Dreaming of the Perfect Pillow
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me “What is a good pillow?” I would probably be a millionaire!
It’s a hard question to answer as each person has personal preferences, different sleeping positions and different body shapes and sizes. In this blog I’ll run you through some of the basics of what to look for in your quest for the perfect pillow-
1. Keep your neck in a neutral position
Let’s firstly clarify that neutral means 0 degrees, so no kink or tilt in your neck.
Ideally you don’t want your neck tilting towards either shoulder, you want your head to be sitting straight on-top of your shoulders. Additionally you don’t want to be using your elbow underneath your head to give you more support, this is what a good pillow should do.
2. Sleeping Position
The ideal sleeping position is side sleeping, with your knees and ankles stacked on top of each other with a slight bend in the knee and your elbows and wrists replicating this; elbows and wrists stacked on top of each other with a slight bend in the elbows.
A good tip to help keep your neck in a neutral position is to look at the width of your shoulders and to choose a pillow that has roughly the same width.
3. You don’t need to spend a lot of money for a good pillow
Pillows don’t need to be expensive for them to be good! If you just take some time and attention to look at the feel, shape and size you should find you can choose the perfect pillow for you. This may take some time and effort but a good night’s sleep will be worth it.
4. There’s not much research regarding what the best pillow is
Trust me, I’ve looked for this.
Being an Evidence based Chiropractor we like to consider what research is available, but in the case of pillow’s there really isn’t any decent research to look at.
In saying this, if any one does find anything, please share it with me!
5. Side sleeping is preferred vs tummy sleeping.
Side sleeping is the best sleeping position because it keeps your body in a good posture.
Just like we talk about good posture during the day, we want to think about good posture at night, remember we sleep for approx. 7 hours during the night, that’s a long time to have bad posture!
We could also talk about the composition or the type of material of pillows.
This can range from memory foam, to down, to wool and to gel infused.
Again this really is a personal preference, I support the use of memory foam as it gives good support however I have had people tell me they get too hot with memory foam, which is why a gel infused pillow may be a good choice for those who do heat up or who are going through menopause.
6. Others may prefer a hypoallergenic or natural product.
So at the end of the day, as you can see, the choice of pillow really is a personal choice. If you can keep in mind that good posture is important when sleeping, you’ll find you can choose your pillow comfortably.
My biggest tip is when you’re transitioning from one pillow to other, is to keep your old pillow near by, as you may find yourself reaching for your old pillow half way during the night.
7. Recommendations- Some of my favourite pillow brands are:
(Please Note: This is not an endorsed/ sponsored post)
Dentons: https://www.dentons.com.au/collections/shop-all-pillows
Dunlopillo: https://www.dunlopillo-bedding.com.au
Therapeutic Pillow: https://pillows.com.au
Here’s a great resource to use to help you find the right pillow: https://pillows.com.au/resources/pillow-sizes
Lastly, don’t forget to change your pillow between every 2-5 years. Healthy sleep isn’t just about maintaining good posture but it’s also about sleep hygiene.
Any Questions or Queries? Or anything else related to chiropractic that you’d like us to talk about?
Still having trouble sleeping? Maybe it’s time to look at what chiropractic can do for you,
contact us
today!
