Sleep is very important to me, and while I go through ups and downs with bouts of short-term insomnia, for the most part, I'm a good sleeper. (This will ALL change when baby comes, I know!)

And when I travel, I am no less concerned with getting some shut-eye on the way—in planes, trains and automobiles. To accomplish that, I've purchased any number of strange and not-so-strange pillows to try to help facilitate ZZZs otherwise less-than-ideal conditions.

I've toted on board planes with me the popular buckwheat-filled Bucky pillow, the inflatable neck-ring pillow, and just a plain old bedroom pillow.

One time I even used this enormous contraption (pic below), on a long flight to South America. (I definitely drew some stares. Note—that's not me in the photo, although he looks verrry comfortable!) Unfortunately, it was enormous, didn't work if the person in front of me leaned their seat back and I just didn't get much sleep.



So you can imagine I was pretty excited to test out this latest travel accessory, the TravelRest Pillow by HiGear Design. It's currently the top-selling travel pillow on Amazon.com and it promises to curtail the neck snapping, head-rolling-and-lolling that often makes sleeping in a sitting-up position so uncomfortable—or downright impossible.

Especially good for use in either a plane or a car, the deflated, velvety pillow inflates with about five good puffs of air, and turns into a long tubular shape. You secure the fattest part up near your head by looping the string around the seat or head-rest and then position the pillow so it sort of nuzzles your body like a seatbelt. (Again, not MOI slumbering away in the image below.)



The end result is that you can both lean your head to the side AND down, and wherever you might need when you fall asleep. No more leaning on your seatmate's shoulder or having your head slip off your collar-like pillow. You can adjust the pillow's size/inflation to suit your needs and also secure it (with a snap) to your seatbelt, so it doesn't shift around.

I tested the pillow on a car trip recently and it was a breeze to set up and 'install', and true to its promise, it really did make snoozing much easier, almost like there was someone there to catch my head and neck. Since I just tested it in the privacy of my car, I can't say what kind of reaction there might be from a seatmate at 30,000 feet when you whip out this item and start blowing it up, but it doesn't infringe on anyone's space so I imagine they'd mostly be jealous! I also love that when it's deflated and rolled up, it takes less space than a tiny umbrella, which is great for storing away in a purse when you're done with it.

Oh, and I like the story of how the creator of the pillow and company founder, Johh Mittelstadt, came to invent it. Apparently, on a long overseas flight, he removed his shoelaces from his sneakers and tied his pillow to his seatback—presumably to keep it from constantly slipping away. 

The pillow sells for $26.95.