What more can a person ask for at the end of a tiring and stressful day and at the beginning of another one? -- A good night’s sound sleep. Studies show how sleep affects emotional and physical well-being, healthy brain function and daytime progress and activity.Often we sleep in the most ideal surroundings; a dark and sound proof room, appropriate temperature and the most comfortable bed. Yet, we wake up with symptoms like neck pain, arms and shoulder numbness and discomfort, sneezing and wheezing and migraine. The cause of all this is most of the times the wrong pillow.Our head and neck are the most essential part of our upper body and they are rested on a pillow. A wrong or unsuitable pillow can alleviate pain and discomfort in this area. Also, an old pillow is home to plethora of dead skin cells and dust mites; a major cause of sneezing and wheezing and other skin related issues. After 18 months you need to get rid of your pillow and if it has been two years, your pillow is well past its deadline.
A piece of advice when buying a new pillow:When shopping for a new pillow, you need to keep one thing in mind. Go for something which keeps your neck and head aligned while sleeping, just the way it is when you are sitting or standing in upright position. While working, if your head experience being bent in a certain position for longer period of time, you feel discomfort and pain. Same happens when you are sleeping.Secondly, you need to know which sort of pillow will suit you best. The choice depends upon your sleeping style. You can be a back sleeper, a side sleeper or a stomach sleeper.There are a lot of choices for back and side sleepers but life gets a tad bit more difficult for stomach sleepers. there are now options available for best pillows for stomach sleepers with neck pain. This makes it clear that you are not the only one in the stomach sleepers’ league and your quest for a perfect pillow.The decision gets a bit difficult for stomach sleepers as you need to understand the fact that a thick pillow will bring your neck further away from the neutral alignment which is the major cause of neck pain.
Then there are different options of materials and fillings to choose from. For back sleepers firm pillows are ideal while stomach sleepers should go for a softer and flexible alternative. The good news for stomach sleepers is, the pillows come with variable thickness. You can also remove filling from the pillow to make it thick enough according to your likening.Some factors to consider while buying a new pillow:() -- Your preferred p.m. pose could be giving you back and neck pain, tummy troubles, even premature wrinkles. Here are the best positions for your body -- plus the one you may want to avoid. : 7 tips for the best sleep ever Good for: Preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux, minimizing wrinkles, maintaining perky breasts. The scoop: Sleeping on your back makes it easy for your head, neck, and spine to maintain a neutral position. You're not forcing any extra curves into your back, says Steven Diamant, a chiropractor in New York City. It's also ideal for fighting acid reflux, says Eric Olson, M.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota: "If the head is elevated, your stomach will be below your esophagus so acid or food can't come back up."
Back-sleeping also helps prevent wrinkles, because nothing is pushing against your face, notes Dee Anna Glaser, M.D., a professor of dermatology at Saint Louis University. And the weight of your breasts is fully supported, reducing sagginess. Consider this: "Snoring is usually most frequent and severe when sleeping on the back," Olson says. Perfect pillow: One puffy one. The goal is to keep your head and neck supported without propping your head up too much. : Celebrity sleep secrets, and what you can learn from them Good for: Preventing neck and back pain, reducing acid reflux, snoring less, sleeping during pregnancy Bad for: Your skin and your breasts The scoop: Side-sleeping is great for overall health -- it reduces snoring and keeps your spine elongated. If you suffer from acid reflux, this is the next best thing to sleeping on your back. Now for the downside: "Sleeping on your side can cause you to get wrinkles," Glaser says. Blame all that smushing of one side of your face into the pillow.
This pose also contributes to breast sag, since your girls are dangling downward, stretching the ligaments, says Health magazine's Medical Editor Roshini Rajapaksa, M.D. Consider this: If you're pregnant, sleep on your left side. It's ideal for blood flow. Perfect pillow: A thick one. "You need to fill the space above your shoulder so your head and neck are supported in a neutral position," says Ken Shannon, a physical therapist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. : 10 household tools for people in pain Good for: Snoring less, sleeping during pregnancy Bad for: Preventing neck and back pain, minimizing wrinkles, maintaining perky breasts The scoop: Outside of your mother's uterus, resting in a tight fetal pose isn't a great idea. When you snooze with your knees pulled up high and chin tucked into your chest, you may feel it in the morning, especially if you have an arthritic back or joints, Olson says. "This curved position also restricts diaphragmatic breathing," adds Dody Chang, a licensed acupuncturist with the Center for Integrative Medicine at Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut.
And if you make this your nightly pose, you may bring on premature facial wrinkles and breast sag. Consider this: Just straighten out a bit -- try not to tuck your body into an extreme curl. Perfect pillow: One plump pillow -- the same as side position, to give your head and neck support. : 11 surprising health benefits of sleep Bad for: Avoiding neck and back pain, minimizing wrinkles, maintaining perky breasts The scoop: "Stomach-sleeping makes it difficult to maintain a neutral position with your spine," Shannon explains. What's more, the pose puts pressure on joints and muscles, which can irritate nerves and lead to pain, numbness, and tingling. "Think about the soreness you'd feel if you kept your neck turned to one side for 15 minutes during the day," Diamant explains. In this position you have your head to one side for hours at a time. You won't necessarily feel it the next day, but you may soon start to ache. Consider this: Do you snore? "Stomach-sleeping may even be good for you," Olson says.