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When I moved to New York City in November, I lived in a completely empty apartment for more than two weeks while waiting for my things to be driven over from Michigan. Throughout this extended stretch of bleak domesticity, I slept on a leaky air mattress. Thankfully, my nights were improved by the first product I ever tested for Insider Picks — the Blu Sleep Essential Oil Pillow in the Green Tea scent (currently $89 from Amazon).
I opened the pillow after my first day at the office and was immediately intrigued by the scent. Normally, pillows in air-tight packaging smell like weird plastic, but this was actually kind of nice. I've never had a desire for a scented pillow either, and while the smell was a little overpowering at first, I found it comforting after a while.
But I realized that the green tea scent wasn't the real benefit of the pillow that first night.
I switch sides a lot when I'm sleeping, and the traditional memory foam pillow I was using previously always took a few minutes to adjust to whatever new position my head was in. I was constantly struggling between wanting to shift during the night, but not wanting to lose the comfortable indentation my head made. With Blu Sleep, the memory foam material was so responsive that my head was immediately supported regardless of the position I switched to, and the cooling effect resulted in less tossing and turning throughout the night.
After about 10-14 days, the green tea scent faded almost entirely (unless I really buried my face into it while switching pillowcases), but the comfort level stayed the same. When I try to fall asleep at night, I generally lay on my back for a while to decompress and get myself into sleep mode, then eventually shift onto my side for the majority of the night. The Blu Sleep pillow is extremely comfortable in both of these sleeping positions, or even as back support when I'm reading before going to bed.
Blu Sleep describes the pillow as "not too soft or firm," so if you want something that envelops or cradles your head on both sides, the Blu Sleep pillow may not be for you. However, if you're looking for consistent support in all different sleeping positions, with the added benefit of relaxing essential oils, Blu Sleep's Essential Oil Pillow might help you get a better night's sleep.
