Bolster Your Night’s Sleep with a Body Pillow

Before you dismiss the idea that body pillows are only for pregnant women you may want to read on to see how these items are increasingly being used by others. Let's face it - the quest for a good night's sleep crosses all boundaries of gender, race and religion! This article discusses the features and benefits of a good body pillow, looks at who exactly might use one of these items and helps with showing you what you can do to get one - be it for yourself, your partner or as a gift for someone.

Most people who have never seen a body pillow can picture one instantly by just understanding the two simple words. They are basically a very long cushion that is usually about 40cm wide and 140cm in length. So they are slightly shorter than a normal human body. Inside a case, which often has a zipper, is a filling, which can be of one or two of a few materials described later on.

Nowadays their use is reaching far and wide because more and more people are finding that simply provide a netter night's sleep, in terms of support for the upper and lower body and also relieve stress on joints.

Let's take the first category that most people would know about. A special pregnancy body pillow is a popular item for expecting mothers because a good night's rest is vital in maintaining the health of mother and baby at this important time. Pregnancy puts stresses and strains on the female body that are not normally there, caused mainly by the extra weight. When the female puts the pillow between her legs the strain on the hips and back is relieved and can help to provide a less interrupted night's rest. It can lessen the normal impulse to toss and turn during the night, which can affect both mother and baby, so body pillows for pregnant women are a great gift idea.

Apart from this usage, men or women suffering pains from accidents or injuries can experience an easing of those aches by using a body pillow. The average human sleeps for eight hours a day, so this can be problematical if you have, for example, a broken bone in your foot that you wear a cast to protect. It may well be beneficial to keep the foot raised at night so sleeping on your side with one leg propped up by the pillow can aid recovery and healing. Similarly, common aggravations like back pain or neck ache can be alleviated by careful positioning of pillow and body.

Another often-overlooked group of people that use body pillows is those that have recently lost their sleeping partner. This may be due to them passing away or because of a separation. Either way there is an emotional stress that you face when you lose the person that you have been sleeping next to for such a long time. It takes some adjusting to and many people find comfort in a full body-length pillow that they can wrap themselves around or hug at night-time as they used to do with their partner.

So you can see that there is quite a diverse range of people that can get great usage out of a good body pillow. If you fall into this category then let's try to point you in the right direction of choosing the right one.

You won't be surprised to know that body pillows come in a wide range of qualities, both in terms of the craftsmanship and the materials used. A quick online search will throw up a variety of options of brands and price ranges.

The first thing you should decide is what filling to choose, as this is the single biggest factor that affects the overall comfort of the item. If you want to use the pillow nightly and for a long period of time then I would encourage you to look at the upper end of the range. These are designed for maximum comfort and are usually made of 100% duck down. Most people will need no introduction to the luxurious feel that down provides, as many choose this for their head pillows. Mid-range pillows will use a polyester and down blend, which will be fine for occasional use, but can suffer from spiky protruding feathers. Lastly you have the ones made entirely from polyester filling. These are the most common ones if they are being used solely for decoration or very casual usage.

Make sure that if you are going to use the body pillow regularly then the material is loosely packed, allowing it to take the shape of your body. Feather usually has this characteristic.

Next consider size as they vary slightly. Men will generally benefit most from the larger ones, whereas a smaller one might suffice for the average female.

Finally check how the pillow can be kept in good condition. Some of them can be machine washed, but others will not stand up to such wear and tear and the cheaper ones can fall apart.

In any case, most people opt to buy the body pillow and use with a case over it, as they do for the head pillows. This makes maintenance a lot easier and means that you can just wash the case with your normal load of clothing, without any special arrangements.

When considering the case for your pillow you also have the decision to make about quality, as well as colors and designs that fit in with your current bedroom themes. High thread count cotton will give you the best cases and you can normally buy these in the same place as your pillow.

There have been some fun innovations with the cases. Just take a look at one of the Japanese body pillow web sites out there to get an idea of some of the interesting designs now available. You may be able to find a case that fulfills a dream of sleeping next to your favorite singer, movie icon or sports star!

To conclude, anyone suffering from aches, pains or body stresses, has recently lost a sleeping partner or who just wants a design accessory for their bedroom will find that a body pillow can help. Pregnant women obviously remain one of the main buyers but increasingly these other groups of people are interested too.