Buckwheat Pillows

Although relatively unknown here until until recently, the buckwheat pillow has been in use, particularly in the Orient for thousands of years. The buckwheat plant was grown for its food value to both people and their livestock, and the hulls were a byproduct. The Orientals discovered thousands of years ago that the shape of the three sided hulls, which resembled a small version of a beech tree nut, had two peculiar attributes.

One characteristic is that the shape of the hulls allows air circulation in, around, and through the pillow filling, thus providing both a cooling and a drying effect to the head and neck area of the person sleeping on it - the exact opposite of the effect achieved by feathers or the modern plastic foam fillings.

The second important characteristic is that they do not compact, and they can change their position to support the head and neck perfectly while retaining the ability to rearrange when the person sleeping changes positions without any effort on the part of the sleeping person. No other pillow filling provides that perfect combination of support and malleability. With all our modern technology, we have not been able to improve upon this ancient and natural buckwheat hull pillow. Go figure.

Buckwheat has been grown for thousands of years in the orient. From there it slowly spread through Russia to Europe. It is reported that the Crusaders carried it from the Saracens into Europe. Only relatively recently did it find it’s way into Canada, and even more recently, into the US.

The primary purpose of the cultivation of  buckwheat was for the very nutritious flour and groats from the seeds. Other secondary derivatives were the edible plants, honey that bees produce from the nectar of their blossoms, their use as a ground cover to keep down weeds, green manure to improve the soil’s fertility, and of course, the buckwheat hulls to fill their buckwheat pillows.

Our word “buckwheat” evolved from a Dutch name of “boek-weit”, which translates to “beech-wheat”. The “boek”, or “beech” part coming from the resemblance of the buckwheat seed to the beech tree nut. The “weit” or “wheat” part is a result of the flour derived from the seed being used much like the flour they made from wheat.

Most people associate buckwheat with pancakes, or a little colored boy in the Little Rascals series. First of all, let’s establish that here we are only concerned with the buckwheat that you would use to make pancakes. It would follow then, that most people would consider it to be a grain. And “most people” would be wrong. Technically, buckwheat is a fruit. And sure enough, the fruit is dried and ground into flour, from which pancakes are indeed made.

However, I’m not concerned with buckwheat pancakes, but with buckwheat hull pillows. What are buckwheat hull pillows, you ask. As you might guess from the question, they are pillows filled with the dried hulls of the buckwheat fruit, rather than feathers or plastic foam.

Why would anyone want a pillow filled with dried buckwheat hulls? Any Ideas?

Sometimes it seems like life is an endless circle of toil and trouble.  The least we can do for ourselves is make the third of our lives we spend asleep and in bed as comfortable as possible.  Having a comfortable place to sleep will ensure a deeper sleep, less frequent awakenings in the night, and feeling more rested in the morning.  You will want a mattress that contours to your body.  For this Tempur-pedic beds or water beds tend to feel better than traditional spring mattresses.  You will also want a pillow, preferably a buckwheat pillow, and perhaps a neck pillow, to relieve tired back muscles.  For the bedding, a down comforter will keep you warm during cold weather, and sheets made from bamboo fiber will help oxygen flow and also feel light and barely there. 

With these improvements in the way you sleep, life might take on a whole new outlook in the morning.

For individuals with a broad spectrum of allergies that flare up at different times during the year, this article is for you.  Here are a few ways in which you can combat allergens entering your system.  You will also want to minimize contact with harmful outdoor allergens, ensuring you take one of the many available allergy medicines before traveling outdoors, especially in Spring.  For those allergic to bees, carrying an EpiPen with you at all times is essential. 

Indoors you can also minimize allergies by dusting and vacuuming regularly.  Indoor air purifiers, whether or ionic or filter based, will remove harmful allergens from the air and help you breathe better.  Changing your bedding regularly will also help, and for certain individuals, converting to a buckwheat pillow over a feather pillow can help.