People often underestimate the importance of a good pillow; in fact, a great pillow can make the difference between a good night’s sleep or tossing and turning from side to side the entire night unable to get to sleep – or waking up every now and then to turn the pillow, or worse, to have to pick it up and re-fluff it because it’s gone flat again. If you aren’t using the right pillows for you, then you could be doing some serious long-term damage to your health in the long run – and if you aren’t using the right pillows for you, they could be why you’re awake half the night. Did you know that pillows could mean that much to your sleep routine? If you think about it that way, then you can almost say that pillows will affect your waking life too.
But what pillow do you pick when you have to choose from thousands of options that are available on the market? Should you choose between the contour pillow or the best firm pillow instead? We took a look at both and compared the two options so that you know which one to go for when you’re looking for the most comfortable sleeping experience possible.
Is your pillow wrong for you right now?
If you struggle to sleep, constantly have to turn your pillows or are starting to experience serious health problems like allergies, a stuffy nose, neck and back pain or headaches then you should start to consider the fact that the pillows you’re using right now could be the completely wrong ones for you. Pillows can harbour all sorts of nasty things when you’ve been keeping them around for several months or even years, including dust, dust mites and particles that can trigger allergies faster than you can make your bed.
The same is true for your mattress. Both need continuous replacement, especially if you’ve been using the same old-fashioned, cheaper pillows for a while and find that they’ve gone flat or that you can no longer keep them clean. If this is the case with you, toss your old pillows immediately and consider getting some of the options on this list. Your body will thank you for it, and you will likely wake up in a much better mood every day!
What doctors think about pillows
Doctors have a lot to say about pillows. First, most doctors agree that your pillow has a massive impact on your overall health. And most of them recommend that you pick a pillow that’s been therapeutically recommended, especially if you suffer from an existing neck injury from earlier in life – for example, like a car accident, or simply having a high-stress job where you carry all of the tension in your neck. Doctors agree that pillows should be replaced on a regular basis, and doctors agree that people with allergies should rather avoid pillows that are filled with allergy-causing materials such as feathers. See? Doctors do think about pillows too, because it turns out pillows have a massive impact on your health.
Describing the contour pillow
First, let’s take a look at the first option – the contour pillow. It’s called the contour pillow due to the fact that, rather than being in the rectangular shape you would imagine most pillows or the block-form you would imagine most foam pillows, it’s contoured almost like a long-form U. This contour is to fit your head and ensure that you don’t have too much “empty space” on the pillow – and we can tell you that there are many people who absolutely swear by using the contour pillow for optimal comfort!
Describing the best firm pillow
The best firm pillow is pretty similar to the average pillow shape that you are imagining when you think of a pillow. Made from memory foam, this one lacks the contour shape that the contour pillow has, though some people prefer the best firm pillow and say that the contour either makes little difference to them or say that they just happen to prefer the best firm pillow. But there are still many people who prefer the best firm pillow, and there are also many who are still undecided on which to pick – which likely describes you if you are reading this.
Quality
The contour pillow is manufactured from good-quality memory foam, and is also hypoallergenic. You can expect memory foam to last for a long time, and you know that it won’t go flat like other pillows that were filled with feathers or other materials like stuffing. We liked the contour pillow for its quality, though some might find that you need to find special pillow cases because of the fact that the contour is hard to fit a normal pillow-case over – but that’s just about the only drawback here.
The best firm pillow is also manufactured from the highest-quality memory foam, which is also hypoallergenic. Many people prefer this shape instead, and there are several possible reasons for this. One reason is the fact that it’s easier to find pillowcases for these, but that’s not the only reason here – it’s also better for many people who prefer to stack several pillows on top of each other for more height, and better for many people who find the contour too much of a hassle. It’s all down to individual preference. We can say that both are high quality and that which one you pick becomes up to you – which one do you find the most comfortable for laying your head on?
Construction of Contour Pillow versus Best Firm Pillow
Between the two, we can say that both the contour pillow and the best firm pillow are constructed from good quality materials – memory foam in both cases, which is beneficial for its durability. You know that your memory foam pillow in both cases will last you a long time if you take care of it – and it’s not too expensive. Both also come recommended by doctors for their good quality, and neck support they offer.
Comfort
When it comes to comfort, it will depend entirely on individual preference. Some people prefer the contour pillow because of the contour it has – this can give their neck some extra support and ensure that their heads don’t move around the whole time while they’re asleep. In some cases, some people might instead prefer the best firm pillow because of the lack of the contour – if you prefer to stack several pillows on top of each other because you need some more height to sleep comfortably, then you will prefer the best firm pillow instead.
The same is true if you prefer to use pillows for extra support between your knees or behind your back: You will then prefer the best firm pillow by far because the contour pillow might prove to be a little uncomfortable when it’s supporting your back or knees instead. Some people just don’t want to worry about having to find other pillowcases than the ones they already have, and some people prefer to use their pillows when sitting down, too – then you will also happen to prefer the best firm pillow above the contour pillow.
Both are comfortable as a whole when you ignore these factors and focus only on general comfort, though, as memory foam is designed to be as comfortable as possible: It moves with the shape of whatever you put on it, and then has the ability to go right back to its original shape – this means that it will never deflate in the way other pillows will, and you can always trust your memory foam pillow to do what it was designed to do – to ensure that you’re as comfortable as possible.
Firmness & Support
Next, let’s talk about the firmness and support of both of these pillow options. First, the contour pillow remains firm at all times – memory foam is known for this benefit, as memory foam doesn’t degrade in the same way that a feather pillow world, and it won’t just fall flat on you and definitely won’t need to be replaced as often. You will be impressed with the support that the contour pillow offers – but only if you don’t mind the added feature of the contour pillow’s shape.
Test both, and if you aren’t completely comfortable with the support that you’re offered by the contour pillow, you can always switch over to the best firm pillow instead – neither are outright bad, but the one might need a little quicker replacement than the other one depending on how much weight you are putting on it and for how long. Both are great pillows, and which one works the easiest for you will be a factor that’s entirely over to you.
If you prefer to think of supporting only your neck and head while you sleep, then you won’t really mind either of these and will likely show no preference for either of the two. But if you are looking for support behind your back and between your knees too, then you should opt for the best firm pillow instead.
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