Did you know a six year-old pillow can contain up to 10%-25% of its weight in dust mites? This extra weight includes both living and dead mites as well as their excrement. Ew! How old is YOUR pillow? Before rushing off to replace (or set fire to*) your questionable pillows, let’s take a minute to discuss how important finding the right pillow is.
We spend approximately one third of our life sleeping. Everyone, including those living with chronic pain, can benefit from a well designed pillow. Using an old, unsupportive pillow can cause a myriad of problems. Stiff necks from bad pillows often lead to head aches and pain in the shoulders, arms, or hands. As you can see, purchasing a high quality, ergonomically correct pillow is crucial to the success of your pain management strategy.
Not sure where to start? Fortunately, there are many types of pillows available that offer good support. It is wise to try more than one brand and/or style to make sure you find the best pillow for your specific needs. Remember, cheaper is NOT better! You always get what you pay for, especially when it comes to pillows.
The right pillow should cradle your head and support your neck alignment. There are pillows available specifically for both side and back sleepers. If you are a stomach sleeper, we highly suggest you do your best to change your habits since this is the worst position to sleep. If you have to sleep on your stomach, be sure to choose the thinnest pillow possible to minimize any potential added stress to your back.
Here’s a brief summary of several common types of pillows:
Neck Roll Pillow – Great for back sleepers but not comfortable or recommended for side and stomach sleepers.
Memory Foam or Buckwheat Pillows – The preformed pillows can often be too hard to evenly form around your head. The Buckwheat can sometimes prevent overheating. Stiff necks are still possible for more active sleepers (tossing and turning).
Water Filled Pillow – Very comfortable, but quality is extremely important when purchasing these types of pillows.
Therapeutic Neck Pillow – These pillows can be helpful for someone with major neck problems. Be sure to try before you buy, my patients seem to either love them or hate them.
Update: Since posting this article, I’ve received a lot of questions on which pillow I would buy or recommend specifically for that person asking. While I can’t make a generalization about which pillow you should buy, I can say that this pillow below, the Tempurpedic Comfort Pillow, is my personal favorite. Using an allergy barrier on the pillow will also help a lot with keeping down the dust mites and other filth that accumulates.
*NW Pain Relief does not condone, support, or encourage setting fire to pillows!
