Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Pillows - How To Get A Better Nights Sleep In Your RV

My Nest

    As much as I love traveling, one of the best things about having an RV is the ability to sleep in your own bed with your own pillow(s) at night. Pillow's are as individual as people. They almost have personalities of their own. Now wait a minute..I'm not kidding. Haven't you had a favorite pillow that you just didn't want to give up because it was perfect?  Finding the right one is often a long process with lots of trial & error. I'm no stranger to that route! Which pillow will you choose?


In this day and age there are a huge array of pillow types. It isn't just feather down any more! There's memory foam, regular foam, chunks of foam, polyester loft, cool side specials, buckwheat, plastic tubes, and every imaginable type of feather even "hypoallergenic" ones. Then there's the "firmness," these run from soft and squishy all the way up to rock firm. Hmm, wonder why no one makes a rock filled pillow? I'm KIDDING! I know why they don't. It would hurt. Or at the very least give you one helluva stiff neck! All that aside, they did use Jade pillows in dynastic China. They were supposed to alleviate various ills and transfer energy into the brain. I guess the "dent" in your head in the morning was proof it worked. D'OH!

To pick a pillow you first have to decide on the "feel." Do you want your head to sink deep into it or float on top? In the United States there are mostly only two sizes; Standard/Queen and King. The main difference is the size. You'll need King sized pillow cases for the larger ones and sometimes they are harder to find. My bed's not that big, so I use the standard sized ones. I find that the pillows with a zippered case can be annoying. I've woken up in the morning with an imprint of a zipper on my cheek! If you like a pillow and it has a zipper, do yourself a favor and make sure you can put it on the inside of the pillowcase. That's the side that's sewn closed. I know how difficult it is to pick a pillow based on the quick "hand squeeze" we get at most stores. The plastic doesn't let you feel the actual surface and the air cushion from the bag can lead you to believe the pillow is something it isn't.

Choose Wisely! -Pillows are NOT returnable at most places. I mean who wants to by a used pillow? Who knows where it's been. Not my cup a tea at all!

Memory Foam Pillow
Since I sleep differently almost all the time. I'm the guy that cannot sleep on airplanes. I wish I could fall asleep anyplace at any time. I have friends like that. Makes for REALLY boring car rides or even quieter RV trips! What I did was buy multiple types. Is this article making you sleepy???


 I have 3 pillows on my bed in the RV.

Side Sleeper Pillow
  1.  "Squishy" very dense one I can fold
  2. High loft, high density one that supports my head. This one has gussets for "side sleepers"
  3. Visco-elastic memory foam one. NOT the "wavy" one, a regular pillow version (About $12)

This way I can choose my weapons for my mood or sleep pattern. Sometimes I switch in mid-sleep. Hey, normal isn't my thing...OK?


There is nothing quite like boondocking in the middle of nowhere and getting a quiet nights sleep, makes all the troubles in the world seem so far away. Somehow, I always sleep better in my RV.

Be Seeing You...Down The Road,

Rich "The Wanderman"


8 comments:

  1. We have sleep number pillows and although they are a bit pricey, we love them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon,
      OK 1 vote for sleep number pillows!

      Rich "The Wanderman"

      Delete
  2. I always buy the same two pillows for use at home and RV. That way I don't have to get use to a different pillow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon,
      Great idea! But how do you pick them in the first place?

      Rich "The Wanderman"

      Delete
  3. My problem is the longevity of pillows, I've tried the whole spectrum and keep having the same problem.

    By the time they're a month old, the pillow has lost almost all of it's loft and is now roughly 2.5-3" thick.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Matt,
    Have you tried the closed cell foam or latex based ones? How about the memory foam versions? They hold up very well to repeated compression. It may not be the pillow "feel" you're looking for though.

    YMMV

    Rich "The Wanderman"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I thought that those might be my salvation, but their give isn't quite right and I end up with the same screaming pressure headache in the morning I get from sleeping on my back or from rolling off the pillows.

      Delete
    2. Matt,
      Hmmmm... Wish I could help more. If you find a solution, let me know.

      Rich "The Wanderman"

      Delete

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