I swapped my pillow for this $19 orthopedic one. Here's what happened (Update: Sold out)

By now we all know the importance of good sleep. For me personally, a bad night in bed results in an unfocused, crabby, zombie-like Rick. Needless to say, I'm willing to try anything and everything to raise my good-sleep average.

A new pillow, for example. Although I was already pretty happy (or thought I was) with my memory-foam headrest, I accepted Homca's offer to try its orthopedic job. And because it was discounting it to just $19.17 with promo code 55RUNBU2, I'll readily admit I wasn't expecting much. (That code works with the three available colors.)

So, what's the verdict? Let me preface this by saying everyone is different, especially when it comes to sleep, and what works for some is by no means guaranteed to work for others.

I've slept on the Homca pillow for the past three weeks. Mrs. Cheapskate has done likewise; she'd actually been suffering from some neck pain prior to making the switch and was already considering a new pillow anyway.

I'm a side-sleeper; she mostly sleeps on her back. Much to my surprise, we both like the Homca. A lot. We don't wake up thinking, "Oh my god, that was the best night of sleep I've ever had!" Instead, we've both noticed small improvements.

For example, in recent years I've become a pretty light sleeper, and I've noticed that when I toss and turn, I'm often fluffing or punching my pillow to get it "just so." With this one, there's none of that, because it's permanently shaped. My neck rests on the slightly elevated section, my head in the slightly concave center.

So I'm definitely tossing and turning less, definitely making fewer pillow-related adjustments during the night. I'm not sure if I'm getting deeper sleep, but on the whole I've felt more rested these past few weeks.

One possible related reason: I've noticed almost zero snoring coming from the other side of the bed. Whether the pillow is responsible (it does claim to help reduce snoring), I can't say for sure. I just know I haven't awakened to the sound of it since we made the switch.

I do wish Homca offered a king-size version of this, because our pillowcases are comically oversized on them. Other than that, I have to say I'm a convert. Much as my ego dislikes the idea of orthopedic anything, I can easily put that aside if it means better sleep.

Again, your mileage may vary, but for a measly $19, this might be worth a try.

Your thoughts?

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CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow him on Facebook and Twitter. You can also sign up for deal texts delivered right to your phone. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and check out our CNET Coupons page for the latest Walmart discount codes, eBay coupons, Samsung promo codes and even more from hundreds of other online stores. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Answers live on our FAQ page.