A worn-out pillow is uncomfortable and damaging to your skin and lungs, but when’s the right time to change them out? Here’s experts’ take on when to start fresh.
You wake up with a sore neck a few too many times or you find yourself becoming an origami expert just to make your pillow comfortable again. You know it’s coming. Your plush sleeping companion has crossed over to the great beyond, and it’s time to change it out for a new one. Many people wait too long before upgrading their pillows and suffer from poor health, comfort, and back pains in the interim. They don’t want to jump the gun, and can’t decide how much life is really left in their waning pillow.
Pillows will show signs that they need to be replaced far before they start messing with your spine and neck, and if you’re experiencing sleepless nights, you’ve already waited too long. You can save yourself the guessing game by knowing the signs and deadlines of when you need to upgrade.
1. For Health — Get a New Pillow Every Six Months
Your body uses sleep as a way to regain energy, but also as a time to rejuvenate, shedding skin, hair, and expelling oils through your skin to cleanse your body. All this goes directly into your pillow, creating a bad odor that only becomes more intense with time. This also attracts dust mites, irritates asthma and other respiratory issues, and can cause acne. With your face pressed to it every night, your personal comfort will take a hit after a while, not to mention your health. According to Dr Robert Oexman of Sleep to Live Institute, you should trade it up for a fresh one every six months, whether your pillow physically needs it or not.
2. For Comfort — Replace Every Six Months to Every Three Years
Pillows are as diverse as mattresses themselves, and with such a massive industry advertising those to us, it’s surprising how many people think pillows can be bought on a whim. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages, so when it comes to deciding when your pillow needs upgrading, assess what kind of pillow you have, as their lifespans are different. Foam pillows, for example, retain their shape and level of comfort longer.
According to Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and author of the book Good Night, “If you have a plain-old, inexpensive polyester pillow, you should be replacing it every six months. But if you have a memory foam pillow or one with structural integrity, it’ll last you anywhere from 18 to 36 months.”
[tweetthis]The type of pillow determines comfort and how often you should clean it. What’s your timeline?[/tweetthis]
3. Get More Life From Your Pillow — Clean it Every Three Weeks
You have comfort levels receding and cleanliness waning, but you still can’t (or don’t) want to upgrade right away. You can breathe new life into your pillow with a good ol’ fashion run through the wash, but it’s important to be careful. You could lengthen your pillow’s lifetime by another six months, or you could make it fall apart in your hands. Be sure to consult the washing label of your pillow before you attempt to wash it, as foam reacts differently than down. For down, you can throw them in the wash and then dry on low heating to regenerate its comfort and cleanliness. For foam, spot-clean it with a damp towel and detergent, and then throw it in the dryer on an air-only setting—no heat—for twenty minutes to fluff it up.
4. Your Pillow Might Be a Superhero — Stress Test It
You may be sticking to a budget, without the funds to invest in a new one even if you really need it, or you might have a pillow that outlives the data projections to keep on trucking. In situations such as these, sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, so if you’re not sure how much life your pillow really has left in it, you can always turn to your grandmother’s trick. Simply fold your pillow in half and then let go of it; if it doesn’t spring back to lay flat, then you need a replacement. If it doesn’t even try, then you need it badly. You may get away with stacking several pillows on top of each other to make up for the lost cushion, but you’re only delaying the inevitable; start saving.
You can save yourself a few sleepless nights by knowing its healthy deadline and how to give your pillows extra life before it’s time to trade up. To make your bedroom a comfortable and relaxing space, look here for tips on optimizing your bedroom for a maximum sleep.