THE SECRETS YOUR PILLOW HAS BEEN HIDING

How long have you been using your pillow? 15 years? Since you were born? Since you moved into your house? Common, get rid of that please. The UK Sleep council recommends 2 years use per pillow.

Ideally, a pillow is supposed to fill the space between your head and shoulder when you lie down but overuse of pillows makes them flat, so that this gap is not filled, leading to neck pain and restless night according to preventdisease.com.

Keeping a pillow for too long can also lead to dust-mite infestation. Dust-mite are microscopic bugs that feed on dead hair cells, they don’t bite and don’t spread diseases but are common allergen found in household dust according To Dr Mercola.

After about a year 10% of the weight of your pillow could be due to dust-mite waste. If your allergies, like asthma is related to going to bed or worsens in the morning it could be due to dust-mite waste. Wash pillow with hot water or freeze pillow to kill dust-mites.

Researchers have discovered a huge quantity of fungal spores in pillows used between 2 to 20 years. It was as high as 1million per pillow with some dangerous species of fungi. They also discovered that dust-mite feeds on fungal spores but the waste of dust-mite also provides a good environment for fungal spores which makes researchers conclude that pillows could be a mini ecosystem. Pillows made from synthetic material tend to contain more than those made from natural wool. Researchers believe this finding has a great implication on those with respiratory diseases like asthma or sinusitis.

Researchers also discovered that many pillows come with flame retardant chemicals like polybrominated diphenyl esters (PBDEs). PBDEs are structurally related to PCBs which have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems and impaired fetal brain development (i.e abnormal infant brain development).

Certain PBDEs have been banned in some US states and European Union. High exposures to PBDEs have been linked with reduced fertility. So protect yourself, your unborn child and kids. Pillow types that are high offenders include:

·         Polyurethane foam pillows (3,646 parts per million)

·         Polyester fibre pillows (107 parts per million)

·         Feather pillows (6 parts per million)

High quality wool pillows, beddings and mattresses are naturally flame resistant hence no flame retardants are used according to Dr Mercola. So now you know what your pillow can do to you.