The secret to a good night's sleep is to enjoy a pillow that, together with your mattress, ensures you the best sleeping experience.
That's why it's so important to know when to change your pillow!
The function of your pillow is to provide you with a good night's sleep by supporting your head, aligning your neck with your spine and providing a soft, smooth surface to rest your face against.
The durability of pillows depends, among other factors, on the quality of the materials used in their manufacture. Generally, according to experts, pillows should be replaced after 24 months of use.
Memory foam pillows tend to last longer, on average up to three years. As a rule, higher quality pillows last longer than cheaper pillows.
Plus, if you're using a pillow that's five or six years old, chances are you're not sleeping as comfortably as you could. If the months identified above don't seem like much to you, think again: the pillow is used approximately 7 to 8 hours per night, which corresponds to more than 2,500 hours per year! Just like your mattress, the pillow is an investment in quality sleep, which will pay off in the quality of your rest and your health over the coming years.
Along with the mattress and the base of the bed base, the pillow also plays a fundamental role in ensuring you get a good night's sleep.
Therefore, you may not be making the most of the investment you made in a good bed and a good mattress due to these two factors: the pillow you use is not the best one for you or the pillow is the right one, but is quite worn out.
These two causes, when combined, are a recipe for disrupting your sleep and causing neck or back pain.
The pillow is in more direct contact with the body and, as such, requires cleaning more frequently. When cleaned more frequently, it wears out more than the mattress.
Therefore, and also to make it easier to adjust your sleep schedule after your vacation, it is recommended to change your pillow more frequently than you change your mattress, also to avoid the accumulation of fungi and dust mites, which are harmful to your health.
Discover some very simple tests to find out if it's time to buy a new pillow.
Start by removing the pillowcase and examining the pillow. Does it have stains? Is it torn? Does it smell musty? These are clear signs of a pillow that needs to be replaced.
It's noticeable that the filling has lost its original shape, then there's no doubt: it's time to change your pillow.
Once passed the smell and sight test, do the crease test: Is it a feather pillow? Then place the pillow on a table and fold it in half, letting the air escape and then release it to return to its original shape. If it returns to its original shape, it means the filling still provides enough support and the pillow does not need to be changed. If it does not return, then the feather pillow has lost its support and must be replaced with a new one.
If you have a pillow made of polyester, microfiber, memory foam or latex, place the cushion on a table, fold it in half and place a small weight of about 300 g (for example, a book or something similar in weight and size) on top. If the pillow returns to its original shape, even with weight placed on top, then it still provides enough support, if not, it's time to replace it.
Another method is to fold the pillow in half on our arm. If it folds easily, it means it needs to be changed immediately, if it is difficult to fold, then you can still use it for a while longer.
CONCLUSION
Ensure that you sleep better, night after night, paying attention to signs that indicate that it is time to change your pillow: feeling the need to change position often during the night, having difficulty breathing while lying down, waking up with allergy symptoms or waking up with headaches and tension in the upper part of the body.
