A Music Pillow for Relaxation, Stress Relief & Sleep

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Sleep has always been a problem in our household. For me personally, I have had insomnia all of my life. My mom said that from the day she brought me home from the hospital I didn’t sleep.

When Young Man came along it wasn’t long before I realized that he is not a sleeper. In fact, he gave up napping at 18 months. I spent night after night rocking him or walking the floor with him in the hopes that he would fall asleep because I knew that a baby needed sleep, right? Aren’t we mammas told that little ones need 10-12 hours of sleep, plus a nap or two through the day?

So, having a baby that wasn’t napping, and also wasn’t sleeping at night caused this mama to worry that I was a failure.

It wasn’t until I researched the mind of a gifted learning individual that I came to understand that he simply has trouble letting his mind relax enough for sleep to come. He lays in bed for hours, in the dark, with hundreds of thoughts zooming through his ever active mind.

Sleeping Methods that Things We’ve Tried

We’ve used a sound CD of ocean waves since he was about 2.
We also run a fan in his bedroom at night in the hopes that those white noise producing machines would help him relax enough to rest.

We use melatonin. This is one I struggle with, but it does work. I don’t want him becoming dependent on a sleep aid, even one that is all-natural.
We use it in an on/off method, about 2-3 weeks on then 2-3 weeks off. When he goes far too long without any or very little sleep he will utilize Melatonin. For him, his falling asleep time is reduced to about 45 minutes to an hour. But, he builds a resistance to it and then it doesn’t work, so we stop it.
We have a bedtime routine. Every night at the same time, he prepares for bed. We do family devotional, prayers, and then lights out. No screen time, and no reading time, as those are simulators for his mind.

They’ve worked to a degree. Without them he stays awake all night. With them, it takes 2-3 hours for him to find sleep. Even when he does fall asleep, he will often awaken after 1-2 hours, then repeat the cycle of falling asleep and waking. This can occur several times through the night.

Insomnia is a Family Struggle

As I mentioned above I’ve struggle with insomnia my whole life. I tend to do my best work, writing, house keeping, you name it, after 11 p.m.. So sleep has always been elusive. When I’ve tried to force myself to lay down, I’d lay there wide awake for hours. I’ve used sleep aids, but they tend to make me groggy in the morning and throughout the day I feel like I’m in a haze. So I prefer to not use them.

At times, I just crash. My body reaches its limit and I sleep for 12-14 hours straight. I do that for 2 or 4 days, then it’s back to being wide awake.

But, he and I aren’t the only ones who struggle with sleep. While Beloved, my husband, can usually sleep he goes through bouts of stress induced insomnia. He has a high-stress career and with his newest job the level of responsibility has increased and with that comes nights that make sleeping difficult.

Solving my Family’s Sleep Problems with a Music Pillow

I received this Music Pillow for free in exchange for my honest review and am being compensated for the time I spend in utilizing and reviewing the product. All opinions and experiences are my own and I am not required to write a positive review. This post may also contain affiliate links.

A Music Pillow for Relaxation, Stress Relief & Sleep

When I first learned about the Dreampad from Integrated Listening Systems I was excited by the prospect of a pillow that has music capability right inside the pillow. After reading about how it’s designed to help the body relax from the inside through sound vibration I was even more thrilled to give this a try. I knew, instantly, that each member of my family would need to give the pillow a try.

How the Dreampad Music Pillow & App Works

The Dreampad Music Pillow

The pillow has Intrasound Technology™ built in. This technology works in conjunction with the conductive quality of the human body. The tiny bones in the inner ear carries sound vibration, which is how we hear, those vibrations are carried along to the parasympathetic nervous system, which facilitates our relaxation response.
Simply put, the Dreampad pillow works in conjunction with the body’s own nervous system to induce relaxation.

Because the pillow serves as an audio device no earphones or headphones are needed during sleep.
The pillow is made from polyfill and the cover is a very soft cotton.
The music is available, through Dreampad’s website, to download, so you can utilize your computer or MP3 to play the music.

The Music Pillow come in 4 Sizes:

Dreampad 26 – a standard size pillow, 20W x 18L x 8H

Dreampad 20 a junior size pillow, 20W x 15L x 6H

Dreampad 20 SLIM, a thinner junior size, 20W x 18L x 3H

Dreampad 15, slim & small, 15W x 10L x 2H

All pillows are hypoallergenic and has a small cord that connects to the device of choice. If you don’t get the BlueTooth package you can just plug the cord into your MP3 player, smartphone or other listening device, just as you would head phones.

Once connected the BlueTooth device, MP3 or smartphone, can tuck into a conveniently zippered pocket built into the side of the pillow. This way, the pillow is wireless and won’t get tangled during sleep throughout the night. Which means, it is safe to use with children, no wires means no danger of a child getting a cord tangled around them during sleep.

The Dreampad App

The Dreampad app is free on Google Play and iTunes.
The app has 5 specially selected songs for their relaxation
You can set a timer so the music only plays for the time you set it to.

You also can set up an alarm so that it wakes you to soft, gentle, classical music.
The app also has sleep tips in the menu, so you’ll want to be sure to check that out.

While you can download the app for free and utilize the gentle music, the reality is the pillow’s Intrasound Technology™ allows only the one using the pillow to hear the music. So if your spouse prefers a different sound for relaxation than you, or your child shares a room with a sibling, the only one on the pillow will hear the music.

Additionally, this technology works with the body’s natural conductive sound system to transmit tiny vibrations through to the parasympathetic nervous system. Simply put, it works differently than listening via your phone or other audio device. Trust me, I tried doing that on the nights the others were using the pillow and it’s just not the same.

We received the Dreampad 26, along with the BlueTooth Receiver package.

Our Thoughts on the Dreampad Pillow

First, I must say this is the most comfortable pillow I’ve ever slept on. That includes times spent in hotels while traveling and we’ve stayed in some very nice hotels. The padding contours to the head so nicely it’ like being sheltered in a soft fluffy cloud. But, it’s not too soft, the quality of the material allows the neck to be supported well.

I was the first to try out the pillow.

I wanted to be able to understand how to connect the app to the BlueTooth device. It connects just as you would connect a smart phone’s BlueTooth ear piece. With just a couple of clicks you connect the pillow to the smart phone or tablet app, it’s super easy.

The app has 5 recordings that are set to repeat play. I prefer the Moonrise selection which has harp, viola, and acoustic guitar. The gentle sounds are so relaxing and I found that I was able to gently fall asleep with very little tossing and turning. Which for me, is a huge change!

I also found that I was able to sleep more soundly, and get a full-nights rest. Unlike the use of melatonin, which for me, only lasts about 3 hours. I’d wake and struggle to go back to sleep when using that as a sleep aid. So having a soft, luxurious, pillow that helps me to get the rest I’ve searched for my entire life is, priceless.

My husband

He also feels that the pillow is very comfortable. For him, he preferred the Harmonic Continuum selection, which is a low-frequency harmonic overlay. He fell asleep very quickly using the pillow. I’d say he slept like a rock. In fact, for several nights, I don’t think he moved. He says he woke up very refreshed and ready to tackle whatever the job had to throw his way. I have to admit that I found myself rolling over to cuddle with him a bit more, so I could, ahem, share his pillow.

“I love that I can listen to music without disturbing you, because we prefer different types of music. I like that I can control the volume without worrying about whether it’s too loud for you. I love it so much, I think we need to buy another one, or two.” — My Beloved.

My son

I was hoping that his experience would be as quick for him as it was for us. At first he was resistant to trying something new. He’s been listening to the same CD for 10 years so it was not an easy transition for him.

The first couple of weeks we noticed a slight improvement in his sleep pattern, but not as much as we had hoped. He fell asleep slightly quicker than before we began using the pillow with him. But, he still wasn’t getting what I feel is enough sleep for him. However, I did notice that he was sleeping a bit longer in the mornings. On the one hand, I’m glad he was sleeping, on the other hand, you don’t want a child getting in the habit of sleeping past 10 a.m..

So I introduced Melatonin again, but continued using the pillow. What I discovered is the Melatonin, helped him to fall asleep. The pillow helped him to stay asleep. So while I’m not entirely satisfied with this option, it is producing more restful sleep for him.

He says that after a few nights he began to prefer the pillow over the CD he was used to listening to. He said the pillow was more relaxing and the music much softer.

We plan to continue to utilize the pillow for him and begin reducing the Melatonin to every other night, and hopefully we can wean him entirely away from the natural sleep aid.

Another Dreampad Music Pillow Perspective

Last Sunday I had an opportunity to babysit for some new friends. One of the children is my friend Reese. He is the sweetest young 7-year-old boy who has autism, along with several other medical diagnoses. His mom has shared with me that he doesn’t sleep. He is constantly moving, rocking, bouncing, humming, laughing, making special noises, exploring and touching the world around him.

We spent the afternoon turning on and off lights, and fans. He has some difficulty walking, and cruises so in a home that he’s not familiar with, like ours, we had to stay close by. After some time I decided to pull out our Dreampad music pillow to see how he would respond to it.

At first he wasn’t wanting to cooperate given that he had to lay down. But, once he discovered that it made sounds and he could ‘hear pillow‘ he was more than willing to lay quietly on our bed. occasionally he would hum with the sound of the music. I tried all five of the music options, but he seemed to have an affinity for Harmonic Continuum. After a while, he pulled the pillow off the bed, went into our master bedroom closet, and laid on the floor. Happy as could be.

Whether or not he would actually sleep with the pillow, I can not say. But given that he was relaxed and willing to lie still says a lot for this pillow.

Dreampad Music Pillow Discount & Giveaway

When you order your Dreampad pillow and BlueTooth package, use this special discount code: MyDreampad to get 10% off at checkout.

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Be sure to follow Dreampad on Facebook, or Twitter for even more information on how their product can help you, or your child with sleep therapy.

We have had a bit of a tug-of-war in our family over this pillow. We each find it to be comfortable and comforting as we are seeking to solve our sleep issues.