If you've never laid your weary head to rest on a buckwheat-filled pillow, you are missing something.
Like memory foam, but a lot less high tech, a buckwheat pillow comforms to the shape of your head and neck, providing better support and more natural alignment of your cervical spine.
Many people find that a buckwheat pillows alleviates the neck pain they are accustomed to waking with after a night on a feather or poly-filled pillow.
We had the best sleep of our life on a buckwheat pillow while traveling in Japan, where it is ubiquitous. They've been sleeping on buckwheat there for centuries. According to the Greener Guide, buckwheat is a very green crop, and has benefits for the allergy-prone:
"Buckwheat is a pesticide-free crop and requires very little fertilizer...It's also naturally pest-resistant, good news for sufferers of dust-mite allergies."
Serenity Pillows makes a premium buckwheat pillow, the Organic Rejuvenation Pillow. They surround the fill with a thick layer of Eco Wool and encase the whole thing in organically grown cotton. You can adjust the amount of the fill yourself: more fill is better for a side sleeper, less for a back sleeper.
$69.99 at Serenity Pillows.
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
lisa - I am very interested in this as we are in the market for new bed pillows. My question is do they make kind of a crunchy sound when you put your head down?
My mom swears by her buckwheat pillow. I think I felt it once and I seem to remember it feeling sort of like a bag of rice. Not really crunchy, but it did make some sound.
I'm thinking maybe I should try one since I've been waking up with an achy neck and shoulders lately.
They do make a little noise, but as Sasha said, it's a gentle sound so it's not disruptive to sleep.
When I was little I had a straw filled bunny which made a crunchy sound when you cuddled it. I often used it as a pillow. As an adult, I bought pillows filled with ti-tree bark - popular in Australia in baby's mattresses because they can't smother - air comes through it even face down.
The pillows had a very comforting crunchy sound. The moment I heard them, I remembered my bunny - total recall.
The downside was after several years they didn't fluff up anymore. When I opened them up, I found them filled with sawdust - poured it into the garden. Replaced them with latex aerated pillows.
If you are asthmatic, and I am, a wool & cotton pillow is a great haven for house dust mites. If you go the buckwheat route, keep in mind they may turn into sawdust too, so check them occasionally.
Thanks to all for the feedback - I think I am going to order some. I am a side sleeper and frequently wake up with neck pain.