This pillow right here. You can smush it into different shapes and it mostly stays. I’ve made a little crater in the middle for my back sleeping, then I can roll onto the taller ends when I sleep on my side.
Can’t speak to the Birch comforter’s quality, but recently I got my first set of really nice sheets too. If you’re patient, you can find some Frette sheets for surprisingly cheap on one of their sales.
High quality sheets are one of those great luxuries that isn't remotely necessary but is so, so nice to have. Especially on a hot summer night. In my experience, they don't last nearly as long as cheap sheets, but if you can afford them, it's worth it. I'll definitely check out Frette.
100 seems like a lot for just a pillow. However, you use it every night and it helps you waking up without back or neck pain. So, investing 100 dollars into something you use 1/3 of every day seems like it’s basically nothing. My pillow costed almost 200 euros, my matrass was 1800. I’ve had it for 10 years, so it costed me 2000/3650= ~0.548 per night, 7 to 8 hours per day. Almost 55 cents for proper back and neck support, so I don’t wake up stiff and sour. The longer I use it, the cheaper it becomes, but I think in a year or two I’ll buy a new set so I’ll be sleeping like a princess for another 10 to 12 years.
Plot twist: learning to sleep without a pillow is even better for your back and neck. So, there’s your cheap option.
You don't need to pay quite that much to get one, but investing in a nice, expensive pillow really upgraded my sleep quality dramatically. I won't even let my houseguests use cheap pillows anymore. The difference is just too dramatic.
Are you a back sleeper or someone who sleeps on their arm? If I get in my side sleeping position without a pillow my ear isn’t even touching the ground.
I usually sleep on my back but if I sleep on my side I always use a pillow. I have a pretty big head so if I’m lying flat with no pillow my neck is straight and not bending backwards
I think I sleep more often with a pillow on top of my head or hip than actually using the pillow as intended. If you need head/neck support, the comforter is better suited for the job as you can fold it to the right shape.
I make a nice gentle curved slope with three pillows. Layering them offset to each other, with the back one being both the thickest and close to being vertical and the front one, also the thinnest being closer to horizontal.
My head probably isn’t even over the first pillow, but it allows the getting two to be at a more comfy angle.
Buckwheat pillow, holds it’s shape well and you can flatten it out or bring it back together to adjust the thickness, big downside though you kind of have to mold your head into it when you go to bed, really just boils down to adjusting the thickness, laying on it, and rocking your head back and forth on it a couple times to shape it. They dont fold well but I feel they don’t need to.
Everyone should get a high quality miniature/toddler pillow. There is always a small spot in the head or neck area which can be improved with a little bit of squishy pillow and these are perfect for that. They're also perfect for putting on top of another pillow which isn't quite tall enough but almost.
You should also get good pillows, but the tiny pillow is still nice to have.
Get a quality bamboo pillow with crushed memory foam filling. You can control how much fill goes into the pillow, and if you change your mind you can always add or remove some of the fill.
Latex pillow. They do NOT lose shape/consistency at all. Trust me, I bought a latex pillow and I pretty much always use the latex pillow now. I use the larger memory foam pillow when I want a harder/thicker pillow, but otherwise I prefer the latex pillow since I don’t have to worry about constantly fluffing it up or anything. I still flip it around sometimes to get to the cold side of course, but not as much for other pillows. Some people want “ergonomically-shaped” pillows, which have a bump for neck/spine support, and those kinds of latex pillows exist too.
A lot of people swear by millet pillows and buckwheat pillows (and other hull-filled/non-synthetic pillows) too. What I can say about them is they’re firm and heavy (buckwheat pillows are harder and millet pillows are softer), they stay cold, they have a strong smell, and they whisper statistics into your ear when you’re trying to sleep (they’re very noisy, especially ones using a less soft/less stretchy fabric like canvas or sateen). They’re probably better if you want more neck support. People like PineTales pillows, especially side-sleepers (I’ve never tried them though).
The best praise I’ve seen a pillow brand get though is Purple pillows, again from side-sleepers, but they’re $100-200 and I haven’t tried one. I don’t particularly want to finance a pillow.
Every time I have to use a typical pillow I’m like “wow this fucking sucks” and I have to fiddle with the pillow constantly because it loses its shape/firmness after a few minutes and stops feeling comfortable. Not something that happens with good latex pillows, and it’s less of a problem with memory foam & hull-filled pillows than in other pillows.
Years ago my husband bought a random pillow from Amazon. I liked it so much I also bought one, but I guess it was a different manufacturer and I hated it. He’s not fussy so we swapped, and I swear to god this is the best pillow I’ve ever used. It was like $23 and the link is broken now.