Types Of Pillows For A Better Night's Sleep
The World Health Organization (WHO) determines that an adult must have at least 7 hours of sleep to enable their physical and mental state to be at optimal level. According to the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM), "Sleep problems constitute a global epidemic that threatens the health and quality of life of more than 45% of the world's population.
Sleeping well is one of the three fundamental pillars to enjoy good health, in addition to a balanced diet and regular exercise
Inability to get proper sleep is an issue that ends up burdening our entire day and can even affect our mood negatively. It brings about tiredness that we do not know how to mitigate.
Sleeping is something so natural that we do not usually think how we achieve it, and when a problem that hinders our sleep arises, we look for instant solutions to continue enjoying a decent night’s sleep.
A lot of people struggle to sleep, regardless of how tired they are. They continuously wake up at night, primarily due to excruciating pains in the neck, hips and lower back; eagerly watching the clock to know when will the pain subside. A lack of sleep can take its toll on energy levels, mood, health and ability to function during the day. However, it will interest you to know that something as simple as changing your pillow can make a world of difference.
Importance of Pillows
Pillow plays a vital role in your daily sleep. A lousy pillow can give you problems, in the neck, back, shoulders and can cause you restlessness, as you try to find a comfortable position to sleep.
With so many different pillows out there, how can you tell which pillow is best for you? Below, we will take a look at how to choose the perfect pillow for better sleep at night
Types of pillows
To choose your pillow, keep in mind that the filling determines the softness or firmness, and even the potential to cause allergies. Among the existing options are:
- Rubber foam: A higher density, greater durability, stability of the filling and better support to your head.
- Polyester: They are economical and comfortable, but if you wash them, the filling tends to spoil.
- Memory foam: Reduces the pressure points to conform and adjusts to the shape of your body when you move during the night, so they give excellent support to your neck.
- Latex or gel: It is the firmer type of filler and is resistant to mold and mites. As it adapts well to the contour of the body, it provides excellent support to the neck and back.
- Wool-cotton: Its density is usually hard.
- Feathers: It is one of the most comfortable fillings because it allows for a good balance between firmness and softness and adapts well to the contour of the body.
- Down pillow: Softer and often more expensive than normal feathers, they provide medium firmness.
- Viscoelastic foam: Firm but conforms to the pressure points. It can mold to your shape around the head and neck.
- Buckwheat: They are ideal for side sleepers and provide good support. It can be noisy when you move at night
Sleeping positions
The most crucial factor in deciding the size and shape of the perfect pillow is your sleeping position.
- If you sleep on your side, do it better with a large, thick cushion to bridge your mattress and pillow, keeping your neck and head aligned with your spine. The pillows that serve to sleep sideways must be firm or medium.
- For people who sleep on their backs, they need a medium-sized pillow that offers enough support for the head and neck. The height should not be too much, or it would tilt the head too far forward, nor should it be too low or it would extend the neck and tilt your head back. Medium firmness is ideal.
- For those who sleep on their stomach, they need very little support so you should choose a relatively soft and flat pillow. It is necessary to lift the head of the mattress enough to align the neck and spine.
It's all about changing your posture; for many, the impact is immediate and life-changing. We should never underestimate the importance of pillows, as their proper use can help us achieve greater relaxation, comfort and enjoy better sleep at night, thereby helping us become more active and energetic to handle the hustle and bustle of a busy day.
If your condition worsens or doesn’t improve within a week with making changes to your pillow and sleeping positions, see your local Physio Inq Physiotherapist. for specific treatment & exercises that are proven to help people sleep better.
This article was originally written by Physio Inq
Share the article
Recent Posts
- Why Exercise Is Great For Your Mental Health
- Long Distance Swimming Tips
- The 7 Best Stretches For Tennis Players
- Can I Exercise During Early Pregnancy?
- How Does Chronic Pain Affect the Brain?
- What Can Cause Speech Problems in Adults?
- How to Manage Common Cricket Injuries
- How To Prevent Neck Pain While Riding A Motorcycle? 5 Important Tips
- Goal-Setting Tips For Fitness Success
- Can Caffeine Make You Tired All The Time? 5 Hidden Truths
Categories
Tags
- 8 week challenge (1)
- Achilles Tendonitis (1)
- ACL (3)
- ACL graft (2)
- ACL reconstruction (2)
- active (2)
- active recovery (1)
- Adaptive Equipment (1)
- AFL (2)
- Aged Care (2)
- Alzheimers (1)
- Ankle (5)
- Ankle Injury (1)
- Ankle Pain (1)
- Ankle Sprain (2)
- Ankle Strapping (1)
- Ankle Surgery (1)
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (3)
- Arthritis (1)
- Autism (1)
- Back (2)
- Back Pain (3)
- balance (1)
- Ballet (1)
- Baseball (1)
- BMI (1)
- body weight (1)
- bones (1)
- Bursitis (1)
- Calf Muscle (1)
- Carpal Tunnel (1)
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (1)
- CARs (1)
- casting (1)
- Cerebral Palsy (1)
- Children Injuries (1)
- Children Sport (2)
- Children Sports Injuries (1)
- chin ups (1)
- Christmas (1)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (1)
- Chronic Pain (1)
- City2Surf (1)
- Coffee (2)
- community (3)
- Concussion (1)
- Concussions (1)
- Core (6)
- core and stretch (1)
- corked thigh (1)
- Corticosteroid Injections (1)
- Cortisone Injection (1)
- Cricket (1)
- Cross Training (1)
- Crossfit (2)
- Crossfit Injuries (1)
- Cycling (1)
- Dementia (3)
- Down Syndrome (1)
- driver (1)
- driving range (1)
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (1)
- dynamic stretching (2)
- Ear Barotrauma (1)
- Ear Pain (1)
- Early Intervention (1)
- Epilepsy (1)
- Exercise (13)
- Exercise Injuries (1)
- Exercise Physiology (1)
- EXOS (1)
- EXOS cast (1)
- f45 (1)
- Falls Prevention (1)
- fast twitch (1)
- feet health (1)
- Fibromyalgia (2)
- Fitness (4)
- Fitness Apps (1)
- flexibility (2)
- fms (1)
- Foam Rolling (1)
- Footware (1)
- fracture (2)
- free weights (1)
- functional (1)
- functional45 (1)
- Gamer’s Thumb (1)
- golf (7)
- golf blog (1)
- golf swing (4)
- golfer (1)
- gym (14)
- Half Marathon (1)
- Hamstring (5)
- Hamstring injuries (2)
- Hamstring Strains (1)
- Hamstrings (2)
- hand therapy (1)
- Head Injuries (1)
- Health (9)
- Health Tips (2)
- Heat Exhaustion (1)
- Heat Stroke (1)
- heel pain (1)
- Hip Flexors (1)
- Hip Resurfacing (1)
- Hydration (1)
- Hyperkyphosis Disease (1)
- improvement (4)
- Injuries (4)
- injury (1)
- Injury Prevention (5)
- intermuscular contusion (1)
- intramuscular contusion (1)
- Javelin (1)
- Jet Lag (1)
- Joint Health (2)
- Joints (2)
- Knee (7)
- Knee Injury (3)
- Knee Osteoarthritis (1)
- Knee Pain (8)
- Knee Surgery (3)
- Lateral Ankle Sprain (1)
- Lateral Knee Pain (1)
- local news (1)
- machine weights (1)
- Medicare (1)
- Mental Health (2)
- Metabolism (1)
- mobility (1)
- Motor Neurone Disease (1)
- Motorcycle (1)
- mulgoa (1)
- muscle (4)
- muscle tightness (1)
- NDIS (7)
- NDIS Funding (1)
- NDIS Plan Management (1)
- NDIS Support Coordination (1)
- Neck (1)
- Neck Pain (2)
- Netball (1)
- Netball injuries (1)
- Nutrition (6)
- Occupational Therapy (8)
- Osgood-Schlatter (1)
- Osteoarthritis (3)
- Osteoporosis (1)
- overweight (1)
- Pars Defect (1)
- Patellar Tracking Disorder (1)
- Pelvic Floor (1)
- Pelvic Pain (1)
- penrith (4)
- performance (11)
- performance improvement (3)
- Physical Activity (1)
- physio (19)
- Physioinq (17)
- physiotherapy (25)
- Pilates (2)
- Pillows (1)
- ploymetric (1)
- plyometric exercises (1)
- plyometrics (6)
- podiatrist (1)
- Posture (1)
- Pregnancy (4)
- Prehab (3)
- pull ups (1)
- Quervain’s Disease (1)
- Quervain’s Tenosynovitis (1)
- recovery (5)
- rehab (1)
- rehabilitation (1)
- resistance training (1)
- review (1)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (2)
- Rolled Ankle (1)
- Rotator Cuff (1)
- Rugby League (3)
- Runners (2)
- Runners Knee (1)
- running (8)
- Scheuermann’s Disease (1)
- School Bag (1)
- School Bags (1)
- School Tips (1)
- sciatic nerve (1)
- Scoliosis (1)
- screening (1)
- Servers Disease (1)
- Severs Disease (1)
- Shin Splints (1)
- Shoes (2)
- shoulder (3)
- Shoulder Injuries (1)
- shoulder instability (3)
- Shoulder Pain (2)
- shoulder rehab (1)
- shoulder stability (1)
- Shoulders (1)
- Sinus Pain (1)
- skiing (1)
- skiing injuries (1)
- Sleeping (2)
- Sleeping Postion (1)
- snowboarding (1)
- snowboarding injuries (2)
- Soccer (2)
- Soccer Injury (1)
- Socks (1)
- South Penrith (1)
- Speech Pathologist (1)
- Speech Pathology (3)
- Speech Therapist (1)
- Speech Therapy (3)
- Spina Bifida (1)
- splinting (1)
- Spondylolysis (1)
- Sports Injuries (2)
- Sprained Ankle (1)
- Sprinting (1)
- Sprinting Prehab (1)
- stability (8)
- static stretching (2)
- stress fractures (2)
- Stress Fractures Foot (1)
- Stretch Marks (1)
- stretching (4)
- Surfing (2)
- surgery (2)
- Swimming (4)
- Tendinosis (1)
- Tendon (1)
- Tendon Pain (1)
- Tennis (3)
- Tension Neck Syndrome (1)
- The Brain (1)
- tightness (1)
- Tips (6)
- TPI (1)
- TPI screen (1)
- Triathlon (1)
- Trigger finger (1)
- Volleyball (1)
- warm up (2)
- weight training (2)
- weightlifting (2)
- weights (2)
- Wellbeing (1)
- Womens (1)
- Womens Health (4)
- Womens Physiotherapy (1)
- Womens Sport (1)
- Work Productivity (1)
- workout (10)
- workout routine (1)
- Workplace (1)
- worlout routine (3)
- Wrist Injuries (2)
- Yoga (2)