I love my buckwheat pillow. The most recent one I bought was from Buckwheat Pillow Canada. I even went out on a limb and bought their small travel neck pillow, and it’s fantastic!
Buckwheat Pillow Canada is having a special shipping sale in Canada until the end of this month, so I wanted to share this video from the Ottawa Citizen. I’ve used buckwheat pillows for years, but even I learned something!
In this podcast, James talks about pillows – their importance in relation to migraine and chronic headache, a little recent research, and a review of two (or three) types of pillows.
Another study is saying what many of us have known for a long time. Cool head = Better sleep.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine were wondering if people who couldn’t sleep had brains that were too hot. Maybe their thinking was heating up their brains (or perhaps hot brains were making people think more!). So what if people cooled down their heads?
There are simple, and more complex ways to cool your brain. We’ve talked about a cold shower, but even wetting your hair could help you get to sleep. There are also pillows that tend to be cooler, such as the buckwheat hull pillow or the Chillow. You could also try to above SootheAway Device for a few minutes right before you sleep.
Oh, and sometimes just lowering the temperature of the room makes all the difference, if you can do it.
Keep a cool head at night. You’ll be glad you did.
What is 1% Thursday?
Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!
I wasn’t exactly sure what to title this post, but I decided to sit down and think of 8 of the most useful things I have used either to prevent an attack or to survive an attack (migraine, that is).
I don’t usually post personal things like this – partly because I’m aware that everyone is so different. I especially hesitate to promote medications or supplements based on my experience – I’d rather have scientific data to draw from.
However, these 8 things may have wider appeal.
I’m not listing life style things or schedule changes or those kinds of tips – only specific items I’ve used a lot. I’m sure you have items that have helped you – leave a comment and let’s make the list bigger!
Flax seed silk eye pillow: It blocks out the light, blocks out unpleasant smells, and cools my face around my eyes. I use one like this eye pillow from Celestial Dreams, though mine has a strap (which I don’t think I’ve ever used). More on eye pillows here.
Buckwheat Pillow: Yes, I sleep with one every night. Similar to the benefits of the eye pillow, but it also helps support my neck and doesn’t feel like it’s "smothering" me. More about buckwheat pillows here.
Oatmeal: I was always told oatmeal will "stick to your ribs". The truth is, oatmeal provides great long lasting slow-release energy. A bowl at night may help you feel better in the morning, and a bowl in the morning will help you last longer throughout the day.
MP3 Player: I still have the old iriver clix, which is a beauty but hard to find. However, many of you already have an MP3 player built into a cell phone or you have an iPod or many of the other players. It’s always handy and I can listen to it when I really can’t do anything else. Here are some more thoughts.
Dehydrator: This is still a fairly new one for me, but I really have appreciated the dried fruit and fruit leather that is so easy to make, and then so easy to carry with you. Travelling, it’s fantastic to have a quick healthy snack always on hand. After a fair amount of research I settled on this one.
Sunglasses: I wrote this post before actually getting my new pair of sunglasses. Now that I’ve had the new pair for a while, I wonder why I waited so long. They are amazing. I settled on a pair of Smith Optics polarized sunglasses. The difference is truly amazing, and has saved me a lot of discomfort.
Migraine/Headache Diary: Having a record of what medication I’ve taken when, and what my symptoms have been, has been invaluable. For a diary to download and print, and instructions on how to use it, see this migraine diary article.
What about you? What odd or ordinary things have you found helpful?
This week, try a buckwheat pillow to cool your head.
I got my first buckwheat pillow many, many years ago. At times I’ve gone back to a regular pillow, but always return to the buckwheat as quickly as possible. I don’t care that it fills up half of my suitcase when I travel – I take it wherever I go, and always sleep on the same pillow every night.
I realize some people love them, and some people can’t stand them. But let me tell you why I love them.
Naturally, one of the biggest reasons why people buy buckwheat pillows is because of the support they offer to your head and neck. They give strong support and contour naturally to your size and shape. Not only that, you can easily shift things around just the way you want, and the pillow will stay that way. No more pillow fluffing up by your mouth and nose so you can’t breath easily.
But one of the most wonderful features for the headache or migraine sufferer is how quickly they cool. They don’t hold in heat the way a lot of traditional pillows do.
And if you have a freezer big enough, put your buckwheat pillow in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for half and hour before you go to bed. It feels wonderful!
Personally, I also like the slight natural smell, which seems to block out the chemical unnatural smells around that can so irritate you when you’re sick.
Finally, many people use buckwheat because of allergies to traditional foam or feather pillows.
However, don’t tell yourself you’re going to make one, and delay for 6 weeks! You can most likely buy buckwheat pillows locally, though they may be of varying quality. The video below will give you some tips on what to look for.
Finally, there are many available online. Try these buckwheat pillows. I recommend you consider this buckwheat pillow, which is organic and hand made – beautiful.
And now, for our feature presentation…
What is 1% Thursday?
Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!
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