, but once I did... finally, a pillow that was comfortable!

I've used the same pillow for several years now, and it still feels like the day I bought it. Sometimes it can get stiff when the day is cold, but a little bit of boy warmth gets it comfortable again. In my experience, memory foam pillows will not compress over time, but when you lay on them your warmth and weight compresses them a bit.

I don't know about the other styles, but the contoured style I use (Kind of like a large mountain, then a valley, then a small mountain) is really best for laying on one's back. A sideways head on the pillow works, but it isn't nearly as comfortable as when you lay on your back. That's fine for me, since I lay on my back anyways, but if you mostly sleep on your stomach then I would suggest that you go for one of the other styles.


I hope this post has been helpful!

 

[miss_elise]

i'm very specific about my pillow.... so much so that I take my own to hotels and the like...

i have a latex one...

 

[BellyTank]

The Tempur pillows are available in various thicknesses.
You can also get inexpensive pillows, which are sewn through, on the horizontal, which give a similar "neck support" to the Tempur pillows but softer.

My Tempur pillow, after some use, is experiencing some memory loss,
which is better for my neck.


B
T

 

[memphislawyer]

I think that memory foam is too thick for a stomach sleeper as it made my neck go up at an angle.

 

[Paisley]

When I had neck problems and TMJ problems, I just put folded towels under my pillow until the height was right. My neck problems included pinched nerves and, for a year after a car wreck, a sprained neck and back. Chiropractic care, a mouth splint, yoga, pain relievers and the passage of time (and the propped up pillow) alleviated most of the problems.

Since I started doing strength exercises with my neck, pillow height has been almost a non-issue and I rarely have neck pain.

 

[Foofoogal]

Finally bought a foam mattress and foam pillow with neck roll. I often wonder if this is not good since neither gives and may work against each other but am asleep in about 10 seconds after hitting them and never did that with any other kind of items.
Not sure though if I could use one without the neck support now though.
Sitting at a computer for years has taken its toll though. Try to take breaks more now.
I also do strength exercises now and this helps.

 

[memphislawyer]

Well, here is what I did. Took the memory foam pillow back. Tried out several different down and then down alternative and polyfill/fiberfille, Ralph Lauren included. Basically indistinquishable except how they would bounce your head up and the amount of fill, typically 17 ounces to 24 ounces.

Tried the Isotonic side sleeper and that is the one I took home. Still a conventional looking pillow but not as dense as the one I took back. Still denser than the contour pillows with the neck roll, which may be the third one I try if this one does not work.

They have one that has half memory foam on one side and then a microfiber filling on the other, basically half the thickness of say the conventional memoryfoam. But really, it is not all that much different from the poly fills when you try them out, except that the memory foam may not totally squish flat like the down one does. That might be a third one to try also.

 

[John in Covina]

I had a memory foam pillow that was pricy from the mattress store. It worked great for many years and the zippered slip case was really something, However there came a point where the foam broke down an it was more like a sticky dough than a foam. That took about 8 years to happen but it was useless after that.

I'd get another at some point.

 

[Miss 1929]

Why is this even being discussed in the Fedora Lounge?

What is Golden Era about memory foam???I am perplexed.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Mrs. H suffered from chronic neck pain each morning, so she purchased one of those contour foam pillows; it works great, no pain anymore!

 

[John in Covina]

Why is this even being discussed in the Fedora Lounge?

What is Golden Era about memory foam???I am perplexed.

There is no Golden Era without the memories.

 

[Garrett]

When I had neck problems and TMJ problems, I just put folded towels under my pillow until the height was right. My neck problems included pinched nerves and, for a year after a car wreck, a sprained neck and back. Chiropractic care, a mouth splint, yoga, pain relievers and the passage of time (and the propped up pillow) alleviated most of the problems.

Since I started doing strength exercises with my neck, pillow height has been almost a non-issue and I rarely have neck pain.

Please share with us the neck strength exercises - My neck issues are not as severe as the aforementioned but anything helps.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

There is no Golden Era without the memories.

lol :eusa_clap lol

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Please share with us the neck strength exercises - My neck issues are not as severe as the aforementioned but anything helps.

I'm all ears too! Except for "mouth splint" and "yoga", Paisley's story reads just like my own. I have found some relief from using one of the foam (not memory, just foam) pillows with that convex shape to it to support the neck and keep the head in a neutral position when on my side or back. I've gone through hell these last couple years with my neck, back and shoulders. :rage:

 

[Paisley]

Exercises and Pain Management

For strength, I hold my head up while I do flutter kicks and bicycle kicks. I started doing this a few months ago when I got a DVD called Ballet Conditioning by Elise Gulan. (The DVD has a section at the end for abdominal exercises.) Shortly after I started doing the exercises one to two times a week, almost all my neck pain went away and my neck doesn't need to be popped nearly as often. I think that just as weak abs can lead to back pain, a weak neck might lead to neck pain.

For flexibility, I've done yoga neck exercises for years. I do each of the following four times every morning:

Front to back, like big nods
Side to side, like slowly shaking your head "no"
Side to side, moving your ear towards your shoulder
Front to back, like a turtle sticking its head out
Head rolls, clockwise then counterclockwise

I've found that if doing a stretch once or twice doesn't pop my neck, it's best to quit then and try later.

Don't wait until the pain is intense to take something for it. Tension leads to spasms, which lead to pain, which leads to more tension.

Pay attention to things that make the pain better or worse. I discovered that the pain in my neck was caused by my keyboard being too high. After my accident, I found that the pain would start right after I went to bed, so I started adjusting my pillow height with folded towels.

 

[Paisley]

More Pain Management

I'm all ears too! Except for "mouth splint" and "yoga", Paisley's story reads just like my own. I have found some relief from using one of the foam (not memory, just foam) pillows with that convex shape to it to support the neck and keep the head in a neutral position when on my side or back. I've gone through hell these last couple years with my neck, back and shoulders. :rage:

A coworker has improved her back pain by throwing everything she could at the problem. Among the things she has done is get cortisone shots and a pain management device that uses electrodes. She has also started strength training via pilates, a set of exercises that was designed to rehabilitate injured ballet dancers. In fact, the pilates has helped her so much that she is considering cancelling her next cortisone shot. Since her back is so touchy, she has a personal trainer to make sure she does the pilates exercises right.

My mouth splint was for TMJ problems that started after a car wreck. I wore it for two years. Again, part of my recovery was paying attention to when the pain started, and to relax the muscles instead of just relying on the splint.

ETA: I've also used an electric massager and acupressure, sometimes in combination. The acupressure point that really helps me with shoulder pain is the one between the collar bone and the shoulder blade--between the bones, not on them. It has to be pressed hard for a minute or so.

Again, chiropractic care helped a lot, too.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Thank you, Paisley. That detailed info is bound to be helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time.

 

[memphislawyer]

Welling, washing a down pillow had no effect. First five minutes felt great but after that, nothing, flat as ever.

The Isotonic Side Sleeper with memory foam, well, if one could take a carving knife and slice off about half, then that would be great. What it does is it tilts the top part of my head up every so slightly, so that makes it feel like it is on a great incline. Back wise, might work okay, but face, no way. Side seems to be perfect though.

I think my next venture is to get the half memory foam, half stuffing of some sort (microfiber something or other) and maybe have the best of both worlds - the underlying support- halfway- of the memory foam and then the flatness of the stuffing.

They have two that I am thinking might work

http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/bed...omfort+System+Memory+Foam+2in1+Bed+Pillow.jsp

http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/per...novations+Memory+Foam+Classics+Bed+Pillow.jsp