Key Takeaways
- There's no one-size-fits-all pillow. The right one depends on your neck and body.
- The goal is to keep your head and neck in a neutral position, whether you sleep on your back or your side.
- Side sleepers with shoulder problems can hug a pillow to keep the shoulder back.
Everyone wants to know what the perfect pillow is. Dr. Parsons' answer: it depends on your neck and the health of your body. There's no one-size-fits-all pillow, but there are things to look for. You may need a partner to take a picture of your neck while you're lying down.
Back Sleepers
If you sleep on your back with too many pillows, they push your head forward. That flattens the natural curve in your neck.
Side Sleepers
Side sleeping is fine as long as the pillow is high enough to keep your neck in a neutral position. If the pillow shifts and your head drops, that stresses the neck.
Consider a Moldable Pillow
A feather pillow lets you burrow out a small indentation to keep your head in neutral. Some pillows come with that shape built in.
A Tip for Shoulder Pain
If you sleep on your side and are starting to have shoulder problems, Dr. Parsons suggests hugging a pillow to keep the shoulder back. Without one, you roll forward and everything gets crunched in, which also makes it harder for your lungs to expand and take a deep breath. That matters even more for people with sleep apnea.
Finding the Right One
Like trying on shoes, you may need to try a few pillows before you find the right one.
Waking up with a stiff or sore neck? Learn more about how we help with neck pain.
Read the full video transcript
Pillows. Let's talk pillows. Everyone's always wanting to know what the perfect pillow is. Well, that depends on your neck and the health of your body. There's not one pillow that's one-size-fits-all, but I'm going to show you some things to look out for. For this, you might need a significant other to take a picture of what your neck is doing. Many of you like to sleep on your back. If you have too many pillows, it pushes your head forward. See how her head is not here? It's here. That's not good, because it flattens out the curve in the neck. A lot of you are side sleepers. Sleeping on your side is fine and good, as long as the pillow is high enough to keep her neck in neutral. Now, this looks pretty good. But if she shifts it and the head drops, that's not good, because now that's stressing the neck. Another option for those of you searching for the ever-loving, beloved pillow is something like a feather pillow. With this, you can actually mold it and create a little snuggle spot, because the goal is to keep the head in neutral. This is pushing her head up just a little bit, so you just kind of burrow out a little indentation. There are pillows that come preset like that. So make sure you look at what's happening here. Another thing, a side note: for people who sleep on their side and are starting to have shoulder problems, one way around that is to snuggle with a pillow to keep the shoulder back. When you don't have a snuggle pillow, you roll forward, and all of this gets crunched in. That decreases the ability of your lungs to expand and inhale to get a good, deep breath. And a lot of you have sleep apnea. You need every oxygen molecule possible. So there's not one pillow that's good for everyone. It's like trying on shoes or finding the right gynecologist. You may have to try a few to make sure you find the right one, but this is something you want to look for. Hope that serves you well. Sleep well.
Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, DC, CCN, DACBN, DACNB
Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, DC, CCN, DACBN, DACNB is a Doctor of Chiropractic, certified clinical nutritionist, and brain wellness expert with 34+ years serving Fresno families at The Natural Path Health Center.
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