Dr. Najeeb Zuberi is a sleep evangelist. Zuberi, also a board certified neurologist and sleep specialist in Kissimmee,FL, says that sleep apnea increases the incidence of strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure and obesity.

In 1997, he began working on an idea for pillow that would help snorers and sleep apnea sufferers. He found pillow makers who could make it better. They went through multiple design phases. The result is the Sona pillow. Dr. Zuberi says his pillow corrects snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnea.

He began selling the device, which is approved by the FDA, on sonapillow.com. Now, the device is available in stores. The retailer Brookstone carries it, as does Mattress Firm.

The category is growing in unique pillows – memory foam, latex, and natural organic pillows.

The TempurPedics are the big sellers. They are all made of memory foam, a dense material that responds to body heat and pressure.

There are designs for side sleepers that are supposed to support the neck and keep the spine in a straight line. There are pillows that are rounded on one side for back sleeping and built up on the other side to provide a little more neck support- for side sleeping – choose your side. There are pillows that have a raised portion in front with a little notch for the neck.

The most popular memory foam pillows are in the $69 to $119 range, but the top of the line, a king size memory foam behemouth, sells for $400.

Source: SleepWeb (Marketdata Enterprises, Inc.) research