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My build-it-myself latex mattress will get ordered when it is warmer here in the frigid north, and I can air out all the foam layers out on the porch. In the meantime, can I get some pillow advice? (Oh no, after months of agonizing over the mattress choice, now I must do the same with pillows....?!) I have slept with feather/down pillows forever, it seams. Stuffed quite plumply. I liked being able to add and subtract filling until it suited me. (Yes, it's messy. Do it outside.) I used to buy those cheaply priced sets of 4 king pillows and sew my own high thread count cotton covers and made 2 king pillows with leftovers to add, if needed. Now I find that I am flipping my pillow a half dozen times a night (yeah, that's how often I'm awake) to get the fill back under my neck where it has squished out. Sounds like I need a contour neck pillow, but one person's thickness and firmness could be another persons nightmare, and you can't do anything but stick it in a closet, give it away, or toss it , and try another one. So I am wondering about shredded foam. Most of them these days claim to be memory foam. (Do the properties of memory foam still exist when it is shredded?) I know that is the cheapie way to go, but it is also an adjustable way to go. Or, in the case of molded memory foam, or latex, any suggestions for densities, etc? I am broad shouldered and side sleeper exclusively, so need plump pillow. What is your experience? I am hoping a different pillow might go a long way in helping my shoulder pain and frequent waking. What do you think? Boy, do I envy the people who can sleep on anything......... |
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Interesting topic. Most everyone's concern with getting a full night's comfortable sleep is focused on the mattress which only addresses comfort from the neck downward but if your head and neck aren't just as supported and comfortable as the lower regions the result is sleep pain and dissatisfaction. You mention shoulder pain giving the impression that pillows could be a solution to shoulder pain - we believe that any discomfort below the neck like shoulders/back/hip or etc. is caused by a problem with the mattress - not the pillow - just our experience/opinion. Have to ask why shredded foam? Have you tried single piece foam pillows? I and my bride were getting a good result using a standard memory foam pillow but she recently found king size latex pillows on sale at J.C. Penney. The sale price for the King was $39 (regular price was something like $80). The format is a lot of holes throughout so they seem to breath and not heat up like other pillows we have tried. Came with a velour cover with a zipper. As with most latex the pillow out-of-plastic had a strong smell that completely disappeared in a few hours. Our test results are that I think these are the best pillows we have ever used - she, on the other hand, complains that hers doesn't compress enough causing her head to be too high so she has had minor neck pain past two mornings - she is going back to the smaller memory foam for now so the qwest for the "perfect" pillow continues in our house - at least for her, This Penney's latex seems about perfect to me. So far as your bed goes I have to ask how can you live with the complication of "DIY" bed engineering using multiple layers of latex?? I can't imagine a bigger inconvenience than having to disassemble and outdoor air out different little layers of foam (or anything). Our latest design hard side waterbed waveless and extra firm mattress combined with a Cloud9 three inch 4.3 memory foam topper continues to amaze us with its' consistent support and comfort - far better (to us) than any of the many foam mattresses we tested including both latex and tempur-pedic. Anywho, looking forward to reading the pillow experiences of others at this forum - the pillow is almost as important as the mattress!! This message was modified Mar 29, 2009 by imjay
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Thanks Imjay. The reason I ask about shredded foam pillows is for the reason your wife has found out. What a manufacturer might think is the average desirable thickness and firmness in a molded , single piece pillow, may be right for some, but a "pain" to others. There is no adjusting it. Toss aside and try another brand? Then a third? Fourth one's a charm, maybe? Trying to avoid that. I haven't ordered my layered DIY foam yet. When I do, and they arrive, I must air them out for a few days. I have no plans to disassemble them periodically after that, for airing. |
| Thanks to Donw's thread someone has experience with shredded latex. But there is a LOT of shredded MEMORY foam pillows out there, too. Just my thoughts ( and someone please correct me, if you have experience) are that the big property of memory foam is it's elasticity. It is called visco-ELASTIC foam. Seems to me that if you shred it, there goes the elasticity. What you are left with is no better than shredded poly foam, which of course memory foam is, just poly foam made with different properties. Those properties might be wonderfully comfortable.... but shredded? Well hey, this is a learning process. |
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I love this site...I can always find someone talking about something on my mind. I've been having the same problems with pillows. My down pillow went flat. I bought a new shredded foam pillow at Target, but it is too fluffy somehow(side and back sleeper with broad shoulders AND narrow ribcage, OW!). So I pulled another down pillow out of the closet that is much fluffier than the other one, and inside the case under the pillow put my little sample piece of Venus memory foam(about 1" thick, 12" X 12"). That was the ticket! This memory foam was a sample piece(free!) from Rocky Mountain Mattress company, and I've used it for so many many things. I love that foam., This particular foam does not rely on heat for softness and it breathes so doesn't build up heat like regular memory foam. Might try it! Kait |
| I had to buy 4 different Latex Pillows from Overstock to find one that is lower than the others that is perfect for me in comfort. But it is my favorite pillow and is so much like the pillow that it replaced that died years ago. I can only sleep on a latex pillow since I always have since I was 5 years old and my doctor told my mother it would help my allergies. I tried to like other pillows but they are not comfortable to me. But some latex pillows are too hard and some are to thick. |