The good news is that everyone has a pillow these days, unlike in the days of old when it was strictly reserved for the wealthy. Pillows are very much democratic these days, thanks to the Industrial Revolution.
Most pillows contain a fill such as foam, feathers, or down. The fill is inside a cloth cover that is normally cotton or a mix of cotton and synthetic materials.
The interesting news is that there is a big variety of pillows to choose from. The most common type of pillow helps us to sleep better at night. These are called bed pillows and there are generally 3 sizes: standard, queen, and king. The second type of pillow is orthopedic pillows and these give better support to the neck than regular pillows. Travel pillows fall into this category. The third category is decorative pillows and they do just that – they decorate a surface such as a bed.
It’s mostly what’s inside that counts
The filling is the most important bit of the pillow. The first pillows contained straw but this is uncomfortable and manufacturers prefer using other materials such as feathers, down, foam, or other synthetic materials.
Feather pillows are incredibly soft and may be the most durable and luxurious pillows you would ever use. One of the only disadvantages is that some people suffer from allergies and find they can’t use feather pillows because of that.
Foam pillows comprise two distinct types – memory foam and regular foam pillows. Memory foam ‘remembers’ its original position and reverts back to this position when there’s no pressure on it. Regular foam pillows do not have the same features; therefore, regular foam pillows do not last as long as memory foam pillows.
Down fill is the other type of luxury filling used in pillows. These pillows are very soft and the quality far exceeds that of other types, even that of feather pillows. The only disadvantage to down filling is that some people are allergic to it. These pillows can last up to 10 years.
Combination fill pillows are more affordable than 100% feather or 100% down fill. These pillows contain feather and down in equal quantities but the two types of fill is separated by a fabric divider in the center.
Author bio:
The White Company wrote this article about the different types of pillows.