Say “Good Night” to Chronic Pain By Chris Chamberlin
alignment of the neck and spine, leading to easier breathing, a deeper night’s sleep (with less tossing and turning) and reduced strain on muscles and joints to help ease chronic pain. In a word: Aaah!
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Plenty of pillow varieties are available, with a range of cover materials and types of fi ll. With so many options, here are a few factors to keep in mind when choosing the right pillow:
• Preferred Sleep Position: Back sleepers: should consider a pillow that’s thin at the center with good neck support, like Naturally Organic Oyas- umi Shredded Rubber Contour Pillow by Sleeptek. It features GOLS Certifi ed Latex in an adjustable baffl ed system for cus- tomizable neck support. Side sleepers: should consider a thicker pillow to com- pensate for the space between the shoulder and the head and neck, like the Organic Wooly Bolas Pillow by Suite Sleep. It’s extra-stuffed, with a zipper to add or subtract fi ll as needed, and can be ordered with additional fi ll. Stomach sleepers: should consider a thinner pillow to
keep the neck from craning, like the Alpaca Wool Pillow by Crescent Moon. It’s available in soft and medium fi ll.
• Personal Preference: The right pillow is very personal, and doesn’t always match with sleep position. A broad-shouldered side sleeper, for instance, can use a pillow with softer fi ll, as long as the pillow has a good amount of fi ll; conversely, the same person might opt for a lower profi le pillow with less give if the preference is for a fi rmer feel. • Mattress Firmness: The same pillow will perform differently on a soft mattress than it does on a fi rm mattress, so mattress type needs to be taken into consideration when choosing the right pillow. It’s important to fi nd an all-natural or organic mattress in a sleep showroom like The Clean Bedroom that replicates the feeling of sleeping at home, and then test pillows on that mattress while in the preferred sleep position. • Personal Build: Everyone has his or her own unique body type, which is why it’s critical to test-drive (or test-nap!) a pillow in a true sleep setting to get a proper fi tting.
eady for a little pillow talk? A pillow’s diminutive size belies its colossal importance to both a good night’s sleep and good health. The right pillow encourages and supports proper
The pillow is a powerhouse, but it can only do so much. For
the best night’s sleep and the best health, the pillow works in tan- dem with the mattress. If the mattress doesn’t properly contour to the sleeper’s shape (especially men, with a typical “V” shape), the shoulder will be pressed out from the mattress and cause strain on both the neck and shoulder, regardless of the pillow. Picking the right mattress comes down to what feels best. To
relieve pressure points, a mattress should give enough depth at the hip and shoulders to allow for complete and even contact through the torso, but should not be so soft that it creates a hammock effect. A fi rm support layer with a softer pressure-relieving layer at the top is a smart pick, like the Dolcezza by Green Sleep or a multi-layer sleep system by Coco-Mat that automatically adjusts to your height and weight.
A couple selecting a mattress together should look for one with customizable confi gurations, meaning a mattress that might be fi rm on one side and soft on the other. After all, a 230-pound side sleeper that’s married to a 100-pound back sleeper shouldn’t sleep on the same mattress. Options with degrees of individualiza- tion include the Duo OrganicPedic®
Mattress by OMI, the Serenity
Mattress by Savvy Rest and the EOS Organic Mattress by Nature- pedic—each has an internal core system with multiple comfort con- fi gurations, with zippered outer shells for the ability to reconfi gure as desired. With the proper night’s sleep every night, it’s possible to re-
place chronic pain with chronic pleasure—and that would certainly be a dream come true!
Chris Chamberlin is co-founder of The Clean Bedroom, the coun- try’s premier resource for allergy-free, eco-friendly mattresses, bed- ding and accessories. Celebrating its 10th anniversary later this year, The Clean Bedroom has sleep showrooms in Portland, ME, Kittery, ME, New York, NY, Greenwich, CT, Wellesley, MA, Santa Monica, CA and Austin, TX, where customers can test-drive (or test-nap!) an organic mattress. Online, on the phone and in each showroom, the company’s trained organic mattress specialists help match custom- ers with their ideal mattress, without pressure or marketing hype. For more information, visit
TheCleanBedroom.com or call 207-438- 9778. See ad on back cover.
30 Essential Living Maine ~ June 2014
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