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Somus Memory Foam Pillow Review

In this review, you’ll find out whether the Somus memory foam pillow is right for you.

Getting a good night’s sleep is difficult enough nowadays. The last thing you need is a pillow that doesn’t help you get enough rest.

The wrong pillow can actually hurt your sleeping patterns substantially, according to research. So, it’s important to take your selection seriously.

Somus Memory Foam Pillow

Somus started out with a simple question:

Why are memory foam pillows so expensive?

In answering that question, they realized that both high-end and inexpensive memory foam pillows use basically the same materials.

So, instead of marking up their pillow needlessly, they partnered with strategic materials suppliers to create a high-quality pillow at a much better price point.

The Somus pillow doesn’t really compromise on much. It’s a top-shelf memory foam pillow through and through.

Features

Let’s start with the most obvious feature. This is a memory foam pillow with all the benefits and drawbacks that it brings.

It’s a medium density foam, so most users will find it appropriate regardless of their sleep position. The pillow itself is hypoallergenic and weighs about three pounds.

In addition to the memory foam, it has activated bamboo charcoal, which we’ll get to a little further down.

The memory foam pillow has a hypoallergenic bamboo cover that features mesh siding, which increases airflow. The case is soft and feels supple to the touch, creating a perfect resting surface for your head and face.

Somus memory foam pillow compared to regular sized pillow

It’s not an especially large pillow, measuring 23”x15” and it has a height of five inches.

It’s certified by CertiPUR-US, which ensures a number of quality standards are met in terms of the foam manufacture.

Pros:

There’s a lot to like about this pillow.

  • It’s comfortable. The memory foam really hits the sweet spot between softness and support. It feels great to lay on, but it holds its shape indefinitely, so you won’t need to change positions during the night. The cover top also feels velvety and comfortable. Even if you don’t use a pillowcase, you’ll appreciate how much the bamboo cover adds to the comfort factor. It’s also exceedingly responsive and has a moderate recovery time.
  • It stays cool. The mesh siding on the cover goes a long way towards keeping this pillow cool all night. When encased completely, memory foam starts to retain heat to an uncomfortable level, but that’s not the case with the Somus pillow.
  • Bamboo charcoal. Infused with bamboo charcoal, the Somus pillow gains an added level of thermal regulation, and it helps dissipate moisture as well. More importantly, the bamboo charcoal is excellent at absorbing odors and keeping your pillow feeling and smelling fresh.
  • It’s great for people that suffer from allergies. Both the cover and the pillow itself are hypoallergenic.
  • It has a CertiPUR-US certification. CertiPUR-US is a non-profit organization that certifies foam products and guarantees they’re made without ozone depleters, mercury, lead, formaldehyde, and a host of other harmful chemicals. It’s one of the most sought-after certifications for foam manufacturers.
  • Excellent value for money. They have partnerships with Groupon, Amazon, Sears, Wayfair, Living Social, and more. It’s easy to find a great deal on Somus pillows, and they’re already one of the best-value pillows you’ll find. Somus’ design philosophy encompasses providing a quality product at a great price.

In addition to these benefits specific to Somus, there are a number of other benefits identified from sleeping on memory foam pillows.

By outlining the shape of your head and cervical area perfectly, memory foam pillows provide even support all around while you sleep.

The more memory foam is stressed, the firmer it gets. This quality lets it provide gentle support in some areas and firmer support where it’s needed.

Originally developed for NASA, memory foam is completely safe.

It also repels mites and inhibits bacterial growth. The bamboo charcoal in Somus pillows also helps with this.

Made with durability in mind, memory foam does eventually wear out, but it outlasts just about any other material commonly used in pillows.

Cons:

  • It’s pretty small. The standard pillow measures 20” x 26”. Somus pillows are well below that. That doesn’t mean that they’re too small to be used. Most people will find them just right, but if you tend to move around a lot and switch positions during the night, it can be restrictive.
  • As a memory foam pillow, it’s a little heavier than pillows you may be used to. That’s usually not a problem, but sleepers who like to shift around on their bed can find the added effort a nuisance, especially given this pillow’s size.

Bottom Line

If you want to try out memory foam pillows, Somus is an excellent choice. They make a high-quality pillow that’s affordable and representative of the material class. However, if you’re already an experienced memory foam sleeper, and you shift a lot during sleep, you may want to invest in a bigger pillow.

Bonus Pillow Buying Tips

Before you buy a pillow, it’s best to at least touch it and feel it with your hands before you commit. Sometimes that’s not possible if you’re buying online so you can order a few to squeeze in real life and return any that you don’t like.

Here’s what to look for when you do.

Do a quick squeeze test. Place the pillow on a hard surface and test how much give it has when pressed with your palm.

A pillow’s firmness is very subjective. What some companies label as an extra-firm pillow might not even make it to medium for another manufacturer. The best way to know for sure is to squeeze it and feel its bounce for yourself.

If you tend to get hot, look for pillows with shredded filing or ways to improve airflow. Solid foam pillows sequester body heat very well, which aggravates people who can’t stand a hot pillow. If you need to stay cool check out a cooling mattress.

When you’re examining the pillow, don’t forget to check the cover. A cover tells you a lot about its quality. Look for any poor stitching, wonky seams, or fraying as signs of a low-end pillow.

And, it should go without saying, try to pick pillows with a return policy. No matter how convinced you are, you’re never certain until you sleep on it for a few nights.

How to Pick the Right Pillow

Pillows all look roughly the same, but what they’re made of and how they’re designed changes a lot about the support they offer.

A pillow that suits you perfectly could be a complete disaster for someone else’s sleep patterns. And, if you’re having issues sleeping, your pillow may be the reason why.

The basic characteristics of a pillow are the firmness, size, and loft (or height) of the pillow and the filling. Those are the variables you have to work with.

When deciding on the right pillow for you, it all starts with your sleeping position.

Sleeping Position

Back sleepers, side sleepers, and belly sleepers all need slightly different pillows. And it makes sense if you think about it.

Each position places your head at a completely different angle to the bed, requiring a different degree of support.

Neck pain while sleeping is frequently caused by the wrong pillow for your sleep position. Ideally, a pillow should keep your neck and spine supported in a neutral position.

An easy way to test this is to lie down as you normally would and check if your head is tilted in any direction. With the right pillow, your head won’t be leaning or pitched forward or backward.

People who sleep on their side need the firmest support because that position elevates the head most from the mattress. If you allow your head to fall to one side, the other side of your neck will be extended all night, which can lead to cramping.

Side-sleepers will also fare better with a medium to high loft pillow. People with broad frames, in particular, will need the extra height to align their head with their shoulders.

Back-sleepers are the easiest to please. Any firmness can work well for back sleepers and a medium-loft pillow.

Sleeping on our back is considered to be the most appropriate as it places the head in a relatively neutral position even without a pillow. However, back-sleepers should be careful with extra-firm pillows, since they can end up tilting the head too far forward.

Lastly, stomach sleepers already have their head mostly in line with the rest of their body and may not need a pillow at all. If you’re a stomach-sleeper, look for low-loft, soft pillows for best results.

Type of Mattress

Yes, the type of mattress you have affects your choice of pillow as well.

Mattresses can also be firmer or softer, and that alters your body’s alignment.

Foam mattresses and other soft mattresses that are designed to compress deeply when you lie on them will generally require lower-loft pillows.

Since your torso is significantly heavier than your head, it will sink lower into the mattress. This reduces the space between the mattress and your head.

Firmer mattresses, which don’t sink as much, won’t have that much of an impact in this regard. For that type of mattress, medium-loft pillows are better.

Of course, you also need to take into account your body weight. An 80-pound person will compress the mattress much less than a 230-pound person. As a general guideline, the heavier you are, the lower your pillow needs to be.

Filling

A pillow’s filling is important for several reasons.

For one, it’s mainly responsible for the pillow’s firmness. The type of filling isn’t the only factor that impacts firmness, but it’s the most salient.

Down-filled pillows
Down-filled pillows have a reputation for being the best and softest pillows. And that reputation is well earned, as goose down is exceptionally comfortable and soft.

However, they’re also the most expensive. A down and feather combination is a little firmer but tends to be a lot more affordable.

Moreover, down can be “rejuvenated” to bring old pillows back to their original softness. So, even if it costs a little more, it may be worth it in the long run.

But down also has some negative aspects. Dust mites and bacteria can start to accumulate in it since it’s an organic material. It’s also allergenic, and some people have to avoid it.

Polyester-filled pillows
Polyester-filled pillows are by far the most common ones made today. They’re inexpensive but have a relatively short lifespan.

They’re filled with cotton-like polyester fibers that don’t hold their shape very well. However, they’re available in a huge variety of sizes and types of firmness. You may have to replace a polyester pillow more often than other kinds, but you’ll always find the one you need.

Memory foam pillows
Memory foam pillows don’t have that much of a variety in terms of firmness. This lack of variety is due to how the polyurethane memory foam is made. Memory foam tends to be a lot denser than other types of foam.

Memory foam pillows can generally be found as solid or shredded foam. Shredded memory foam pillows are less plush than solid foam ones since the filling can move somewhat.

Solid memory foam is very comfortable and molds to your head shape, but it doesn’t move at all, so it’s best for people who stick to one position when sleeping.

Latex pillows
Latex pillows are quite similar to memory foam, in that they come in either shredded or solid types. The latex foam is comparable to memory foam, but it doesn’t retain its shape, and it’s not quite as good at adapting to your contours.

There are other fillings, but those are by far the most common. Anything else can be considered a specialty pillow.

TLDR

If you’re looking for an entry-level memory foam pillow, look no further. With bamboo charcoal, mesh siding, and a soft bamboo cover, Somus has some really cool features that make it stand out.

And it’s available for a great price. What’s not to love?