Pillows (Bedding)

Your pillow has one job: holding your head level with your spine while the mattress supports the rest of you. Loft, the height of the pillow once your head is actually on it, is the number that matters. Your sleep position sets it rather than your taste in softness.

Fill decides both loft and lifespan. Down, the soft cluster under a bird's outer feathers, compresses to almost nothing and needs daily shaking to recover, which suits stomach sleepers wanting minimal height. Feather fill costs less and works its quills through the shell over time. Down alternative, meaning polyester fiber clusters, imitates the feel for a year or two and then flattens for good. Solid memory foam holds a fixed height and never needs fluffing, but it warms under a head and cannot be adjusted. Shredded foam and latex split the difference, since you can unzip the cover and pull handfuls out to lower the loft.

Nothing else in bedding is fitted this closely to one body. Shams and decorative pillows share the same sizes but are stuffed for looks, so a sham insert under your head collapses by morning. Mattress toppers change how far your shoulder sinks, which changes the loft you need, so replacing a topper often means rebuying pillows. Sheet sets include cases sized standard, queen and king, and a king pillow forced into a standard case bunches at both ends.

Side sleepers need the most height, usually 4 to 6 inches, because the pillow has to bridge the gap from shoulder to ear. Back sleepers want 3 to 5 inches, enough to support the neck curve without pushing the chin toward the chest. Stomach sleepers need almost nothing and often do better on a folded soft pillow or none at all. One pillow model bought for a whole household will suit exactly one person and punish the rest.

Test an old pillow by folding it in half: if it stays folded instead of springing open, the fill died some time ago. Replace fiber and feather pillows every 1 to 2 years and foam or latex every 2 to 3, and keep a zippered protector under the case so fill never absorbs sweat. Wash fiber and down pillows two at a time to keep the drum balanced, then dry them long and low, because damp fill inside a sealed pillow grows mildew you will never see.