Join me with the “three year switch”
The thing about pillows is that although they seem like they’re not a big deal – they really are. Not only because you want to be comfortable in bed, but also because an uncomfortable pillow can mean a poor night’s sleep – and over time this can affect pretty much every aspect of your life. When we’re thinking about bedding, we might invest in a new mattress, or a pretty new duvet set to brighten the place up – but how often do we think about replacing our pillows?
Recent research by pillow brand nanu revealed that most people sleep on a pillow that’s more than five years old. Furthermore, 40% of Brits have never washed their pillows. Just think about that for a moment. Think about how much you sweat (and dribble) in your sleep, and how much grease and product from your hair can end up on your pillow. A pillow case protects from some of it – but it can’t protect from all of it!
I have a terrible habit of just collecting pillows – I buy new ones, but don’t get rid of the old ones. And when I go to sleep, I just throw the top layer of pillows on the floor and sleep on whatever is left on the bed. This can often mean I wake up with a sore neck because my head has been resting at an odd angle all night! I find that with several pillows on my bed, I can never remember which is the one that allows me a good night’s sleep. The rest are used only to lean against whilst reading and have been there an embarrassingly long time.
Now that I stop to think about it, of the pillows on my bed I know that four were new when we moved into our old flat. So although I think of them as “new” they are actually now at least five years old. I know I’ve washed them once in that time – but I don’t think one stint in the washing machine is any match for five years of being slept on every single night!
Bespoke pillow brand nanu challenged me to create a pillow designed specifically for me, to see if it made a difference and to highlight the importance of updating your pillows on a regular basis. At first I was a bit dubious. I prioritise my sleep above almost everything else, and pride myself on getting a good 7-8 hours almost every night. Surely a new pillow wouldn’t make any difference to that! I mean, sure – they had me on the cleanliness side of things, but sleep? I had that nailed.
Except I didn’t. Just lately I’ve not been sleeping brilliantly and have often found myself either unable to get to sleep or awake in the middle of the night. I’ve been waking up more and more often with a sore neck, and if I’m honest I just put that down to the fact I’m not in my 20s any longer. Buying a new pillow didn’t even cross my mind!
Creating a bespoke pillow to suit my needs
The nanu site asks you questions about your sleeping position, but also things like height and weight and your preference for pillow firmness. The algorithm then puts together the perfect pillow for you.
As well as this, a nanu pillow is filled with recycled materials from plastic bottles and every nanu pillow sold prevents 20 plastic bottles going to landfill. In a time where we are all just becoming aware of just how long a plastic bottle will stay in landfill – or worse, be blown out to sea and wreak havoc with marine life – this is a big plus point for me!
Each nanu pillow comes with a two-year guarantee and a 30-night free trial and free returns – so if you don’t like it, you can return it for free without a big fuss. Nanu pillows are also allergen free and most importantly – very soft and comfortable!
Does using a nanu pillow make a difference?
In a word: yes! Now that I stop to think about it, it makes sense that a pillow designed specifically for me will make a difference to the quality of my sleep. I’ve had the pillow a few days now, and have yet to wake up with neck pain – or to wake up in the night feeling uncomfortable. I’m impressed!
Seeing the nanu pillow on my bed next to the sorry-looking five-year-old pillows I usually sleep on has really highlighted the importance of a replacing pillows regularly. My old pillows started out soft and fluffy, but now they’re old and flat. You would need to stack three of them against the nanu pillow to achieve the same height – but then three flat pillows don’t have much give in them when you lay your head down at night. Sleeping on the nanu is like the old Tommy Cooper joke about dreaming he ate a big marshmallow and waking to find his pillow was gone!
Join the “three year switch” and win a free personalised pillow
Nanu has launched a pillow amnesty to encourage us all to exchange our old pillows for a new, personalised option. The amnesty is running via the nanu Facebook page, where you can post a photo of your old pillow on the competition post. 50 people will be selected at random to win a free pillow in exchange for their old pillow and everyone who enters will receive a discount code. Please see the competition post linked above for full details.
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