Ever woke up in the middle of the night and felt a strain in your neck and shoulders, and just feeling like you had a horrible sleep? As you crane your neck from side to side, you feel the tightness and soreness tingling and you’re thinking “I need to book that massage session pronto!”.
A massage session is good, but what if it doesn’t resolve the root of your problem? You see, many times we neglect the importance of a good pillow in helping us with our sleeping posture. Our pillow may have already gone past its lifespan without us knowing!
In our previous article, we talked about checking when we needed a pillow upgrade. Today, we ask: How do we go about choosing one? The first key point to remember: your pillow should always keep your body – head, neck, torso – in alignment when you sleep.
Next, consider what kind of sleeper you are. While most of us tend to alternate between sleeping positions at night, finding a pillow that best suits our dominant sleeping position will help relieve some of the stress that has been accumulating each night.
Back sleeper
- Medium pillow with medium firmness to provide just enough support for the neck. The pillow should still be soft enough to be comfortable for you.
- Note: Your pillow should not be too thick such that your neck is lifted too high, nor should it be too thin that your head is in an uncomfortable tilt.
Side sleeper
- Firm pillow with firm support so that your head is level with your spine throughout your sleep.
- Side sleepers experience the most pressure on their shoulders, so a higher pillow will relieve some of it. Your shoulders should not feel like it’s being crushed into the mattress by your body weight.
Stomach Sleeper
- Soft pillow with low firmness to keep your posture aligned.
- Nonetheless, experts warn against stomach sleeping as it puts one’s neck at risk of straining, and puts pressure on the lower back.
