JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you lay your head on the wrong pillow every night, not only can it affect how well you sleep, it can also add to any aches and pains you are already have.
"If you are predisposed to having neck pain or shoulder pain, and you pick the wrong pillow, it will worsen or exacerbate that pain," warned Pulmonary and Sleep Specialist Dr. Mariam Louis with UF Health.
With so many different kinds of pillows available to buy, we found out how to dwindle down the type you should consider and then put five different ones to the test.
What position do you sleep in?
Dr. Mariam Louis said the first step in buying the right pillow is determining your sleep position.
"We all flip throughout sleep, but there is a position we predominantly sleep in," Louis explained.
Side sleepers: Pick a large, thick pillow that's firm to medium.
Back sleepers: Pick a medium size pillow with medium firmness.
Stomach sleepers: Pick a soft flat pillow because you need very little support.
Based on the way you sleep, you now know the right firmness to look for. The next step is to figure out what your pillow should be made of. With so many different kinds on the market, we decided to test some out for you.
Of course, the best testers are people who need every second of good sleep they can get: members of the News4Jax Morning Show team.
The pillow test
Over the course of 6 weeks, several of our morning anchors at News4Jax tried some of the most popular pillows.
1. A buckwheat pillow: It's supposed to be great for support.
2. A foam pillow: It should adjust to pressure points.
3. A water pillow: It lets you adjust firmness by adding water.
4. A down pillow: It's simple and very soft.
5. The highly advertised "MyPillow"
Our guinea pigs for this experiment: Meteorologist Richard Nunn and anchors Jennifer Waugh, Melanie Lawson and Crystal Moyer.
Melanie Lawson
We begin with Melanie, as she is the first anchor in the door at 3:30 a.m. to prepare for her 4:30 a.m. newscast.
Melanie is a side sleeper, so she should be most comfortable with a pillow that's firm to medium.
"I think for me, the foam pillow was a good one. It felt very natural and I sunk into it. The "MyPillow" was great too, although I think it was just too long." If i had to choose, it would be the foam pillow," Melanie said.
But even as a side sleeper with the foam pillow, Melanie admits, she's not sure it helped her get better rest.
Richard Nunn
Richard is a back sleeper and according to the sleep expert, his pillow should be medium in size with medium firmness. And we have to tell you, there is one pillow he tested that he said changed everything: the "MyPillow."
"I get a better night's sleep, it's apparently very comfortable, and it keeps her from snoring. So, I love it," Richard told us.
When he said "her," Richard's talking about his wife, Cyndi. Richard says she snores, so he gave the "MyPillow" to her to try. Richard said her snoring stopped, and they were so happy with the "MyPillow," they went out and bought their own.
We do want to point out, of all the pillows Richard tested, he said there was one he didn't like -- one that is supposed to provide good support. He wasn't a fan of the buckwheat pillow.
Crystal Moyer
Like Richard, Crystal didn't like the buckwheat pillow either.
"When you touch it, you can hear why I don't like it. It was noisy and i couldn't get comfortable and couldn't fall asleep," she said.
Crystal is a stomach sleeper, so she should be using a soft pillow. While Crystal says all the others (beside the buckwheat pillow) were ok, she loved the "MyPillow."
"I do admit that at some point during the night I did have to re-fluff it because it did lose its shape a little bit. But, compared to what I usually use, that pillow helped me sleep."
Jennifer Waugh
The last of our pillow testers was Jen. She is a back sleeper and should be most comfortable with a medium size pillow with medium firmness.
"There was one that I loved," Jen said.
Yes, Jen also found a clear winner from all the pillows she tested.
"I felt the "MyPillow" gave my neck enough support that I didn't wake up feeling sore," Jen said.
Pillow winner
Richard, Jen and Crystal -- who all have different sleeping positions -- picked the "MyPillow" as their favorite. We bought ours from Walmart for $49.88
Melanie, the side sleeper, preferred the foam pillow herself. The one we tested was the Therapedic Classic Comfort Foam Pillow. We paid $39.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
As for the water, buckwheat and down pillows, they were not a hit with anyone.
However, if you are interested in giving any of them a try, we bought the Mediflow Water Pillow at Walmart for $54.99. The Sobakawa Buckwheat Pillow was $24.99 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. We also bought the Real Simple Down Pillow also at Bed, Bath and Beyond, paying $49.99.
Pillows allergy sufferers should avoid
If you have allergies, picking the right pillow can be tougher. Dr. Mariam Louis says there are three types of pillows allergy sufferers should avoid.
Louis says these three types of pillows can make allergies and asthma worse and can further prevent you from getting a good night's sleep.