The Best Sleeping Position for Neck Pain
Many people have experienced it: you wake up with a stiff neck or a headache. You quickly think you might have ‘slept wrong,’ but what exactly does that mean? And more importantly: how do you ensure you sleep comfortably and wake up without complaints?
How Does Sleeping Position Affect Your Neck?
A good or bad sleeping position can mean the difference for your neck between a pain-free life or daily struggles with pain and stiffness. Below, the problems for the neck are explained per sleeping position. Then it is explained what the best sleeping position is for the neck.
Sleeping on Your Stomach
The worst is sleeping on your stomach: the neck is twisted, and you wake up feeling ‘broken.’ Young people can often sleep on their stomach without complaints. Over the years, stiffness in the neck or a strange feeling in the head may gradually develop. This can worsen into severe neck and headache pain.
Stable Side Sleeping
Most people sleep in the so-called stable side position: half on the side/half on the stomach. Even if you lie exactly on your side, you often end up in this position during the night. The stable side position is less bad than sleeping on the stomach but still quite stressful for the neck.
What Is the Best Sleeping Position for the Neck?
The best position for the neck is side sleeping using a good pillow and a body pillow. With the Mikoala Body Pillow the torso is not twisted forward as in the stable side position. The spine and neck are in a neutral position.
The neck can relax optimally through the combination of the body pillow and the Hi4 Deluxe Pillow. The body pillow ensures a neutral position of the cervical vertebrae, and the pillow provides even support.
What Effect Does the Combination of Hi4 Pillow + Mikoala Body Have?
Because the neck lies straight and relaxed, it can recover well from the strain of the day. This is noticeable by:
- No/less neck pain
- More relaxed neck
- No/less tension headaches
- Less frequent waking at night
- Feeling better rested upon waking
Scientific research has been conducted on the effects of sleeping with the Mikoala pillow and body pillow: a study by UMCG (University of Groningen) and a study by science journalist Toine de Graaf in collaboration with the health magazine gezondNU.
What Else Is Important for the Neck?
1. Correct Pillow Height
The correct pillow height is very important. If the pillow is too high or too low, sideways tension in the neck occurs. With an adjustable pillow, you can always ensure your pillow has the right height.
2. Good Neck Support
It is crucial that the neck is well supported and does not ‘sag.’ The neck support must provide support in exactly the right place. Often there is no neck support at all, or it is too wide. Then mainly the ear is supported instead of the neck.
3. Limit Sleeping on Your Back
Sleeping on your back does not have to be a problem for the neck, but it can be if the head turns to the side during sleep. This happens regularly. The ligaments between the head and neck become tense, which can cause complaints.
4. Reading/TV/Phone in Bed
Reading in bed can cause sideways tension in the neck, see the left image. In the right image, the neck is relaxed:
When reading lying on your back, tension can also develop in the neck, but forward. This can be relieved by holding the book higher. Placing a pillow under the book is a handy tip.
Watching TV or looking at your phone or tablet can also be stressful for the neck, especially if the TV is positioned relatively low and the head bends forward (chin on chest).
5. Mattress and Bed Base
The firmness of the mattress and bed base can affect the position of the neck and the correct pillow height. The softer the mattress/bed base, the more the shoulder sinks into the mattress when lying on your side. The head comes closer to the mattress, and you need a lower pillow. With a firmer mattress/stiff bed base, you need a higher pillow.
With a very soft mattress, as with a waterbed, the shape of the pillow sometimes needs to be adjusted. This can be done, among other ways, by adjusting the plates of the Mikoala Hi4 Deluxe pillow. This is custom work that can be done in consultation with ligwijzer.nl.
Order the Mikoala Pillows in Our Webshop
In our webshop, you can order the Mikoala Hi4 Deluxe Pillow and the Mikoala Body Pillow. When you order the combination of head and body pillow on our website, you receive a nice discount.
©2024, Jan Willem Elkhuizen