You may be changing your towels, toothbrush or other daily necessities on a regular basis, but ignoring the pillows and pillowcases that are in direct contact with your skin for eight hours a day! The biggest effect of pillows is to provide enough support for the cervical spine. You can check if your pillow has enough support by pressing it with your hands. If your pillow doesn't feel as rebounding as you just bought it after pressing on it, it means that it has lost its original support for your cervical spine. Then it’s the time to replace your pillow.
Part 1. Why you need to replace your pillow?
A proper pillow can help us fall asleep more comfortably. However, if the pillow is used for a long time, it is not good for your health, because a lot of bacteria and mites will breed in the pillow, which can easily induce allergies, asthma or other diseases.
Besides, when a pillow is used for a long time, it will flatten and lose its elasticity due to dust and pressure, and it will not provide enough support for the head and neck. It may also cause you to wake up feeling numb or pain in the neck.
Part 2. When you need to replace your pillow?
Generally speaking, the lifespan of cotton or feather pillows is about one year, the lifespan of ordinary memory foam pillows is also about one year, and the lifespan of high-density memory foam can reach more than three years, latex pillows will also last longer. However, whether to replace it in one year or two years depends on your own situation. Your pillow needs to be replaced when:
- There are mildew spots in the pillow core that can't be cleaned;
- Pillow smells bad;
- The pillow is agglomerated and does not spring back when pressed;
- After the pillow is fluffy, it becomes flat again soon after lying down;
- Without physical diseases, you often feel numb and sore in the neck after waking up in the morning;
- Snoring or turning over more frequently;
- When sleeping on your side, numbness is often felt in the lower arm, which occurs frequently;
Part 3. How to pick a right pillow?
1. Your pillow must have enough support for your neck.
Too soft or too hard is not good for you to sleep, pillows that too hard have a small contact area with the head so that the pressure is high, which may hurt your cervical spine; however, pillows that too soft make it difficult to maintain a certain height, the neck muscles are easily fatigued, in the meantime, it will also affect the blood circulation. The perfect pillow for you should be moderately soft and hard.
2. Your pillow must have good air permeability.
A pillow with good air permeability is conducive to the circulation of air, so that the residual heat and moisture discharged from the human body can be quickly dissipated, and it can also keep the temperature within a certain level, and it is not easy to produce peculiar smell.
3. Your pillow needs to match your sleeping position.
There are mainly three sleeping positions, side sleeper, stomach sleeper and back sleeper. Different sleeping positions should match different kinds of pillows:
- If you like to sleep on your stomach, it is recommended to consider a flat and soft low pillow;
- If you like to sleep on your back, it is recommended to consider a well-supported low pillow;
- If you like to sleep on your side, it is recommended to consider a well-supported high pillow;
- If your sleeping position is not fixed, it is recommended to consider a soft wavy pillow;
