A number of years ago, Tontine famously started putting date stamps on Tontine pillows to give people an indication of when was a good time to replace their pillow.

The launch of this innovative idea was accompanied by a nationwide advertising campaign highlighting the unpleasant ecosystem that builds and grows on all of our pillows over time.

This ecosystem is made up of some pretty gross stuff, like dirt, dead skin, pet hair and dander, mould, bacteria and dust mites.

Many of these things, like pet dander and dust mites, are common triggers of allergies and asthma, both of which can impact our ability to get to sleep and stay asleep throughout the night.

Common symptoms leading to poor sleep associated with allergies include sneezing, coughing, a runny nose and itchy eyes. Asthma symptoms also preventing sound sleep include wheezing and shortness of breath.

Some studies also suggest that allergies have strong links with some very serious sleep disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnoea, both of which can have some devastating consequences on our long-term health, as well as our short-term well being and happiness.

But there is something that you can do about all this; whether you suffer from allergies and asthma, or just don’t like the idea of sharing your pillow with millions of dust mites, bacteria and bits of dead skin.

The first thing you can do is choose from one of the many machine washable pillows available. Next, you should get in the habit of regularly washing your pillows, preferably once every few months, or at the very least twice per year. Just be careful not to wash your pillows too regularly, which may impact their level of comfort and support over time, and shorten their life.

Another thing you can do, and we highly recommend you do this if you are an allergy and asthma sufferer, is to choose a pillow with an added anti-microbial treatment, (commonly known as an Anti Allergy pillow), which is designed to inhibit the growth of mould, bacteria and dust mites.

Fortunately, Tontine has a wide range of Anti Allergy or Allergy Sensitive pillows to choose from, so there’s sure to be one to suit the needs and preferences of you and your family.

Most of these pillows are made in Australia too, and many of them approved by the National Asthma Council of Australia’s Sensitive Choice program, so you know you can trust them to deliver their promise.

Regardless of the pillow you choose, to help you keep any new pillows feeling and looking their best for longer, you can also invest in pillow protectors, which you can wash more regularly, and this will save you having to wash your pillow too often. There is a very wide range of Tontine pillow protectors to choose from, with a range of different features including the addition of stain protection, added quilting layers for added comfort, added waterproof protection, and of course there are also Anti Allergy pillow protectors too.

If you would like more help on buying the perfect pillow for you, you might also like to read our article on Buying the Perfect Pillow, our you can just have a look at the wide range of Tontine pillows on offer at tontine.com.au, or at any leading homewares retailers, such as BigW, Spotlight, Harris Scarfe, Target, Myer or David Jones, among others.

For more information on buying a pillow protector, read our article on Choosing the Perfect Pillow Protector.