How to Choose a Pillow
written by Nelin Krull, Registered Physiotherapist
A great pillow can be the key to a good night’s sleep, but could it also be a pain in the neck?
Ever wake up with a sore neck and wonder if it might be your pillow causing such a pain in the neck?
We get this question a lot in our office, clients who come in because they have what we call a “sleep injury” aka they “slept funny”.
The truth is, there’s really no such thing as sleeping funny.
Ok now I know you’re reading this and thinking, that’s ridiculous, it’s happened to me, but hear me out and I’ll give you my favourite pillow recommendation after I explain.
The majority of the time, waking up with a “sleep injury” is actually a culmination of years of myofascial restriction from past injuries, traumas, or poor posture that create dysfunctional holding and bracing patterns in your body. These patterns will force the body to compensate in other ways to keep you functional, eg. One leg appearing to be longer than the other because your hip is hiked on the opposite side to compensate for myofascial restriction in the low back from an unresolved back injury
And then a bit of altered sleep positioning can be the tipping point that sends your body into pain mode.
There’s no such thing as a sleep injury!
While your pillow or mattress is often identified as the culprit, it is unlikely if you have been regularly sleeping on that pillow and only just now it started to “cause” neck pain, stiffness, or headaches. Sleeping in a new bed like while on vacation is a different case as it’s new to your body and may not be the right fit for you. In this case, the pillow or mattress may very well be the culprit (or the 8 hours you spent on the plane to get there, a good reason to always pack your myofascial ball).
That being said, it’s definitely worth your time and money to choose the right pillow for you that supports your spine in neutral alignment so as to prevent issues down the road. And most importantly, remember as you go through the process of finding the right pillow for you, there is no such thing as ONE SIZE FITS ALL.
An example of neutral spinal alignment of the neck and upper back on the left, and how most of us look on the right….
Typically sleepers and pillows are categorized in three types; back sleepers, side sleepers, and stomach sleepers. Though, it is important to note that sleeping on your stomach with your head on a pillow does put a lot of strain on your spine and is not recommended. (This is why massage tables have holes in them for your face).
Generally, back sleepers need a softer or thinner pillow and side sleepers need a loftier or thicker more supportive pillow. But not all pillows are created equal, and neither are we!
Some of us like to change positions in the night from back to side and choosing a pillow that is specific to one of the other could put strain on the spine as well.
As a sleeper myself, I have gone through my fair share of pillows in search of the perfect one. Before the days of memory foam, I would need to replace my polyester microfibre fill pillow frequently as it would go flat or lose it’s shape. I personally am a side sleeper (usually) so once my pillow was no longer supportive, it was time to choose a new one.
Frustrated by having to replace my pillow so often, I opted for a water pillow as recommended by a chiropractor I knew at the time. It had a fillable water base with a polyester microfibre topper. This worked great for me for some time, until the polyester fill also went flat (it couldn’t be flipped due to the water base) and one day I woke up fully soaked as the water base had sprung a leak.
So, like you, I began to search google “What is the best pillow for side sleepers?” & “Top 10 Best Pillows” and came across the new highly acclaimed memory foam pillow. So I bought one, brought it home and had maybe one of the worst nights of sleep of my life. I liked the idea that it would stay supportive and not go flat, but it was actually TOO supportive and uncomfortable for me.
Back to the internet I went, this time finding what seemed like the perfect solution, a pillow with a polyester microfibre fill but with a removable core of memory foam. And this pillow was like a dream come true, perfect amount of support, flippable, and wouldn’t go flat. I slept like a dream……until I purchased a new mattress.
The firmness of your bed can also affect the loft and support of your pillow.
What I came to learn from this experience was that changing your mattress will also change how much your pillow and your body sink into your mattress. Which changes the loft of your pillow. So now, while I had a very comfortable new mattress, the pillow had to go as there was no way to adjust it and it was just not quite lofty enough anymore.
Finally after watching countless videos on YouTube and reading as many pillow reviews as possible I discovered that there are ADJUSTABLE pillows. Adjustable pillows allow you to change their support and loft by removing or adding filling. And you can choose different types of fill to suit your needs; shredded memory foam, cooling memory foam, or polyester fill layers that can be added/removed to accommodate both back and side sleepers with a simple adjustment.
As the story goes, I had to kiss a lot of frog pillows before finding my perfect match. As a physiotherapist, I have also come to learn that choosing a “perfect pillow” is very person dependent, but if I had to recommend one, it would be an adjustable pillow. I use one and so does Justin who is, often, a back sleeper. We were able to purchase the same pillow and adjust it to our specific needs. For this reason, we have added an adjustable pillow to the products we use page on our site because we really do use it, just like all the other items on that list.
So if scouring the internet looking for the best pillow, I might recommend starting with an adjustable pillow that has a great return policy or sleep guarantee and ideally eco-friendly ;)
I wish you a wonderful night’s rest!
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