Monday, April 23, 2007

Snuggling up with an old and dirty pillow?

Allergen-ridden pillows stand in the way of a healthy night's sleep

Do you know what's in your pillow? That old reliable pillow that you've placed your head on every night for years may be hurting you more than it's helping you to get a good night's sleep. Less than half of Americans replace their pillow each year*, despite the fact that after a year of use, the average pillow is filled with allergens like mold, mildew, fungus, dust mites and dust mite feces. That's right: dust mite feces (not exactly the stuff sweet dreams are made of).

Carpenter Co. has created a pillow that offers a solution. The Protech™ Anti-Dust Mite pillow creates an environment in which dust mites can't live. Protech pillows are made with the first and only fiber known to eliminate dust mites (EPA Registration #79427-3).

Below are a few things everyone should know about dust mites.

— Dust mites feed on dead skin from humans and dander from animals. This is shed continuously, every day, around the clock.

— Dust mites produce 200 times their weight in waste.

— Dust mites are directly associated with three main allergy conditions: asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis.

Sleeping on a pillow without dust mites can lead to a healthier night's sleep. Most Americans would never knowingly sleep every night with their head pressed into an allergen-filled pillow, which is one of the reasons why Carpenter Co. has launched its educational Sleep Better campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to teach people how sleeping better can lead to living healthier. Using the right pillow is a crucial element of getting a good and healthy night's sleep.

Carpenter Co.'s educational website, www.sleepbetter.org, features the scientific Zzzz Score test. The Zzzz Score test was developed by the researchers in Carpenter Co.'s world-renowned sleep products lab. It is a personal sleep profile — a guide to getting a better night's sleep based on sleep preferences and problems. It also leads people to the pillow that best fits their sleep needs.

Also:

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