You could get a better night’s sleep by removing one thing from your bed, according to an expert, and it could also help improve your posture and reduce neck pain
There’s nothing better than waking up after a good night’s sleep.
When you think of your bed, you might think of a cosy duvet, fluffy pillows, and a comfy mattress. But according to an expert, ditching one of these things could actually help you get a better night’s sleep. If you regularly find yourself waking up with neck pain or suffering from tension headaches, you might benefit from sleeping without one of the core components of your bed – the pillow.
If pillows aren’t right for us by being too high, too hard, or too soft, they can place strain on our necks and cause us to wake up in pain. Sleeping without a pillow can fix this, as well as being able to improve posture and ease headaches.
Rebecca Swain, a mattress expert from Winstons Beds, said: “A lot of people may be surprised to hear this but sleeping with a pillow can mess with the alignment between the neck and the spine, causing tension on our muscles. If you regularly wake up with neck pain and tension headaches, it could be a sign to ditch the pillow.
“Pillows can sometimes put a strain on our neck and muscles which can leave us feeling really stiff and uncomfortable in the morning. Sleeping on just a mattress neutralises the alignment between your neck and spine and essentially makes it a bit straighter which can alleviate neck pain.
“Everyone is different but if a sore neck is something you often struggle with then it’s definitely worth ditching the pillow for a couple of nights and seeing if it makes a difference.”
On top of alleviating neck pain, improving posture, and reducing headaches, Wales Online reports that sleeping without a pillow can also have other benefits – such as reducing wrinkles. Over time, the compression caused by a pillow can result in wrinkles, so sleeping without one can reduce the pressure applied to your face.
What’s more, it can also promote muscle relaxation by allowing your shoulders and back to completely relax, helping you get a better night’s sleep overall. However, according to the Sleep Foundation, research into the benefits of sleeping without a pillow is “limited”.
They state: “While research is limited, anecdotal reports show that sleeping without a pillow can help reduce neck and back pain for some sleepers. Stomach sleepers are generally best suited for going pillowless because the lower angle of the neck encourages better spinal alignment in this position. Some individuals also assert that sleeping without a pillow can be beneficial for skin and hair, but more clinical studies are needed to evaluate these claims.”
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