You spend a third of your life with your face on your pillow.

Added: 2026-04-30

[00:00:00]You spend 1/3 of your life with your face on your pillow, and most people have no idea what is off-gassing into the air they breathe all night. Pillows are one of those things that nobody thinks to question. You buy one, you use it for years, and you never wonder what it's actually made of. But, around 70% of pillows sold in the United States are filled with either polyfill or memory foam. If you flip your pillow over and check the tag, it will say polyester fiber fill or polyurethane foam.

[00:00:25]Polyfill is polyethylene terephthalate plastic, the exact same material as a single-use plastic water bottle. It releases microplastics continuously as it ages and compresses. You inhale them for 8 hours every night. Memory foam is even more concerning. It is polyurethane foam expanded with chemical blowing agents, and it off-gasses volatile organic compounds continuously, including benzene and formaldehyde. And formaldehyde is a group one human carcinogen, meaning there's confirmed evidence it causes cancer in humans. And the off-gassing increases with heat.

[00:00:55]Your body temperature warms a pillow while you sleep, which accelerates the release every single night. If you're sleeping on polyfill or memory foam, this is worth changing. Switch to organic wool pillows filled with GOTS-certified wool batting, and make sure to follow because I'm posting things like this daily that most people never hear about until it's too late.