If you travel regularly, you know the discomfort of using a neck pillow while driving or flying as a substitute for the real thing. While it's better than nothing, it's not as comfortable as you'd like it to be. And even if you don't travel, you may be tempted to take a quick nap on your train ride home or on lunch break. (I'm a huge proponent of using a lunch break to sleep for 30 minutes instead of eating.) Thankfully, there's been a major upgrade to the travel pillow that might just make it into your nap routine, too: Casper's new Nap Pillow is a mini version of their award-winning full-sized pillow, and it's just as comfortable as the real thing.
According to a press release sent to Bustle, the pillow measures 10.25 by 15 inches, which is slightly bigger than a 15-inch MacBook Pro. For comparison, a standard pillow is 18 x 26 inches. It seems too good to be true, but Casper says it is a "perfect balance of squish and support" and "a tiny version of our original, award-winning pillow." The whole thing almost reads like an April Fool's prank — the press release says the pillow allows you to "take a nap in your office supply closet, at your dentist office, or heck, even during your morning commute next to a Casper subway ad" — but it's officially available for purchase today.
"Since we introduced our original Casper pillow three years ago, we’ve heard from customers that they wish they could take it everywhere they go — and some people did, it just didn’t fit in their backpack or laptop bag," Jeff Chapin, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Casper, tells Bustle. "So we thought, let’s shrink the pillow so you can take it with you." And take it with you, you can: the mini pillow comes with a pillowcase and a drawstring travel bag, so you can easily stash it in your carry-on without worrying about getting chip crumbs all over the part where your face touches it.
The miniature pillow is priced at $35, which is $40 cheaper than a standard Casper pillow, so it's fairly affordable. No, it's not going to be a replacement for your everyday (every night?) pillow since it's so petit. But for frequent travelers, campers, backpackers, or desk-nappers, it really doesn't get better than this. Imagine: you're stuck at the airport overnight because the last flight to Cleveland got canceled (again), but you don't have to ball up your sweatshirt and try to get 10 minutes of sleep on top of it; you have a mini Nap Pillow to support your weary head.
The pillow also comes with a three year warranty, and it's made with microfibers and has a 280-thread count pillowcase. Livestrong reports that back and neck pain after a flight are universally common, with 90 percent of travelers feeling pained after a flight. Because most people experience some sort of discomfort after deplaning, taking steps like stretching your limbs and placing a pillow behind your upper back can help you avoid unnecessary soreness. "Make sure you are sitting as far back in the chair as possible, so that there is no space between your hips and the back of the seat," Amanda Brick, a physical therapist at Professional Physical Therapy, told Bustle.
If you want to nap in public, this is a solid way to do so without making the people around you stare. The Ostrich Pillow is ideal for people who enjoy making a spectacle of themselves, but if you prefer to fade into the background, the Casper Nap Pillow will almost certainly change your nap game.
