Which Is The Best Pillow For A Good Night Sleep?

A good night sleep is an important factor for living a healthy life.  One of the key factors towards getting a good night sleep is having a pillow that fulfils the need of your body.

As our spine is naturally curved, the need of supporting it while resting on bed is important to maintain its proper alignment & minimize stress in the curves of the spine particularly the neck and the upper back.

Hence it is advisable to sleep with a pillow as some people believe in myth that we shouldn’t use a pillow at all as it keeps their neck straight or leads to neck pain.

Sleeping Postures-

• Sleeping on our back – Comfortable for neck but increases snoring in many people.
• Sleeping on our sides - This is one of the preferred sleeping posture by most people. 
• Sleeping on our stomach - Ideally this position is not recommended for sleeping. One should avoid this position as when we lie on our stomach rotational stress acts on the neck leading to neck pains.

Common problems with pillow-

• Using a thick pillow causes our head to bend towards the chest when we lie on our back reversing the natural neck curve.
• A thicker pillow also contributes to snoring problems at night due to improper position of jaw and mouth that obstructs our airways.
• When using a thin pillow, our neck doesn’t get the adequate support and causes excessive strain in the neck muscles & joints.
• While sleeping on our sides, if the pillow is too thin or too thick, it bends our head either towards or away from the bed. This may cause tightness in the upper neck muscles leading to neck pain.

Choosing an ideal pillow-

• It should have a thickness of 1 - 1.5 inches on the edge of pillow which will support the neck curve while sleeping on the back.
• While lying on the sides, the recommended height of the pillow should be 1 - 1.5 inches lesser than the actual shoulder width of the person.
• It is recommended for most of the people to choose a pillow of medium firmness that is neither too soft nor too hard.
• Memory Foam pillows mould according to your head and neck shape but the material retains heat in itself making it uncomfortable to sleep specially in summers.
• Customisation of pillows according to your neck length & shoulder width is now achievable & has shown good results.

Advantages of having a right pillow-

• Provides support to the joints & muscle of the neck.
• Prevents unnecessary neck sprains and irritability while getting up in the morning
• Maintains the natural curve of the spine & helps in reducing the stress on the lower back.
• Reduces snoring concerns at night
• Eventually improving the quality of sleep at night making you feel fresh and recharged in the morning.