JustBreathe

a magazine by HEALING HOTELS OF THE WORLD

  • Body
    • Health
    • Ayurveda
    • Detox
    • Anti-Stress
    • Beauty
    • Healing Water
    • Graceful Aging
    • Weight Loss
    • Fitness
    • Sleep
  • Mind
    • New Consciousness
    • Mindfulness
    • Meditation
    • Yoga
  • Soul
    • Spirituality
    • Food for Your Soul
    • Me-Time
  • Life
    • Holistic Lifestyle
    • Inspirational Podcasts
    • Inspiring People
    • Green Living
    • Charity
    • Design
  • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
  • Healing Hotels
Close
JustBreathe
Close
  • Body
    • Health
    • Ayurveda
    • Detox
    • Anti-Stress
    • Beauty
    • Healing Water
    • Graceful Aging
    • Weight Loss
    • Fitness
    • Sleep
  • Mind
    • New Consciousness
    • Mindfulness
    • Meditation
    • Yoga
  • Soul
    • Spirituality
    • Food for Your Soul
    • Me-Time
  • Life
    • Holistic Lifestyle
    • Inspirational Podcasts
    • Inspiring People
    • Green Living
    • Charity
    • Design
  • Food
    • Nutrition
    • Recipes
  • Healing Hotels

Best Sleeping Positions for Neck Pain

Body, Sleep May 13, 2019 Dr. Brent Wells
Best Sleeping Positions for Neck Pain

© Adi Goldstein

If you have neck pain, finding a comfortable sleeping position can be difficult.

With the wrong type of pillow and the wrong positions, your neck pain might get worse before it gets better. Instead of constantly trying new things and finding that nothing works, it is best to simply learn what sleeping positions will help your neck rather than hurt it.

Unfortunately, studies show that there is no one right way to sleep each night. But, studies have also found that there are some positions that are more harmful than others. It is best to avoid what hurts and to choose what feels good. But, if you are sleeping, it can be difficult to know what is working until you wake up the next more either in pain or not.

 

Choosing a pillow that relaxes the muscles and discs

The height of your pillow can affect the way your neck feels. In the journal PeerJ, the heights of pillows and their effects on the alignment of cranio-cervical pressure and cervical spine alignment were studied. According to the study, nearly 25% of the popular suffers from neck pain and pillow design is recognized as one of the culprits for neck pain. When pillows provide improper support, the cervical spine is stressed. This can create pain and headaches along with poor sleep.

best sleeping positions

The study used college students and they slept on B-shaped pillows that were paired with a pressure-sensitive mat to gather data. The subjects were told to lay supine with four different pillow heights, including 110 mm, 130 mm, 150 mm, and 170 mm. The researchers looked at the position of the neck while laying on these four pillow heights.

The researchers found that cranio-cervical pressure changed as pillows got taller.

As the pillows got taller, the pressure shifted from the cranial region to the cervical region with the peak pressure on the 170 mm pillow. Even though pressure increased as the pillows grew taller, the researchers were unable to make a recommendation for the ideal height of a pillow for supine sleeping. Ideally, the pillow should be a height that allows the discs and muscles to relax from all the heavy lifting they do through the day.

 

Positioning the hands with supine postures

Another study looked at the positioning of the neck during sleep and how it affected neck muscle activity. This study was published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science. The idea was that sleep is vital to human health and maintaining energy. Without proper sleep, people have problems thinking, controlling their moods, and getting through the day without being tired. Good sleep also helps people fight chronic pain.

neck pain

When people sleep in uncomfortable positions, they have biomechanical stress on their cervical spine and it increases stiffness, headaches, and arm pain. The sleep lab was used to study 20 men and women who agreed to participate. They were told to sleep supine in one of three postures:

  • With both hands at their sides
  • Both arms on the chest bent at 45°
  • Dominant hand on the forehead

Of the three postures, the dominant hand on the forehead posture was the least comfortable as it created stress in the right scalene muscle. Only one type of pillow was used, so no results were based on the pillow type. Like the pillow study in PeerJ, this study did not have any conclusive findings other than the need for a relaxed position that provided comfort. They did recommend not sleeping with your hands on your forehead because of the discomfort it brings to the scalene muscles and the other muscles near them.

 

Best side sleeping pillows

Side sleepers were analyzed in a study published in Manual Therapy. In this study, side sleepers used a variety of different types of pillows and recorded their comfort and sleep quality. The types of pillows included

  • Polyester
  • Foam
  • Feather
  • Rubber
  • Their usual pillow

They also used foam contour pillows and regular shaped pillows. Over 100 people were included in this study. The subjects had to report back about their walking and pain as well as sleep quality. The recommendation for side sleepers is that rubber pillows provide the most support. The subjects preferred rubber pillows over their own pillows and their own pillows were similar to the foam contour pillows. The only pillow that was not recommended was a feather pillow.

 

Avoiding stiffness and headaches in the morning

Other studies looked at sleeping posture and how those change throughout the night.

In a study published in Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, waking cervical pain was studied. They looked at over 800 households and their amount of waking cervical spine stiffness, headaches, and aches in their arms. The researchers also looked at gender and age. In the report, “Subjects most commonly reported waking with scapular or arm pain (27%) followed by headache (19%), cervical pain (18%) and cervical stiffness (17%).” The most common complaints came from women and adults over the age of 60.

The stiffness was most likely due to people not shifting out of uncomfortable positions through the night. As people age, they are less likely to shift position because they are more likely to have a lack of flexibility in their spines. In some cases, people stay in the same sleeping posture for nearly two hours. Younger people shift positions more frequently through the night, which could be the explanation for less stiffness and headaches upon waking.

But, there is an argument that increased movement actually places more pressure on pain-sensitive structures like the the cervical spine. So, again, like the other studies, very little is known about the best positions for sleeping to avoid neck pain.

It can be helpful to use a sleep app to record your movement through the night. If you find that you wake up with more pain on nights when you do not move much, it might be in your best interest to move and switch positions throughout the night. Go with what feels comfortable while sleeping on a supportive pillow that lets your neck muscles fully relax.

 

Tags: sleep sleep quality sleeping position

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

HHW Banner

Food for Your Soul – A Column

Breaking the Fear Algorithm: Uncovering Media Manipulation and Finding Emotional Freedom

Recently, I observed how social media manipulates our emotions to keep us engaged, sparking my desire to delve deeper into this calculated strategy. Read more →

The Inner Mirror: Discovering the Depths of Self-Trust

If you want to learn to trust yourself, you have to go on a journey deep within to face your fears and to learn to love yourself on the way. Read more →

Emotions as a Pathway of Inner Awakening

By going within and recognizing your inner landscape via deep introspection, you can embark on a journey toward inner transformation. Read more →

Newsletter Signup

* indicates required

justbreathemag

An online magazine by @healinghotels created to change minds, habits & hearts 💛
#HealingIsLove #Health #Wellbeing
Click below for all articles ⬇️

Just Breathe - A Wellbeing Magazine
🔮 Unlock Your Energy, Unlock Your Joy! Ever fee 🔮 Unlock Your Energy, Unlock Your Joy! Ever feel drained for no reason? Your energy flow could be out of sync.When your energy moves freely, you feel grounded, inspired, and calm. When it’s blocked? Stress, fatigue, and emotional overwhelm take over.Try this reset:
✨ Take 3 deep breaths
✨ Repeat: “I am calm. I am in flow.”
✨ Ground yourself—go barefoot in nature, soak up sunlightMastering your energy is simpler than you think—and it’s the key to lasting happiness. 🌿📖 Read the full article by @christywhitmanofficial via the link in bio.#EnergyFlow #StressRelief #MindBodyBalance #JustBreatheMag #ChristyWhitman #InnerPeace #VibrationMatters #WellbeingJourney #HealingEnergy
What if everything we’ve been told about Friday What if everything we’ve been told about Friday the 13th is wrong?The number 13 was once sacred—deeply connected to the moon, the cycles of nature, and the Divine Feminine. 🌕✨It’s time to rewrite the narrative and reclaim its ancient power. 🔥Beautifully written by @larajday 💫
Read the full article—link in bio.#FridayThe13th #DivineFeminine #Sacred13 #AncientWisdom #ReclaimTheFeminine #LunarCycles #SpiritualAwakening #JustBreatheMag
🌊 Surrendering to the Ocean 🌊From childho 🌊 Surrendering to the Ocean 🌊From childhood bike rides by the beach to silent moments with his father by the shore, @mrmikedelarocha reflects on the sacred lessons of nature, community, and surrendering to the present moment.⁠
⁠
This essay is a powerful reminder that healing doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens when we return to the earth, to each other, and to ourselves.⁠
⁠
✨ Tap the link in our bio to this deeply personal essay.
⁠
#Surrendering #SacredLessons #MikeDeLaRocha #HealingInNature #SurfAndSoul #CommunityHealing #SpiritualGrowth #JustBreatheMag #JustBreathe
🌿✨ A Dharmic Journey in the Heart of Nature ✨🌿Step into the healing embrace of the Swiss Alps, where crystal-clear rivers, ancient forests, and sacred ceremonies guide you back to your true essence. 🌊🔥🌬️🌍🌌Join a powerful dharmic journey through the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether—to restore balance, clarity, and connection within.From cacao ceremonies and forest bathing to labyrinth walks and nourishing cuisine, every moment is designed to awaken your body, mind, and spirit.Led by the wise and soulful @christelle.chopard, this one-of-a-kind retreat invites you to breathe, feel, and realign with your dharma.🔗 Full article linked in bio
🍃 Reconnect. Realign. Renew.#DharmicJourney #NatureRetreat #HealingWithTheElements #ChristelleChopard #WellnessRetreat #SpiritualJourney #YogaRetreat #SwitzerlandRetreat #ReconnectWithNature #ElementalHealing #JustBreathe #JustBreatheMag
🌙 Struggling with restful sleep? Discover these 🌙 Struggling with restful sleep? Discover these powerful bedtime affirmations by wellness expert @shannonkaiserwrites to calm your mind and invite peace:✨ I fill up my cup with self-love and it balances me.
✨ I rid myself of negative thoughts to purify my mind and body.
✨ I invite positive energy to flow through my body.
✨ I let go of the day.
✨ I heal what I am willing to reveal.
✨ I conclude my day with love in my heart.Incorporate these affirmations into your nightly routine to release negativity and embrace tranquility for a rejuvenating night’s sleep.🔗 Find the full article in our bio!💬 Which affirmation speaks to you the most? Drop a 🌙 in the comments if you’re ready for peaceful nights!#SleepWell #Mindfulness #SelfLove #PositiveEnergy #LetGo #Healing #PeacefulNights #Affirmations #JustBreatheMag
Load More... Follow on Instagram

About JustBreatheMag

Just Breathe is an online magazine that was created to change minds, habits and hearts on the most important and current topics: health and wellbeing.

Powered by

Healing Hotels of the World Logo

Popular Tags

ageing anxiety Ayurveda balance beauty consciousness coronavirus detox diet DIY fear Fitness five elements gratitude happiness healing Healing Hotels HEALING SUMMIT health healthy nutrition inspiration intention Life lifestyle love me-time Meditation mental health mindfulness new year nutrition podcast recipe self-love self-reflection self care sleep spirituality stress sustainability transformation Travel weight loss wellbeing yoga

Behind the Scenes

  • Article Submission
  • About Us
  • Contact

Newsletter Signup

* indicates required
Legal Info | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Settings