Side sleepers: should you sleep without a pillow?

If you’ve been waking up with medical sheet set supplier pain, you may be wondering if you should try sleeping without a pillow. There are plenty of articles online that tout the benefits of sleeping without a pillow. Should you believe the hype?

While we put a lot of effort into researching and finding the best mattress for our sleep needs, and diligently replace them every 7 years or so, we tend to forget about the impact pillows have on our sleep. As a result, we can end up with the wrong pillows for our sleeping position, or too-old pillows that are no longer supportive. If you’ve got a great mattress but still have trouble sleeping, it’s no wonder you start to blame your pillow.

Pillows themselves are not inherently evil. Along with your mattress, they actually play an important role in supporting healthy spinal alignment while you sleep.

The question is not whether or not you should sleep without a pillow. Rather, the question is whether or not you should sleep without a pillow, based on your sleeping position.

In large part, your sleep position dictates what kind of pillow you should use, and whether sleeping without a pillow will help or hurt you.

This is the clearest case of all: absolutely not. Although side sleeping is generally considered the healthiest sleeping position, that all goes out the window if you sleep without proper pillow support. Side sleepers need a pillow to work in conjunction with their mattress to keep their spine straight while they sleep, from their hips all the way to their head.

A contouring mattress allows a side sleeper’s pressure points to sink into the mattress, but without a pillow, the weight of their head will wrench their neck downwards and out of alignment with the rest of their spine. Choosing to sleep on your shoulder is not an adequate alternative, as this causes undue pressure and numbing sensations on your arm and shoulder muscles. Plus, it does so unevenly, as only one side is affected.

Side sleepers need a thick, supportive pillow that is as thick as the distance between their neck and their shoulder. Cervical pillows help support a side sleeper’s neck, as do contour memory foam pillows that have a higher loft beneath the neck and a lower one beneath the head.

A proper pillow keeps the side sleeper’s head and neck straight and aligned with the spine. A pillow that is too thick will tilt the neck and head up and out of alignment, while a pillow that is too-soft or too-thin will tilt it down.

Beyond the head pillow, side sleepers may benefit from a thin pillow between the knees that relieves strain and keep the spine straight all the way down to your hips.

The bottom line: Side sleepers should NOT sleep without a pillow.

We are specialized in manufacturing various waterproof mattress protector for more than 10 years. To find out more about our mattress protector supplier information and our products, please visit our official blog: www.springtextile.com/blogs/ or Spring Hometextile video channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCMCz-yKQMYxA1e2Uscw5PHw.If you have any questions, please contact Fiona to get a quick feedback at: [email protected].

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