Do you have a bunch of different pillows that you put on your bed every morning when you make it? From backrest pillows to body pillows and everything in between, the average person has all kinds of pillows strategically situated on top of their bed.
Bolster pillows are one of the many types of pillows that are usually thrown into the mix. They’re long, narrow pillows that are most often used for decorative purposes.
You shouldn’t sleep on all of the various ways in which you can use a bolster pillow, though. Outside of utilizing one or more bolster pillows to decorate your bedroom, there are also lots of other surprising uses for them.
Want to find out how to use a bolster pillow to do more than just add a decorative touch to your bed? Learn about seven of the best answers to the question, “What is a bolster for?”, below to gain a healthy appreciation for this useful pillow.
1. Use It as a Chair
Are you someone who suffers from frequent back pain? If so, you’re not alone, as studies have shown that upwards of 80% of people will have to deal with back pain at some point in their lives.
In theory, you might think that sprawling out on the sofa will help to ease your back pain when it flares up. But in reality, that doesn’t always do the trick for those who have bad back pain. It can actually make the problem worse in some cases if you lay in a contorted position.
Rather than taking that approach to trying to alleviate back pain, you may want to try using a bolster pillow instead. Throw it down on the floor and use it for a chair for a little while to see whether or not it helps with your back pain. It should help to align your spine better than a sofa would and take away at least a little bit of your pain.
You should also think about using a bolster pillow as a low-level chair even if you’re not someone who suffers from frequent back pain. It could prevent you from having to deal with back pain later on by strengthening your spine and your back muscles.
2. Turn It Into a Footrest
We just talked about how you can use a bolster pillow to give your back a break. But that’s not the only body part that can benefit from you using a bolster pillow in a big way.
If your legs ache for one reason or another, you can also use a bolster pillow to provide them with some much-needed relief. It’s easy to turn one of these pillows into a footrest that will help you to elevate your legs so that you can relax them.
Some people like to stick a bolster pillow underneath their legs while they’re lying down in bed or lying on the sofa. Others prefer to do it while they’re sitting down on the floor.
No matter which way you choose to use a bolster pillow as a footrest, you’ll feel an immediate sense of relief. Visit https://www.everlastingcomfort.net/products/half-moon-bolster-pillow to see an example of a bolster pillow that would be great for this specific purpose.
3. Work It Into Your Workouts
Pillows tend to be on the lighter side, which is why most people don’t usually associate them with working out. But when used properly, bolster pillows can give your workouts a big boost and make them more effective than they would be otherwise.
Bolster pillows have turned into popular workout tools for those who do yoga. They can actually be utilized as yoga mats that allow for people to get into all kinds of yoga poses.
But you can also use bolster pillows for things other than yoga. For example, a bolster pillow can be used for:
- Performing leg raises
- Doing sit-ups
- Improving balance
Once you start using a bolster pillow for working out, you might not want to throw it directly back on your bed and sleep near it at night. But you’ll be blown away by how effective it can be for those who work it into their workout routines.
4. Prop Up Your Baby With It
You’re not the only one who can improve your strength by using a bolster pillow. If you happen to have a baby, they can also benefit from using it when you prop them up with one.
There are many parents who will use bolster pillows to make their babies’ arms, necks, and backs stronger. They do it by positioning their babies on top of bolster pillows on their stomachs. This forces the babies to use their arm, neck, and back muscles more than they would under normal circumstances.
As an added bonus, many parents have also found that babies seem to prefer being propped up on bolster pillows. It gives them a better view from the ground and encourages them to look around more at all their surroundings.
5. Take Care of an Upset Stomach With It
Is there anything worse than struggling through the discomfort that often comes along with an upset stomach? It can leave you in agonizing pain for hours on end if you don’t do anything about it.
You can, of course, take any number of medicines to try and make an upset stomach go away. But you can also take advantage of a bolster pillow and use it to make an upset stomach a thing of the past.
To do it, lay down on top of a bolster pillow with it under your stomach. Then, roll from one side to the other slowly to provide yourself with some relief. It’s an especially effective way to deal with an upset stomach caused by gas. You should feel the pain in your stomach start to subside within just a few minutes.
6. Utilize It to Keep Out the Cold
Do you feel like you’re spending entirely too much money on energy these days? It could be because your home isn’t as energy efficient as it could and should be.
There are lots of things that you can do to improve your home’s energy efficiency in a short period of time. You can:
- Make a stronger effort to shut off lights when you’re not using them
- Unplug appliances that you don’t use on a regular basis
- Install a smart thermostat to control the temperature in your home better
You can also do something as simple as sticking a bolster pillow at the bottom of a door that lets cold draughts into your house in the wintertime. It’ll stop those draughts from entering your home and prevent your HVAC system from having to run almost all the time.
You’ll notice a gigantic difference in your energy bills when you make it a point to stop cold draughts from wreaking havoc on your home. This is definitely one of the most surprising uses for bolster pillows.
7. Transform It Into a Toy
If you have kids, you’re probably always trying to find ways to keep them occupied. Even with all the newfangled technology that’s available today, “We’re bored!” is still something that parents hear far too often.
So, here’s an idea: Hand your kids a bolster pillow and tell them to come up with as many fun ways to use it as they can think of in an hour. They can let their imagination run wild while they transform a bolster pillow into a toy to keep themselves entertained.
At first glance, a bolster pillow might not look like something that would be fun to play with. But within just a few minutes, your kids will be pretending that it’s everything from a horse to a space rocket. The hour will fly by as they have a ball playing with your bolster pillow.
You will want to advise your kids not to have pillow fights with bolster pillows. Unlike other pillows, they have a little bit of weight to them and could cause injuries if your kids aren’t careful.
But as long as your kids play nice with your bolster pillows, they’ll keep them out of your hair for a little while. Even they’ll be a little surprised by how much fun they have with pillows.
There Are So Many Surprising Uses for Bolster Pillows
Most of the people who have bolster pillows on their beds don’t use them to their full potential. They put them onto their beds in the morning as a decoration and throw them onto the floor at night to get them out of the way.
If you’re going to invest in a bolster pillow (or two!) for your bed, you should do more with them. Take some of the ideas that we’ve presented here and put them to good use. They’ll make your bolster pillows way more worthwhile than they are now.
Want to find other practical uses for things you have lying around your house? Take a look at our blog to get more great ideas.
