Have you ever woken up in the morning with a stiff back or neck? Or are restless through your sleep with neck or back pain? If so, you’ll know that it can be difficult to find a comfortable position that will leave you feeling good when you wake up. So what is the solution? The correct pillow height paired with a comfortable correct sleeping position will leave you muscles and joints feeling rested and rejuvenated. Read below to find out what sleeping positions and pillow will work best for your body type to ensure you get the best possible sleep tonight.
THE RIGHT PILLOW
A couple tips to keep in mind when choosing the right pillow…
- Make sure that the pillow will keep the neck in line with your chest and low back in both the side lying and back positions.
- You should be able to draw a straight line from the top of your spine (neck) to the bottom (tail bone).
- Side sleepers: a firm pillow the height of the distance between your ear to your shoulder when sitting upright.
- Back sleepers: a firm-medium height pillow
- Stomach sleepers: a low soft pillow or none at all
BODY ALIGNMENT
If you sleep on your back, a small pillow under your knees will reduce the stress on your low back by supporting its natural curve.
If you sleep on your side, a pillow in between your legs can help prevent your top leg from rolling over your body which creates stress on the lower back.
It is not recommended to sleep on your stomach as the position creates stress on the spine by going against all the natural curvatures of the spine, consequently causing back and neck pain. Your best option is to try and adjust your sleeping position to one as mentioned above.
We also have a range of Flexi Pillows™ that can be fitted by our team and taken home to trial to find the best fit for you.
Now that you know what you need to look for when choosing a pillow and sleeping position, you’ll find you will have a better nights sleep.
Reference: Lei, J. X., Yang, P. F., Yang, A. L.,
Gong, Y. F., Shang, P., & Yuan, X. C. (2021). Ergonomic Consideration in
Pillow Height Determinants and Evaluation. Healthcare (Basel,
Switzerland), 9(10), 1333. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9101333