Humans not only need food, water, air and other important things to lead a healthy life but also need sufficient amount of sleep to lead a healthy life. Six to eight hours of minimum amount of sleep is required by the human body to keep the body fit and active. Person not taking adequate amount of sleep tends to face serious health issues later in his life. To have sound sleep pillow and bed plays a major role.
However it is suggested not to use pillows to sleep, but using pillows while sleeping also have some benefits like it helps to regulate normal breathing. Use of pillows also helps from snoring and sleep apnea. Stomach sleeping in considered being the most unhealthy position sleeping position. A good pillow is one that suits your body type. Different types of stuffings are using in pillows.
Let us discuss about different stuffing materials.
- Down pillow filling: Down pillow filling is the most commonly used type of pillow stuffing. The soft and fluffy part of feather is used to fill the pillow. It is very soft and the material lasts longer.
- Polyester Pillows: As the name suggests it is made of polyester fibres. It is very easy to clean and is light weight. These pillows are available in reasonable price compared to other pillows. Polyester fillings help to absorb and maintain body heat.
- Memory foam: Memory foam pillow filling is precisely used for the materials that are made by several chemicals and polyurethane. It has a strong chemical smell. Studies suggested that memory foam are somewhat toxic. The best part of memory foam is that it helps in maintain the pillow shape.
- Latex pillow: Latex is such a material that is as flexible as rubber. Latex pillows are made up of some box shaped latex pieces. Shredded latex is also used in latex pillow stuffings. These are very soft and helps to provide support to our neck and head.
- Kapok Pillow: Kapok is a flower which is fluffy like cotton and its structure is like silk and has a light brown colour. Kapok is a natural product which is very soft. Due to availability of artificial materials these are less in use these days.
- Cotton pillows: Cotton is a very soft and squeezable material, but is little firm compared to other pillow filling materials. However it is breathable and free from toxicity, but in long term use it can become uncomfortable because of its lumpy pieces.
DISADVANTAGES OF PILLOW STUFFING MATERIALS:
The materials used in pillow stuffing’s are largely heat absorbing in nature. Due to which one could feel warm while using it. Some material cannot be cleaned easily. Most of the materials used in fillings get flat and are required to be refilled. Polyfibres and synthetic fillers are slightly toxic which sometimes causes health issues.
Hence it is important to determine the amount of filling to be used in pillows because of increasing the loft of pillow will make pillow feel more firm and less filling will tend to be softer.