I had the best sleep ever thanks to this unusual pillow - my husband hates it

I always sleep on my side, and as I have got older, I've noticed my hips and back can often ache in the morning. I kept on thinking I would have to upgrade my mattress, but after going on my honeymoon, I may have found a more cost-effective solution to my tired prayers.

My husband were in Side, an ancient Turkish city on the country's southern coast, where we stayed at the Acanthus hotel. When we entered our room, we clocked that the bed was dressed not just with decorative petals and hearts, but also with what looked like a long bolster-style pillow.

We discovered that it symbolised a traditional Turkish wedding blessing, "Bir yastkta kocatsn", which translates to "may you grow old together on the same pillow". So if we complied, the folklore went that we would have a long and happy marriage.

We both fell asleep on it and I managed to steal it completely and woke up blissfully relaxed, hugging it. For me, the pillow was just the right side of firm but malleable, and gave me the best night's sleep I've ever had, and that continued for the rest of the holiday. I noticed straightaway when laying in bed that it helped alleviate the ache in my hips.

After getting home, I read up on the mechanics of long pillows. According to research from the Sleep Medicine Journal, they can help to improve spine alignment for side sleepers, as often your top leg twists forward, which can pull your back out of line. Hugging a long pillow and resting your leg on it can help keep your hips and back straighter. In addition, it allows even weight distribution as instead of one part of your body pressing into the mattress, the pillow spreads your weight out, easing pressure on joints.

It also can give shoulder support as resting on your side can squash your shoulder if your arm has nowhere to go. Wrapping your arm around a pillow takes pressure off and can keep your shoulder more comfortable. The pillow is also suitable to support pregnant tummies.

I set about looking for a pillow that could replicate the one we used on holiday. I settled on Rohi 5ft full-bodypillow, £19.99, from Amazon. It comes with a machine-washable pillowcase available in 19 different colours. It is also available in 3ft, 4ft, 4.6ft, and 6ft sizes. It contains hollow-fibre filling, so while it is soft, it is also quite firm and holds its shape well.

I did consider buying a smaller version but getting the 5ft size - (L)152cm x (W)45cm - means I can cuddle it and still have space on the bed, whether I sleep on my side or rotate through the night. The filling is soft but dense enough to give support without feeling like I'm squashing it flat after a few hours. It had great reviews on Amazon with customers praising how comfy the pillow is. One person wrote: "Amazing quality and price. Really thick and soft. Absolutely love it. And comes with a pillow case as well!"

There were some niggles, mainly with the colours as people say they don't look exactly as they do on Amazon, and the quality of the pillowcase. I've already invested in a satin version as I think it is better for my skin and hair. But there a few other things to consider: the size means it takes up more bed space, something my husband hates, especially as I'm 5ft tall so there are essentially three bodies in bed now.

Also, it's not ultra-firm, so if you need really solid support, you might need to double it up or use it in tandem with a standard pillow.

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