Squeeze-ing out a good night's sleep? (Softeeze Microbead Tube Cushion)

Name: TheChocolateLady

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Product:	Softeeze Microbead Tube Cushion
Date:	03.03.08 (320 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Warm, environmentally friendly, squishy, comfortable

Disadvantages: Gives you horrible "bed-head", on the small side

I'm always trying to find new solutions for my snoring problem, and my latest attempt at decibel reduction has been sleeping with a Softeeze micro-bead cushion.

First of all, what is a micro-bead cushion? Essentially, it is a cushion filled with tiny plastic beads. These beads make it very squishy and due to their small size, they tend to conform to your body more ably than something made of fibres or feathers will. These cushions are made by a company called Jagabon Trading, and come in many shapes and sizes. The original product is tube shaped, with a synthetic cover that's both stretchy as well as soft.

So, why did I buy this? When something conforms to your body, it also helps give those areas of your body support and I was looking to get something that would keep my neck well supported. That's why I thought that this cushion would help me with my window rattling. I figured, if my head is held in a straight line with my spine (via neck support), then my airways will be less constricted. With clearer breathing passages, I assumed I could reduce the offensive noises that come from them.

Alas and alack, this was not totally to be, and I feel that any lessened sound levels I've been able to achieve have probably been due to my losing almost 2 stone and my increased physical activities. However, all is not lost. While this cushion gives me the worst bed-head (meaning: how your hair looks when you wake up in the morning) I've ever experienced, I can't say that this is totally uncomfortable to sleep on. The beads really do support my neck and head nicely and while the synthetic cover is a tad on the slippery side, if I put it inside a case, that sliding sensation is greatly reduced. Of course, it is a great deal smaller than a normal pillow and so there's a good deal of the cover that is left over, but that's not too terrible. Had I a choice, I probably would have liked to have purchased one of these that is the same size as a standard bed cushion to see how that works. Still, I feel that I sleep well with this, but not a great deal better than with a conventional pillow.

I've also noticed that this feels warmer to the touch than regular cushions which make winter slumber more comfortable. The reason for this is that the filling is made out of recycled plastics - much like those thermal fleece jackets they make these days, so you're also being "green" when you buy one of these. Also, because I never remove the one pair of earrings I wear even at night, I find that this pillow actually keeps my jewellery from jabbing me while I sleep, so that's certainly something in its favour.

I bought mine through firebox.com and their price of £6.95 seems to be the going rate. I should mention that these are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes. While they don't seem to sell them in a size for use inside a regular pillow case, they do have "U" shaped ones which are probably ideal for trying to sleep on planes. Even so, I'm convinced that my tube shaped one will still be a great travelling companion in the future, and I hope to test this very soon. All in all, while this hasn't solved my snoring problem, (and to be fair, that wasn't what this pillow was meant to do) I think I still got something pretty good and I'll recommend it but give it only four stars since I don't care much for the cover and how my hair looks like a rat's nest when I wake up.

Thanks for reading!

Davida Chazan © March, 2008

PS: Nar2 correctly asked about cleaning this. According to the label, it is 100% machine washable and dryable, in case you're interested (sorry, I couldn't find an appropriate place to put this inside my review above).

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Technical Stuff:

As mentioned above, I found these on firebox.com but I've also seen them as well as an imitation product called a "Cushtie" on for £9.95.

The site of company that makes these can be found at but they only sell from that site to retailers and not individuals. Their contact information is:

JAGABON Trading Limited
Studio 2000
5 Elstree way
Borehamwood, Herts
WD6 1SF, England
Company Reg No: 5497503
VAT No: 865324219
Corporate site:
www.jagabon.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 208 236 236 6
e-Fax: +44(0) 208 711 38 39
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Summary: The Original Micro-bead filled squishy cushion!