Taking your own pillow for travel can make a long flight much more comfortable. Since most airlines are eliminating blankets and pillows bringing your own may be the only you can get comfortable.  Before you get on a plane with lousy pillows, you should consider a travel back pillow.

Travel pillows are small and easy to pack. They provide the needed support for your head and neck so that you can catch up on a little sleep.  You may choose some of the new “U” shaped pillows out there which are filled with air (you supply that) or a variety of other materials such as little Styrofoam beads or polyester.  Another choice would be a Mediflow® Waterbase®  travel pillow which can be used on the plane and also later at your destination as a sleeping pillow when you add water for proper support when sleeping in bed.  You can toss those horrible hotel pillows, or, better yet, use them as a bolster under your knees (back sleeper) or between your legs (side sleeper).

Another reason you might want to invest in your own travel pillow is to avoid germs, bacteria or mold. Use a Mediflow Anti-Allergen cover that you can remove after each trip and launder.

Shop online to find the best travel pillow for you. Make sure that you choose one that is small enough and convenient so that you are not lugging around unnecessary weight. Use the links on our home page to check out our online retail partners.  They have what you need for happy, safe traveling.

The holidays are upon us and inevitably, that means busy days and late nights as we shop for presents, attend parties and other events and eat and drink more than we should.

Because of all of these holiday activities, most of us do not get enough sleep! Our bodies need at least 7 hours of sleep at night to allow time to boost our immune systems.  In fact, a major study was published recently that found that those who slept less than 7 hours were 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept just 1 hour more. Ever wake up after a scant few hours of sleep and look in the mirror to see black circles under your eyes and wrinkles in your skin?  Those are just the outward symptoms of the stress your body is under when you don't get enough sleep and your body can't replenish itself properly.

It's hard to find the time at this time of year to get the sleep you need to replenish your body and wake up feeling truly refreshed and rejunvinated.  A very easy way to make the most out of those precious hours of sleep is to improve the quality of sleep in the hours that you have.  How easy?  It's as easy as choosing the pilllow clinically shown to improve the quality of sleep above all others tested at Johns Hopkins University, the Mediflow Waterbase pillow.  If you improve the quality of your sleep, you get to sleep faster, wake up less often and maximize the time you have during the holidays to replenish your body, your immune system and wake up more refreshed and able to fight off the germs and viruses that you come into contact with at this time of year.

Buying a pillow can be a very confusing experience.  If you go to your local department store or mass merchant you will find a wall of white pillows awaiting you, all of them in plastic bags which tell you that they are in fact the best choice.  How can that be true?

Of course it is not.  There are a few basics you can start with which will narrow the selection.

1. What size pillow are you looking for?  93% of pillows sold are standard (20x26) or queen (20x30) size. If you have standard sized pillow cases as most do, this is an easy decision.  But also consider buying a Jumbo (20x28") pillow.  This size is becoming more popular because it fits a standard or queen pillow case but is a little larger and plumper than a 20x26" pillow.

2. Do you prefer polyester (synthetic) or foam pillows or natural (feather and down) filled pillows?  Polyester or foam pillows are generally easier to launder and also hypoallergenic.  Feather and down pillows are nice for those who really love and scrunch and bunch up their pillow at night and they can be very soft but they tend to lack proper support for the neck.  Many down and feather pillows now make claims of being hypoallergenic but those with serious allergies should be careful.  A good safe choice here would be a synthetic pillow.

With those decisions out of the way the issue becomes, what pillow is best for you, or the person you are buying for?  A basic guideline is to select based on soft, medium or firm support.  Generally a larger person should select a firmer pillow and smaller person should select a softer one.  The idea is to maintain proper support for your neck as you sleep which will reduce the amount of times you wake at night to restuff and re fluff and restore the support you need.  The other factor here is sleeping position.  Generally, side sleepers need the firmest pillow, back sleepers a soft to medium pillow and stomach sleepers a soft pillow or no pillow at all (that's a money saver!).

After considering all of the above, if you're still not sure, a great choice would be an adjustable pillow.  This will allow you experiment with what support level gives you the best night's sleep.  Chance are, after only a few nights you will find the perfect support level for your own needs.  You can also buy an adjustable pillow for friends and family and know that they will be able to customize it to their needs.