Why We Created The Align Pillow
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Born out of frustration, the Align Pillow was created to solve the problem of one size fits all pillows that are standard throughout the bedding industry.
My patients would ask me all the time "can you recommend me a good pillow?" and I didn't have a good answer for them. What works for one person may be terrible for another - it all depends on your body shape, size and sleep preferences. While there were pillows designed specifically for side sleepers, back sleepers, and some wildly intricate space age looking designs - they still suffered the same fundemental flaw: One-Size-Fits-All. What the pillow industry desperately needed was a well designed pillow that was available in a variety of size and density options to fit everyones unique needs.
With a lack of options available in the market and seeing the serious need for this product, I decided I would bring the idea to life. It began with looking over old textbooks, studying the anatomy of the cervical spine, measuring angles, and researching data on male/female neck length averages, head weight averages, shoulder width averages, as well as whatever sleep related research I could get my hands on. Slowly, the data was coming together and the Align Pillow design began.
When creating the Align Pillow I had an important rule I wanted to follow - keep it natural. In my experience and professional opinion, natural latex pillows provide the best comfort and support compared to any other pillow material currently available. Not only that, but natural latex has astounding natural characteristics - its breathable, naturally cooling, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and hypoallergenic. It's the perfect material for the job and perfectly aligns with our values.
Once our design process was completed we put the pillow through rigorous clinical testing. I tested our samples on patients looking for feedback and with a goal of reaching at least a 90% success rate. The success rate was established firstly by the test subject confirming that they feel comfortable, supportive and like the pillow and secondly by the clinician assessing the sleep posture and confirming that the spine was in good alignment and that objectively this was the right size pillow for the test subject. If both answered positively then the test was considered a success. If even just one answered negatively the test was considered a fail.
Initial sample testing achieved an astounding 87% success rate - well beyond our expectations for our first tests but a great indicator that our research and design work had paid off. With some improvements to the design our final sample testing achieved our goal with a 92% success rate. The Align Pillow was ready.
What started as frustration, turned in to passion and ended with a pillow that finally answers the question "can you recommend me a good pillow?"
My patients would ask me all the time "can you recommend me a good pillow?" and I didn't have a good answer for them. What works for one person may be terrible for another - it all depends on your body shape, size and sleep preferences. While there were pillows designed specifically for side sleepers, back sleepers, and some wildly intricate space age looking designs - they still suffered the same fundemental flaw: One-Size-Fits-All. What the pillow industry desperately needed was a well designed pillow that was available in a variety of size and density options to fit everyones unique needs.
With a lack of options available in the market and seeing the serious need for this product, I decided I would bring the idea to life. It began with looking over old textbooks, studying the anatomy of the cervical spine, measuring angles, and researching data on male/female neck length averages, head weight averages, shoulder width averages, as well as whatever sleep related research I could get my hands on. Slowly, the data was coming together and the Align Pillow design began.
When creating the Align Pillow I had an important rule I wanted to follow - keep it natural. In my experience and professional opinion, natural latex pillows provide the best comfort and support compared to any other pillow material currently available. Not only that, but natural latex has astounding natural characteristics - its breathable, naturally cooling, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and hypoallergenic. It's the perfect material for the job and perfectly aligns with our values.
Once our design process was completed we put the pillow through rigorous clinical testing. I tested our samples on patients looking for feedback and with a goal of reaching at least a 90% success rate. The success rate was established firstly by the test subject confirming that they feel comfortable, supportive and like the pillow and secondly by the clinician assessing the sleep posture and confirming that the spine was in good alignment and that objectively this was the right size pillow for the test subject. If both answered positively then the test was considered a success. If even just one answered negatively the test was considered a fail.
Initial sample testing achieved an astounding 87% success rate - well beyond our expectations for our first tests but a great indicator that our research and design work had paid off. With some improvements to the design our final sample testing achieved our goal with a 92% success rate. The Align Pillow was ready.
What started as frustration, turned in to passion and ended with a pillow that finally answers the question "can you recommend me a good pillow?"