
How to Get More Restorative Sleep with Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care can help you get better sleep by relieving pain – especially neck pain, shoulder pain and back pain, which are common barriers to a good nights sleep.
Anyone who has ever spent a night away from home knows the value of a good pillow. An uncomfortable mattress is an inconvenience but a terrible pillow? That can end with headaches and neck pain for days.
Using the right pillow – and a good quality pillow – is almost as important as your sleeping position (please, for the sake of your spine, stop sleeping on your stomach.) When you consider how many hours you spend in bed, it’s easy to understand how your pillow can directly affect the health of your spine.
It’s a common question here at Chiro One. The long answer is that a thorough evaluation and diagnosis is the best way to know; we have so many habits that affect our spines, it’s important to understand exactly what is going on. But could your pillow be causing your neck pain? The short answer is: it absolutely could be the culprit.
There are few simple ways to find out whether your pillow is the wrong one for your needs. The most obvious is to note how you feel each morning (we love a journal – it helps your track how often you’re experiencing pain, and helps your chiropractic determine any connections between your pain and your lifestyle and habits.)
There is no one single pillow that we recommend as a universal fit for all patients, but we do have some guidelines that can apply to everyone:
Ask your Chiro One doctor or your care team to show you the pillows we keep on hand so you can see what built-in cervical support looks like – they’re very distinctive from the pillows you’re likely accustomed to. If you can’t get to your chiropractic clinic, look for a pillow with a center cavity that provides head support while supporting your neck.
Using a pillow with good cervical support can relieve – and prevent – headaches and neck pain. They can also provide good support if you’re recovering from a neck sprain or strain, whiplash injury, tingling and numbness in the arms and hands, and other spinal conditions like torticollis or disc injuries.
The old wisdom of “any pillow for any sleeper” has long been debunked. Instead, choose the right pillow for your preferred sleep position – and discover the difference it can make.
Well…we don’t.
We know how hard it is to change the way you sleep, but to avoid pain and keep your spine healthy, mobile, and functioning well, it is so important to break this habit. Stomach sleeping removes the curve in your neck (cervical spine) and places pressure on your brainstem.
When it comes to picking the type of pillow, it seems there are more choices than ever. Here is a breakdown of the most common pillow materials to help you narrow down your choice from an ever-expanding selection.
Great alternatives to memory foam:
Those who are able to invest a bit more in their pillow can also choose from “extras” like cooling technology – features like gel inserts that help ensure you’re always sleeping on the cool side of the pillow.
Choosing the right pillow can help relieve – and prevent – pain, and help you get a better night’s sleep. Take the time to test out as many pillows as you need to in order to find the right one for you. It’s an investment that will pay off.
Subscribe and get news, articles & offers sent right to your inbox each month.
"*" indicates required fields
By subscribing you are agreeing to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.