You may feel better and sleep better with a neck pillow. It is sometimes called a cervical pillow because the upper part of the spine (where the neck is) is called the cervical spine. Research suggests that a pillow with good neck support can help relieve neck pain and improve rest. These pillows can also be used while sleeping in bed to help with your posture.
They are usually not too big, which means they can keep your neck and head aligned while you sleep. However, due to the ergonomic design, it is best to use them lying on your back, so if you sleep on your side, it may not be for you. Horseshoe shaped body pillows can be useful to prevent neck strain when sleeping while sitting, such as sitting on an airplane or in a car, or while sitting in a recliner. These small pillows support the neck so that the head does not fall too far to the side.
The pillow should be small enough so that the head is aligned on the shoulders and is not pushed forward. Bang says neck pain and stiff neck are the most common. Beyond that, you may experience problems with your entire spine twisting in the wrong way, which for a long time can create lasting damage, he adds. An important benefit of sleeping with a neck pillow is that it really helps to improve your posture while you sleep.
They can also improve sleep by relieving and supporting tight neck and shoulder muscles, increasing blood flow to the head. Any pillow that feels uncomfortable is going to be bad news for your neck. There are also variations within the types of pillows. Memory foam pillows are available as a solid piece or with shredded foam padding, and each variant works well for some people but not for others.
If you sleep on your side, you can find a neutral pillow or a specially designed neck pillow that gives you neck support and head alignment. You can also look for a pillow made of supportive foam or latex instead of a down or down alternative. Pillows made of cotton, wool or synthetic cotton are less expensive, but create a more attractive climate for dust mites. For example, if you sleep on your side with a soft pillow that doesn’t provide enough support under your neck, your head has to extend sideways to meet the pillow.
However, choosing the right pillow and adopting a healthy sleeping posture can help relieve pressure on the neck. The general rule for a proper pillow is that it should keep the neck parallel to the mattress, rather than bending down or upwards. For anyone who is more comfortable sleeping leaning on an adjustable bed or leaning on pillows, it is worth considering this type of pillow to support the head and neck. For those who have constant neck pain, unless they can improve their sleep quality, they will not be able to improve their pain.
The plush padding and memory foam together offer an excellent contour for the head and neck, which greatly helps to relieve aches and pains. Keeping your neck in a good physiological position while you sleep is a wonderful thing to do, she said, but the problem with U-shaped pillows is that they aren’t built to be firm enough or tall enough to help most people, plus they don’t spin around the neck correctly. Pillows designed for both side and back sleepers feature a lower central area for sleeping on your back, with fuller areas at each end for sleeping on your side. The U-shaped neck pillow is an abomination without support; a pernicious, deceptive and recklessly ubiquitous travel trinket that coos the masses not for sleep, but for a zombie restlessness they have been trained to blame themselves for, not to mention constantly looking at their smartphone or computer can really make your neck pain a problem that has been called “text neck or technical neck”.
Its edges are curved to help reduce head and neck rotation and reduce pressure points that contribute to pain.
