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a good night's sleep
Healthy
Lifestyle | Lack of Energy |
Breathing | Sleep Correctly
| Posture | Pillows
Dear Dr. Suzy,
Q.
Why is sleeping on your stomach not good for your neck and back?
A.
There is no way to sleep on
your stomach without putting some torque or twisting in your spine,
especially in the neck region. This can be harmful to the spinal column
because it puts pressure on the delicate spinal nerves over an extended
period of time, and may result in stiffness, neck pain, and headaches.
The ideal position for
sleeping is on your back, with a pillow under your neck to support the
cervical curve. If you sleep on your side, try to switch sides frequently
and position your pillow so that your head and neck are level with the bed
and not tilted at an angle. Since there is less stress on the lower back
when your legs are bent, try sleeping with a pillow under your knees if you
are sleeping on your back, or between your knees if you sleep on your side.

The most important furniture
investment you will ever make is buying a high quality mattress. Sleeping on
a lumpy, saggy mattress for prolonged periods of time can cause serious
musculoskeletal problems and result in a dramatic loss of energy.
Q.
What kind of pillow should I use?
I wake up with a stiffness in my neck almost every morning and wonder if
it is my pillow or my bed or if I am just getting old.
A.
This
is an important question since sleeping on a pillow that does not properly
support your neck or causes it to tilt forward can gradually decrease the angle
of the cervical curve and cause pain, stiffness and misalignment of the
vertebrae over time.
There are three natural curves in the spine that naturally increase its strength
and flexibility: the cervical curve in the neck, the thoracic curve in the mid
back, and the lower back or lumbar curve. Just as the curve in a bridge or other
structure increases its weight bearing capacity, so too, do the curves in your
spine.

Loss of the cervical curve can be a result of overstretching of the ligaments,
as is often seen after a serious car accident. This loss of curve can result in
decreased weight bearing strength of the neck supporting the head and can cause
pain and stiffness, possibly affecting vital nerve flow.
Sometimes it seems that I have been researching and searching for the perfect
pillow for most of my adult life. There are a multitude of different types of
cervical or neck pillows available on the market today. If you are like most
people, you have tried at least a few different types, and hopefully found a
pillow that you are comfortable with.
I
personally have a stack of different pillows that I have given a chance and then
thrown in the attic or given away. If you are still experimenting with different
pillows, trying to find the perfect one, you may find the following information
helpful.
As is often the case, the most expensive frequently advertised pillows aren’t
always the best ones. Some people swear by Tempurpedic or memory foam type
pillows that are made of a foam type material that bounces back after applied
pressure is removed. I know many people who are extremely particular about
pillows who say that they can’t sleep on anything but this type of pillow. A few
people that I know prefer buckwheat filled pillows, but the noise they make as
you are sleeping is annoying to some people.
Others prefer air or water filled pillows. The concept behind water based
pillows is great, but many people find them to heavy or awkward to use. I’ll
probably always experiment with pillows searching for the ideal one. At present,
my favorite pillow is one that wasn’t even designed for sleeping, but rather for
hugging or stress relief. Perhaps you have seen the lightweight, huggable, small
roll shaped pillows covered in micro fiber type material and filled with tiny
micro beads of polystyrene in drug stores or airport kiosks. I have several and
prefer the more substantial higher quality versions. Since they are inexpensive,
I simply buy a new one when the old one stretches out.
Also, feather pillows are ideal for providing support without being overly hard,
and will conform to the contours of your neck more easily than a foam pillow.
The problem with feather pillows, however, is that, often, they are simply too
flat. If you are industrious, you can actually open up the seam and adjust the
firmness by adding or removing more feathers until the pillow is more
comfortable for you. You may even want to tie a ribbon around the middle to give
it more of a butterfly shape. The procedure is a little messy, but many people
have found it very effective.
The bottom line, in my opinion, is to use the first stepping stone once again
and listen to the innate intelligence of your unique body rather than the
marketing specialists on television.
Whenever possible, do not forget to take your most comfortable pillow with you
when traveling, since hotel pillows are notoriously flat and hard, and often the
cause of torticollis or stiffness in the neck region. I sometimes take a small
pillow with me on extended airline flights along with a cozy scarf or wrap,
since cold drafts (especially on planes and in hotel rooms) seem to frequently
trigger stiff necks.
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