A good pillow is needed for a restful night’s sleep. Without a pillow, the neck and head are unsupported which can lead to both short and long-term muscle strain. A pillow that’s excessively soft may give insufficient support, whereas one that is too hard will be uncomfortable.
Perhaps more important than the comfort is an unseen feature of the pillow: the fill. The wrong kind of fill can cause sleep-disrupting allergies such as a congested or runny nose, along with inflamed, red teary eyes.
Research has shown that allergies are caused by microscopic dust mites that inhabit down fill material. Dust mites cohabit the living space of people, making their homes in the fluffy, airy space of down clusters. Dead human skin provides them with a source of nutrients. When your body detects an allergen made by the dust mite, it can overreact by setting off an immune reaction. This is the basis of down allergies.
Nowadays we are lucky that we can go for a down alternative pillow to alleviate allergy symptoms. Such pillows don’t contain down fill that attract dust mites. Moreover, they are more economical than expensive goose feathers. Roughly speaking, the down alternatives can be classified into three kinds of pillows. The first is the natural kind, largely dominated by silk. The second are the polyester synthetic down alternatives such as the famous Primaloft. The third is a space-age type foam, an example of which is Tempur-Pedic.
The down alternatives that come from natural sources such as silk are prized by many people. Silk especially is a very light but heat-preserving material that is widely used and sought after in Japan and China. The only problem for consumers here in the U.S. is that silk can be somewhat expensive.
Polyester fiber down alternative pillows are probably the most popular type of pillows after down. Advances in manufacturing such fibers have progressed to the point that certain types are very close to achieving the high warmth-to-weight ratio of down. Already used widely in camping gear and insulating garments, polyester continues to both improve and be available to people with all kinds of budgetary constraints. However, expect to pay more for high tech polyesters, otherwise you will be stuck with a cheap but uncomfortable synthetic pillow.
Rather than stuffing a fabric cloth with down to make a pillow, some manufacturers have created pillows out of a single piece of foam. The special properties of memory foam is such that it can deform and mold exactly to the outline of your head. The next morning the memory foam will return to its original shape when you stop exerting weight on it. Memory foam was originally developed by NASA research for its space program. One problem with memory foam is that many people report being sensitive to strange chemical smells coming from the foam.
Study more about down alternative by directly reading our site. Additional topics and articles on bedding hypoallergenic can be found at the site.
