Choosing The Right Pillow
There are many factors that affect the quality of your sleep. One of these
factors is your pillow. Choosing the wrong pillow can cause or exacerbate
headaches and neck and shoulder tension.
How are you supposed to know which pillow is for you? One that will improve
your posture and satisfy all of your unique sleep needs? The correct pillow should keep your head, neck and spine in neutral alignment and support the natural curvature of your spine.
To pick a pillow that keeps you in neutral, you need to consider what position
you sleep in. If you’re a back sleeper and you’re not sure how to tell if your
spine is in neutral alignment, lie on your back with the pillow under your head.
Bend your knees up to 90 degrees and see if you can comfortably see the top
of your knees without having to strain your neck. If you’re a side sleeper your
neck should be straight so that your nose and chin are in line and your head is
not tilted downwards or upwards. If you have particularly large shoulders you
will need a larger pillow to fill the space between your shoulders and neck to
prevent you falling into too much side flexion when sleeping on your side or
neck extension when sleeping on your back. If you are only slightly built you
will need a smaller pillow so as not to force your neck into too much side
flexion when on your side or too much forward flexion when sleeping on your
back.
Sleeping on your stomach is not recommended due to the large amount of
rotation of the neck for extended periods, but if you can’t help sleeping on
your stomach you will need a smaller sized pillow so as not to put the neck into
full rotation for too long.
Our memory foam pillows are designed to hold their shape and not deform
over time with the weight of your head (usually 8-10kg) on the pillow as the
night progresses however even the best pillow will need to be replaced every 2
years and your mattress should be replaced every 7-10 years.
It is important to note that contoured pillows can take 1-2 weeks to get used
to if you have never slept on one. Even if you are replacing a contoured
memory foam pillow with the same type/brand, the new one will feel entirely
different to the old one and will take a few days to get used to again.
A memory foam pillow will feel firm initially but will settle to its optimal firmness
after 2-3 weeks of use. As a result of this, there is a removable layer in our
pillows which most people take out for the first few days or week until the
memory foam softens before putting it back in ( a bit like breaking in a new
pair of running shoes).
Our posture form memory foam pillows last longer than many other memory
foam pillows as they are very high quality and a slightly more dense mix than
most other memory foam pillows. Memory foam is also temperature sensitive
and can feel quite firm on a cool night until it reacts with your body heat and
softens up when you lie on it.
If you are still unsure about your pillow, we have pillows for hire for $10 a
week which is redeemable on the price of a pillow if you decide to purchase
one. Try one today. A great night’s sleep is only a pillow away!
Best Wishes.
Written by Sally Buratowski - Physiotherapist & Pilates Instructor.
To see our Physiotherapists or book in for a Pilates consult, book an appointment with us online today or call our team on 07 55 04 7000.
