Review: The Sovn Oxygen Pillow

For a couple of years now I’ve been hearing promos on my local NPR affiliate about the Sovn European Sleep System — and specifically their Oxygen Pillow.

I was intrigued to say the least.

After having received a number of complaints from My Life about my snoring, I thought I’d contact the store and see if I could try one out.

We’ve been married for nearly three years and I don’t think she’s slept soundly through the night since April 28, 2007.

After contacting the store, the owner Gerardo Ruiz, gladly agreed to set me up with a free pillow to try out for a review.

Now I assumed they would either ship a pillow to me, or I would just go by the store and pick one up — however, Gerardo asked me to come into the store for a “fitting.”

A fitting? For a pillow?

It was then that I realized this wasn’t another ordinary pillow.

There are 17 different sizes of the Sovn Oxygen Pillow — so one size definitely doesn’t fit all.

The fitting only took 20 minutes or so and helps the Sovn staff ensure you’re getting the best pillow for your size, mattress and sleeping patterns.

I’m typically a side sleeper but have a tendency to roll on my back in the middle of the night — which is when Laurie’s usually punching me and telling me to roll over.

Gerardo was also quick to point out that my natural sleeping position — with my arm tucked under my pillow — was likely causing more problems because it was throwing my neck and shoulders out of alignment while I was sleeping.

With my size I’ve always either used two pillows, folded a pillow over and/or propped my head up with my arm. While this might help some, it also leads to my head tilting upward, rather than remaining even and flat — thus the importance of the finding the right pillow for each person.

The goal of the Sovn Oxygen Pillow is to keep your head, neck and shoulders aligned properly so you’re airways are left open and your breathing is improved — and hopefully for those of us who do snore, we’re snoring less.

I’ve had my pillow (a size medium 7″) for one month and I have to say I really like it.

I love the hollow body of the pillow and how my head gently sinks into the pillow without being smothered by the pillow.

The unique design and tri-layer construction of the Oxygen pillow fully supports the head and neck, opening the airway fully for better breathing. The secret is its hollow core and internal hinges. During back sleeping, the hollow core allows the head to drop back further, straightening the spine. And when sleeping on your side, the internal hinges in the top and bottom layers enable the edges of the pillow to remain level while the headdrops in, supporting the neck. The result: support and comfort throughout the night.

I’ve tried a number of pillows over the years and most of them are either not comfortable enough, they smother me or the materials are so heavy and thick that I wake up covered in sweat — yuck!

With its hollow body, light latex construction and cotton cover which “is treated with BIONEEM®, a natural, organic extract from the Neem tree, to stop dust mites” this is one pillow that’s a perfect fit for me when it comes to comfort.

It’s still a little difficult to figure out what to do with my arm now that I can’t stuff it under my pillow (I’m picturing Ricky Bobby suddenly), but comfort-wise this one’s a huge win.

Another thing I’ve really appreciated about the pillow is that ever since I’ve had it, my throat hasn’t been sore in the morning. I’ve been fighting a sinus infection of some sort for the last month, so for a week or so before I had the pillow, I was waking up each morning with a sore throat.

But from day one it was obvious that my head, neck and shoulders were in better alignment over night, simply based on the fact that I’ve obviously had less post-nasal drip during the night.

But as for the snoring issues — the jury is still out.

With my sinus infection I’ve been sleeping in the other room from Laurie most nights to be sure I don’t keep her awake either from coughing or snoring (she’s a SUPER light sleeper).

The first night I tried sleeping in the same room with the pillow — I was super congested, ended up on my back and she was complaining about my snoring within an hour of falling asleep.

The next attempt, I wasn’t congested much at all and she said I almost made it the entire night without snoring.

She said if that continued she was ready to call it the miracle pillow.

Unfortunately, the very next night, I was back on my back and the snoring was worse.

So I’m back in the other room most week nights.

I’d love to say this pillow has been a marriage saver and has stopped all my snoring but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case for me.

Gerardo told me before I left the store with my pillow that it’s not a silver bullet for everyone — and I’d have to agree.

The causes of snoring can differ greatly from person to person and from night to night. Having one pillow solve all the problems for everyone is a bit of a stretch.

However, I still love my pillow and plan to continue using it for a good long while.

Find out more at sovn.com.

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As an added bit of info, I saw an ENT last week and she told me I do have a slightly deviated septum (slightly to the left) along with a bone spur on the left side, which ads to my congestion.

She’s suggested I have pillar implants to cut down on the snoring.

If she simply removes the bone spur, it will help with my congestion but will likely make my snoring louder as more air will pass over my soft pallet. The implants will help harden the pallet, thus reducing the vibration (aka snoring).

We haven’t scheduled the procedure yet or decided if we’ll do both procedures or not but I’ll keep yall posted.