Synthetic Pillow Works

It looks like the foam pillow experiment was a howling success. I used it last night. I not only feel rested; I feel somewhat wired. I suspect that my sleep was seriously inadequate before I got rid of the down. I hoped I would feel better after beating the congestion that made me snore and woke me up, but I didn’t expect to feel this good.

For years I’ve had congestion at night, and I got up most days and coughed up fairly interesting things throughout the morning. I thought the second problem was normal for me. But last night, I was able to breathe, and today all the tubes seem clear.

I’m not sure who makes this thing, but I’ll review it. It’s the only ordinary-looking memory foam pillow they sell at the local Costco.

The pillow is heavy, almost as though it were damp inside. When I took it out of the box, it had what appeared to be small oil spots on the cover. I ran the cover through the washer, and they disappeared. The box said the pillow would smell at first, and that the smell would go away after one or two days. I put the pillow under a ceiling fan without the cover. When I went to bed, it still smelled sort of like house paint.

By my standards, this pillow is pretty firm. You can’t scrunch it up much or fold it. It keeps your head fairly high off the mattress, but not quite high enough to strain your neck. It’s not as comfortable as a feather or down pillow when you first put your head on it, but I found that it didn’t get less comfortable with time. When I use traditional pillows, I have to change position once in a while because the filling compresses and the pillows become less comfortable. With the memory foam job, that doesn’t happen. You can lie in one position for a very long time. You just don’t feel like moving.

The box said the pillow would not warm up like a down pillow, and that is true. It stayed at a comfortable temperature. It didn’t heat up and make me sweat, which is a pleasant change. Nothing bums me out more than waking up and finding that one side of my pillow is wet. And I’m sure that contributes to allergies by encouraging things to grow on and in the pillow.

Because the pillow is hard, I’m going to run over to the mall and see what else is available. There is probably some sort of non-feather pillow that is easier to mash. I figure I can combine the foam pillow with something else–maybe buckwheat hulls–and get a system that works.

I wonder if this is going to improve my life. Poor sleep makes you fat, raises your blood pressure, and wrecks your memory and concentration. I had to quit playing the piano because I couldn’t remember pieces from one month to the next, and it was a very unpleasant disappointment. Maybe I can give it another whack now.

This morning I felt sharp as a tack. I had my usual Tuesday breakfast with my father, and in conversation, I felt like I was right on top of things. I didn’t hunt for words, and in my mind, I stayed ahead of the discussion. Maybe my brain isn’t turning into Jell-O after all.

We’ll see what happens. I’ll miss my down pillows, but I missed my brain more.