Is your pillow ‘painful’ or ‘perfect’?
Written by Dr. David Howard – B.Sc. (Clinical Sci.), M.H.Sc. (Osteopathy), B.App.Sc (Human Movement) from Pascoe Vale Osteopathy located in Pascoe Vale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Most of us, hopefully, spend at least 8 hours a night with our head on a pillow. This can become a big problem if your pillow is not supporting your neck correctly.
The spine in your neck curves in order to evenly distribute the weight of your head when upright. Whatever position you prefer to sleep in, it is important to keep your spine as close as possible to its correct alignment – which is how it is when upright. This means that the natural curve is maintained and the shoulders aren’t squashed.
Symptoms of a bad pillow
If your neck is not supported correctly when sleeping, an array of symptoms can develop such as:
Neck pain
Headaches
Migraines
Shoulder pain
Numbness and tingling in the hands (due to the nerves and blood vessels being squashed)
Upper back pain
Lower back pain
Neck stiffness in the morning
Restlessness/tossing/turning at night (which will negatively affect your immune system)