Pillows can help or hurt your sleep depending on their firmness and your sleeping position.
You probably know someone who doesn't leave the house without a special pillow and claims that a particular bag of fluff or feathers is the key to a good night's sleep. When you sleep on your side with a soft pillow that doesn't provide enough support under your neck, and your head should be stretched sideways to touch the pillow. If you sleep on your stomach, a position that hyperextends your neck, then use a solid pillow that pushes the head back even more. "If you lie on your stomach with your head on one side, you sleep in a full rotation position, and that can be painful," says O'Rourke.
Too much firm support pushes the neck too far forward, forcing Pillows to accidentally remove CPAP masks in people with sleep apnea, a condition in which you regularly stop breathing while you sleep. Pillows can interfere with continuous positive pressure therapy in the airways. CPAP machines push air through a mask he wears while sleeping. "If you sleep on your side, the pillow can take the mask off," says Dr.Epstein. "In between lifestyle changes, elevating your head to 30 degrees can be effective. I have had success with patients using a wedge pillow," says Dr. James Mojica, director of the sleep laboratory at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard.
Finding the right pillow is a matter of personal preference. Some pillows even record your sleeping habits and wake you up with music. Rectangular pillows with side panels can help; They are taller than standard pillows. The goal is to find a comfortable position that will help you fall asleep. While adjusting your sleeping position can help prevent symptoms, it does not eliminate health problems such as restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea, although some pillows are marketed as solutions to snoring and sleep disorders.