NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CONSUMER REPORTS/WTVF) — Getting a good night's sleep is crucial and having the right pillow can make a huge difference. If you’re tossing and turning at night, the culprit could be your pillow.
There are hard pillows and soft squishy pillows - there are also adjustable pillows, which allow you to actually add or pull out some of the filling so you can get a pillow that's comfortable for you.
“With a pillow, you don’t want your head to tilt too far forward or too far back. Sometimes you may need more than what a standard pillow can provide,” said Haniya Rae with Consumer Reports.
Enter adjustable pillows. Consumer Reports just took a look at three. They’re pillows packed with filling made from different materials and inserts that you can adjust to your liking.
The $90 Avocado Green is filled with shredded pieces of organic latex foam and fibers from a kapok tree. You simply unzip to add or remove the stuffing.
Similarly, the $60 Premium Adjustable Loft pillow from COOP Home Goods is filled with shredded memory foam and microfiber.
The Sleep Number ComfortFit offers three separate inserts made of memory foam and down alternative fibers. You can add or remove the inserts but you can’t break them down any further.
Consumer Reports ran each pillow through a series of tests to see how well they hold up after constant use and how well they support people of different sizes and shapes.
“We use a pressure mat to analyze roughly 1,600 pressure points and focus on the contact area between the head and the pillow. We know if the pressure is too high, you’re likely to experience some discomfort when you sleep and you’ll be shifting around a lot more," Rae said.
All three pillows offer excellent support whether you’re a back or side sleeper.
Some stuffing tips from Consumer Reports: If you’re a back sleeper, you’ll want a flatter pillow so remove the insert or that extra filling until it feels right to you. Side sleepers tend to need more filling to keep the head and neck from tilting.
Now those who have used these say you may need to adjust your pillows several times before you get it just right. If you still can't get it to a level that's good for you, both the COOP and the Avocado pillows come with a 100-night sleep guarantee, so you can return them and get your money back if you decide they're not right for you within the first three months. Unfortunately, though the Sleep Number ComfortFit Pillow is not returnable, but you can do a one-time exchange.
