 PillowsMarch 24, 2018 |
The right fluff
Sometimes the best feeling you get all day is when your head hits the pillow. But was it always thus?
Archaeologists have only traced the history of the pillow back about as far as the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia—about 7,000 BC—but a survey of primates shows our closest relatives build elaborate nests where they can lay their heads.
These days, it's safe to say we may be living in the golden age of the pillow, with new materials and technologies promising to give us a better night's sleep than ever before. At the center of it all lies an unassuming object that we spend a third of our lives in intimate contact with. How well do we really know that thing in our beds?
63: Number of styles of pillows that Sears, Roebuck and Co. offered catalog customers in 1897
206: Number of search returns for pillows on Sears.com today
<10 years: Lifespan of a feather pillow
18-36 months: Lifespan of a memory foam pillow
6 months–2 years: Lifespan of a polyester pillow
£22,000 ($27,000): Advertised salary in 2017 for Windsor Castle's royal curtain maker and soft-furnishing upholsterer
6,261: Number of participants in the world's largest pillow fight, in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2015
$56,995: Cost of Van der Hilst's 3D-printed Gold Edition pillow, which has a 24-karat gold cover and a sapphire-and-diamond zipper. But there's (another) catch: "Customers must have their bodies scanned with a portable 3D scanner to enable proper customization." 🙄
Pillows for chimps
Scientists have made a number of discoveries about the pillow-like nests assembled by our closest mammalian relatives. The great apes—including gorillas, orangutans, chimps, and bonobos—all build cozy sleeping platforms, while large monkeys and baboons do not.
Guess which group sleeps better? "We discovered that by every measure of sleep quality, orangutans are the 'better' sleepers; that is, compared to baboons, orangutan sleep is deeper, longer in duration, and less fragmented," anthropologist David Samson of Duke University told the BBC.
The switch goes back about 14 million years, when a common ancestor of the great ape was forced into architecture because a tree's branches were no longer strong enough to support its weight. A group of researchers noted in 2012 that "once weaned, all great apes build nests on an almost daily basis. These structures are constructed, in general, for only one night's use or as a place for rest during the day."
It's not clear if the tree nests provided enough advantages to the apes that they were able to evolve greater intelligence, or if their bigger brains just required them to get more sleep. Either way, said anthropologist David Samson, "big brains need big pillows."
7,000 BC: The oldest known pillows are used in Mesopotamia.
2,000 BC: Egyptian mummies are provided with wood-and-stone pillows for their long slumber.
500 BC: Upper-class Greeks and Romans sleep on pillows stuffed with reeds, feathers, and straw.
500 AD: Chinese dynasties begin to use a variety of materials, including bamboo, jade, porcelain, wood, and bronze.
1700s: The Industrial Revolution's textile innovations bring affordable, mass-produced pillows into the mainstream.
1969: NASA scientist Charles Yost spins off Dynamic Systems to commercialize the technology that eventually becomes known as memory foam.
Let's talk about pillow talk
Research published this month in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin confirmed one of the least surprising hypotheses ever: Sex often leads to intimate conversations. But just to make sure, researchers designed a study to "examine the effect of sexual priming on self-disclosure." (That's pillow talk, obvsly.)
"In Study 1, participants were subliminally exposed to sexual stimuli (vs. neutral stimuli), and then disclosed over Instant Messenger a personal event to an opposite-sex stranger. Results showed that merely thinking about sex, even without being aware of it, encouraged self-disclosure," the authors wrote.
"Study 2 replicated these findings in relatively naturalistic conditions (live face-to-face interactions following supraliminal video priming). Together, these findings suggest that activation of the sexual system encourages the use of strategies that allow people to become closer to potential partners."
Translation: Pillow talk is awesome.
Pillowcase or petri dish?
Ok, brace yourself: "Up to a third of the weight of your pillow could be made up of bugs, dead skin and house dust mites and their feces," according to a study by British healthcare provider Barts and the London NHS Trust.
Pillows are basically like toilet seats, one microbiologist told the New York Post: "They both touch cheeks." As far as the microbes go, you can rest easy: The bacteria are not usually dangerous to humans. But go and wash your pillowcase, just to be safe.
Pop quiz Which of these are not a term for a hugging and/or body pillow? |
Which pillow should I buy?
Those amazing product-reviewing nerds at The Wirecutter have determined that the Xtreme Comforts Shredded Memory Foam Pillow ($40) is the best for just about everyone, whether they sleep on their sides (like most people), back, or stomach.
But just to complicate things, psychologist Michael Breus, author of the book Good Night, argues that you should own two pillows: a plush pillow and a firm one. "At the beginning of the week, our body tends to be relaxed, meaning our head and neck need the least amount of support," Greatist explains. "But after days of work-related stress (and all that staring at our smartphones and computers), our neck muscles tend to be more tense and in need of support. So Breus recommends switching to a firmer pillow on Thursday and Friday nights."
Cooler than the other side
Why is it so satisfying to flip over your pillow mid-slumber and feel that cool, refreshing fabric against your cheek? Perhaps because our body temperatures drop an average of about 2℉ in the course of an average night, and cooler ambient temperatures have been linked to deeper slumbers.
Moona, a Kickstarter-funded startup, is a smart pillow that can adjust its temperature based on user preferences, learning over time whether you like it warm or cold. Other gadgets trying to disrupt pillows include the Zeeq, which vibrates gently if it determines you're snoring, and Qoobo, a two-pound plush pillow that sits on your lap and wags its fluffy robotic tail.
You need a Bloomberg subscription to read this crazy saga of America's pillow king, but we promise it’s worth it. “As so many great entrepreneurial success stories do, the tale of Mike Lindell begins in a crack house….”
A pain in the neck
If you're one of the millions of people who suffer from back or neck pain, a strategically deployed pillow can be a lifesaver. They’re useful far beyond your head and neck, as sleep experts at the University of Rochester explain:
"Depending on your sleeping position, additional pillows can help keep your spine in the proper position. The pillow for your head should support the natural curve of your neck and be comfortable. A pillow that’s too high can put your neck into a position that causes muscle strain on your back, neck, and shoulders. Choose a pillow that will keep the neck aligned with the chest and lower back. Your pillow should be adjustable to allow you to sleep in different positions. Replace your pillows every year or so."
Linen deathmatch
Come for the definitive answer to one of the most pressing questions of our time. (What’s the difference between a pillowcase and a sham?) Stay for the blatant Nirvana-cribbing soundtrack.
Quartz Obsession readers' pillow preference
Poll What do you love in a pillow? |
In yesterday's poll about quitting Facebook, 50% of respondents said they're thinking about it—but it's complicated. 17% have quit in the last year and an additional 7% because of recent events.
Today's email was written by Adam Pasick, edited by Jessanne Collins, and produced by Luiz Romero.
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