Image source: Bean Products
Modern pillows are bad for 3 main reasons:
- They cause a lot of posture problems and can create severe neck problems
- They are a nest for allergies. You may also be allergic to the pillow's material itself
- They are usually full of chemicals and flame retardants. Many pillows are laden with chemical fillings, which can cause allergies, breathing problems and even cancer over the long run
Instead, there exists a traditional sleeping solution that has been used for thousands of years: buckwheat pillows.
Buckwheat Pillows: A Natural Pillow Filling
Buckwheat is a grain that has been used as a food for thousands of years. Its fruit is encased in an inedible hull, which is traditionally used for making long-lasting fillings for mattresses and natural pillows. The manufacturers remove the seeds from the hulls, then the hulls are cleaned to be used.
It had been found centuries ago that the special structure of buckwheat hulls creates an enhanced air circulation. With buckwheat, air circulates better than with any other material, such as wool and other fibers. Buckwheat pillows:
- Does not collapse during the night
- Stays cool at night
- Its hull filling adapts perfectly to the shape of your head and distributes your head’s weight evenly
- You can adjust the thickness to your personal preference by adding or removing hulls anytime.
For this reason, buckwheat pillows are much better choice than the natural latex pillows often promoted on Amazon and other modern natural pillows that might be ''organic'' but lack of actual efficiency.
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For best sleeping position & natural neck pain relief
If you suffer from chronic neck pain, a buckwheat pillow is a must. It keeps you at a better posture and reduces the constant tossing and turning during the night, which will naturally reduce your pain. People with nerve pain have reported that buckwheat pillows help them to get the best sleeping position.
A buckwheat pillow’s filling conforms precisely to the shape of your head and neck, which eliminates pain-causing pressure points. At night we have a tendency keep tossing and turning. The main reasons are the pain in the neck, general discomfort and being too hot. Buckwheat pillows reduce or resolve all those problems.
Modern soft pillows slowly flatten under the weight of your head, which bends your neck downward. To remedy this, most people fold their pillow in half, which only creates the opposite problem: an upward bend of your neck. Moreover, constantly re-adjusting your pillow in the middle of the night disturbs your sleep.
Buckwheat is a natural pillow stuffing
Modern foam or fiber pillows are just one more source of pollution. They are made of chemically-made polyurethane or polyester foam or fibers, with an addition of chemical flame retardants.
Sure enough, a buckwheat pillow will burn during a fire, unlike a foam pillow laced with flame retardant chemicals, but that's one thing we can easily go without nonetheless.
Buckwheat crops also benefit little from chemical fertilizers, therefore they are usually free of the contaminants that are present in other crop types, even when not certified organic.
The buckwheat kernel is rich in minerals and has been used for centuries in porridges, teas, beer and medicine.
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Other Buckwheat Pillow Benefits
Buckwheat pillows stay cool
A buckwheat pillow - also known as the Sobakawa buckwheat pillow in Japan - breathes and stays cool at night, unlike foam and other pillow types which retain body heat and quickly become hot. With a buckwheat pillow, you don't have to wake up in the middle of the night to flip your pillow to the cool side... a buckwheat pillow allows the warm air from your body to immediately escape the pillow.
A breathable pillow
Foam pillows do not allow for any air circulation. This makes you get hot at night and the pillow starts developing bad smells. A buckwheat pillow on the other hand has excellent air circulation due to its hulls, which keeps air flow movement and keeps your pillow smelling great.
Buckwheat's organic smell
By the way, the smell of a buckwheat hulls is fresh and clean. Its organic cover also retains well any essential oils you might put on it.
Comes with a natural pillow cover
Buckwheat pillows are usually sold with organic cotton covers or organic bamboo fiber.
A Noise-reducing pillow
Buckwheat hulls help to reduce and cancel out noises to a certain extent.
An easily washable pillow
Buckwheat pillows are usually sold with organic cotton covers, which can be removed and washed. You can rinse the pillow with white vinegar and essential oils. The buckwheat hulls cannot - and do not need to - be washed however.
An adjustable pillow
Since this pillow is made of buckwheat hulls, you can easily fit it to your needs by adding or removing hulls if you need a firmer or softer pillow. It is basically an adjustable bed pillow.
Image source: Sachi Organics
A hypoallergenic pillow
Foam pillows are notorious for not being hypo-allergenic. On the other hand, buckwheat pillows are naturally hypo-allergenic. Buckwheat pillows also have an exceptional airflow.
The longest lasting pillow
Buckwheat pillows last much longer than other pillows and can last for many years. If some of the hulls got lost out of the pillow, you can just replace them easily. A buckwheat pillow lasts for around 10 years with proper care, and even much longer, according to some people.
Buckwheat pillows for natural migraine relief
If you suffer from migraines you definitely would benefit from a buckwheat pillow. Since it reduces the neck pain and improves its position, it also naturally straightens out the spine. Chronic migraine sufferers have reported a reduction in migraines with the use of a buckwheat pillow. The buckwheat pillow also presses gently against the acupressure points of your neck and lower skull, which enhances the feeling of relaxation and harmonizes blood flow.
A natural way to stop snoring
Foam or fiber pillows flatten out through the night. This leads you to bend your neck in odd positions. With a buckwheat pillow, your head and neck are in an optimum position to breathe freely, which goes a long way in stopping the snoring.
Reduces dust allergy symptoms
Since the buckwheat hulls have to be cleaned and roasted by the pillow manufacturers, you don't risk any allergies. Buckwheat hulls do not gather mold and don’t collect dust like foam or fiber pillows. Placing them in the sun from time to time an further prevents any chance of mold or growths.
Dust mite resistant pillow
The buckwheat pillow is naturally dust mite resistant. You can rest easy knowing that the pillows in your home will not be infested with dust mites. Buckwheat hulls aren’t liked by many pests and are are not a food source for any bugs or insects.
However, keep in mind that you can't wash the hulls: Avoid washing buckwheat at all costs! True, that the pillow will not absorb water, yet the water will still ruin the hulls’ strength and weaken them, making the hulls less durable. However, you can wash the removable casings and be sure to wash them regularly as per manufacturer’s directions!
Buckwheat pillows review
However, not all pillows are equal. You need to buy from a reputable brand, to make sure that:
- You get organic buckwheat hulls, guaranteed pesticide free.
- The hulls are screened and heat treated for safety, with no bugs in the buckwheat.
- The pillow has zippers on the covers to allow you to easily remove or add filling.
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