Pillow Talk

By Marcia Luke

You crawl into bed at night, give your pillow a quick tussle, then pull up the blankets, and close your eyes. As you restfully sleep, did you know your pillow is performing many tasks, the least important being assuring you are comfortable.

"A good pillow will align the spine properly alleviating strain and pressure and allowing for a deeper, better sleep," says Geoff Tomlinson, director of Marketing for Obus Forme. When lying in bed at night, your neck and back should be aligned horizontally. A regular pillow of the right size and density can provide the necessary support, but those that are specially designed will prevent your neck from being propped up at an angle or drooping down towards the mattress.

We've all seen those weird shaped, inflexible looking pillows on the shelves and likely muttered: "How can that be comfortable?" Well looks aren't everything. Those odd looking pillows will provide necessary support for your neck and back while you sleep and in the long run, can provide comfort by minimizing stiff and sore muscles at night and during the day.

"Cervical pillows may not look comfortable because our definition of comfortable is something plush," Tomlinson says. However, softness in a pillow can mean bad things to the spine since your head will sit on an angle and the spine is twisted. A cervical pillow is sculpted into a curved shape, so it is anything but plush, however, the raised ends cradle your head and neck, whether you lay on your back or side. "Cervical pillows support your body the way it is designed to be supported, and you should feel a dramatic reduction in back and neck pain."

And as cervical pillows increase in popularity, they also become more affordable. Good pillows can range in price from $13 to $100, but you can expect to pay around $25 for a cervically-shaped pillow. You won't automatically find these pillows in the bedding area, sometimes these can be found in the health or pharmaceutical section of a department or drugstore.

"The hardest thing about buying a pillow is the risk," admits Tomlinson. What if you don't like it when you get it home? "If you don't find it comfortable, then you'll never fall asleep on it."

To really know whether a cervical pillow is comfortable or not, you should try one. Tomlinson says that a cervically-shaped pillow may produce discomfort for a few days to a week as your spine realigns, but after giving it a good two weeks, if you still feel discomfort then it's probably not the right pillow for you. Also, foam begins to degrade after a year or two, so it's important to replace your pillow even if you loved it at first.

Body pillows also help to keep your form in proper posture when you're sleeping. You can place it behind you to help support your shoulders and hips or in front of you in a hugging position between your knees to help align your spine. Since snoring most often occurs when you're lying on your back, a body pillow placed behind you while lying on your side might prevent rolling over.

Pillows come in different densities and thicknesses for a reason and it's not just to irritate you while trying to choose one. A soft pillow will provide less support and is therefore more appropriate for those sleeping on their stomachs. Medium density pillows are best for back sleepers and firm pillows are best when you're on your side.

There are also pillows that reduce snoring, and adjustable pillows filled with either water or removable foam layers. When choosing a pillow you should know about your personal sleeping habits, such as which side you sleep on and whether you're prone to snoring, and then try a variety. Your pillow should fill the gap left between your shoulder and your head, so the size of the pillow can be a factor as well.